TOW #16 - Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnston (Part 2)

In Everything Bad is Good for You, Steven Johnston, the author who is a graduate of both Brown University and Columbia University and currently an American popular science author and a media theorist, takes the position that regular exposure to pop culture is beneficial to us. In part 1 of the book, Johnston argues in favor of video games, television, films, and the internet, describing all of the positive cognitive effects it has. Starting off part 2 of his book, Johnston transitions into the Flynn Effect and IQ scores. Through various studies, it has been concluded that the population's IQ has been increasing across all races, and the factor resulting in this increase has been the environment, particularly the great exposure to pop culture. Nowadays, with the advancement of technology, people face so many problems and challenges that it is reasonable to see why people are getting smarter. Additionally, Johnston goes into the economic, technologic, and neurological drive of the Sleeper Curve. The economic forces include and film industry's constant production of movies and TV shows. The technological forces entail the media-related technology, such as DVD, VCR, cable, etc. Lastly, the neurological forces explains how people enjoy challenges and focusing on this that interest them, like different informative TV shows for instance. To support his argument, Johnston incorporates diagrams, statistics, and quotes. Diagrams, especially when trying to explain a complex point, simplified the content and information Johnston was channeling to the readers,  making it easier for them to understand his viewpoint. Furthermore, using statistics from various studies and experiments bolstered his argument since he quantified everything, giving a perspective for the reader. Lastly, by incorporating quotes from reliable sources, such as scientists, Johnston's argument becomes something to consider. He doesn't voice an arbitrary claim, but a claim that can be supported and argued against. With evidence, diagrams, and reliable sources, it can be justified that Johnston successfully proves that pop culture, contrary to traditional belief, has a beneficial effect on the public. 

TOW #15 - Article: "Can DNA Reign Supreme in the Digital Dark Age?" by Roger Highfield

Roger Highfield, the director of external affairs at the Science Museum in England, addresses the issue of losing and not being able to obtain information in the future. Considering the fact that there are some billion gigabytes of data stored worldwide and that technology is rapidly progressing, it is necessary that mankind be able to develop ways in order to preserve the rapid increase in data. Highfield goes into a brief explanation of how storage on floppy disks that still remain today are unreadable by much of current technology. There is no software available and no program to open files, prompting scientists to craft new methods to store information. Highfield's solution to this problem is to use DNA to store all the information. Highfield refers to Ewan Birney and Nick Goldman, at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute near Cambridge, have created a way to store two thousand million million bytes per gram of DNA. It is speculated that DNA storage can last until the year 10 millennia. Specifying this issue primarily to the scientific community, Highfield attempts to provide an answer to this future problem and convince scientists to pursue research in issue. To achieve his purpose, Highfield includes historical evidence and scientific jargon. Historical evidence that is incorporated into this article provides the context from which Highfield creates his argument, which is to use DNA for storage purpose in the future. It sets the foundation of his argument, which is then used as evidence as to why newer and more improved methods of storage are essential. Additionally, Highfield's use of scientific jargon gets across his reasoning in a much easier fashion. Since his message is primarily towards scientists, using science-related vocabulary will help the audience understand what Highfield is trying to get across. With historical evidence and scientific jargon, Highfield was successfully able to achieve his purpose.


Link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/10553626/Can-DNA-reign-supreme-in-the-digital-dark-age.html

TOW #14 - Media: "Start Your Day On A Roll" Wawa Commercial

In this 30-second Wawa commercial, there are various scenes that go through the variety of Wawa Breakfast Hoagies. At the same time, this commercial shows what can go into the breakfast hoagies: cheese, eggs, bacon, steak, ham, etc. To conclude the commercial, the narrator states the different hoagie sizes (junior, shortie, and classic), each with its respective price (2, 3, and 4 dollars), and then ends by transitioning to the Wawa logo and saying the slogan. The target audience of this commercial is everyone who lives mainly on the eastern side of USA. Wawa, primarily located in Deleware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, aired its commercial in those particular locations because of convenience and promotion, particularly to advertise and convince people to buy the Wawa Breakfast Hoagies, which was this franchise's purpose. Additionally, Wawa aired its commercial in order to compete with other places that serve breakfast foods, such as McDonald's, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, etc. To achieve its purpose, Wawa incorporated music, visual text, and animation to help achieve its purpose. With happy and joyful music and singing playing in the background, the commercial conveys the idea that eating Wawa's Breakfast Hoagie is a great start to one's day. Furthermore, the visual text that pops up is another aspect of the commercial that has a strong appeal. Using bright colors, such as yellow, orange, and red, Wawa forces the audience to eye the words that pop up on the screen, which helps the audience create a mental list of what can be added into their hoagie. Lastly, the animation added the finishing touch to the commercial. It helped keep Wawa's commercial flowing, and it is effective in keeping the attention of the audience. Eggs rolling on the table, cheese getting cut, and sandwiches constantly changing are the various animations that crafted this strong commercial. Primarily appealing to pathos, the incorporation of music, visual text, and animation are all qualities that created a jolly commercial, which successfully convinces the viewers to start their day on a roll!

TOW #13 - Article:"Why Do Children Believe in Santa But Not Harry Potter?" by Nathalia Gjersoe

Merry Christmas!

Tooth fairies, mermaids, monsters, and magical creatures of some sort make up a great amount of children's childhood. Nathalia Gjersoe, a lecturer in developmental psychology and the author of "Why Do Children Believe in Santa But Not Harry Potter?" goes into great detail as to why children tend to believe in Santa more than other mythical and imaginary creatures. After various studies conducted regarding  children's beliefs, it was concluded that there should be "physical evidence" that supports the claim that such characters exist. For instance, "in the Candy Witch study, 5-year-olds whose Halloween sweets had been replaced with a toy in the morning were much more likely to subsequently say the Candy Witch was real than those who has simply been told about her." However, Santa is considered to be the most believed fictitious character though because not only parents, but also because society goes to great lengths just to publicize Santa and make young children believe in him. Santa is everywhere during the Christmas, which only makes him more believable! Gjersoe's purpose of writing her article is not only to convey information, but also to make parents and society to consider whether it is ok to perpetuate the myth about Santa. To achieve her purpose, Gjersoe incorporated statistics and hypothetical situations. With the addition of statistics, Gjersoe is able to effectively illustrate the beliefs of different groups of children, playing a role that makes parents and society think about how children would feel once they find out that Santa does not exist. Furthermore, by describing various hypothetical situations, Gjersoe is able to prove to the readers why children believe in such fantasies. It establishes her credibility because she is applying her knowledge of psychology into her article. Also, Gjersoe's hypothetical situations make it easier for the readers to understand the points she is making by simplifying the results of the studies into something more general. Through those two rhetorical devices, Gjersoe was able to successfully able to achieve of purpose. 

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2013/dec/13/why-do-children-believe-in-santa-but-not-harry-potter

TOW #12 - Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnston (Part 1)

Steven Johnston, the author of Everything Bad is Good for You, is an iconoclastic and captivating writer who is also an American popular science author and a media theorist. Having graduated from Brown University with a degree in semiotics and Columbia University with a degree in English literature, Johnston incorporates his knowledge of media, pop culture, and technology in order to argue that the pop culture we are exposed to everyday is actually beneficial. In part 1 on of his book, Johnston goes into the description of how video games, television, internet, and films are aspects of current culture that stimulate cognition, contrary to popular belief. For example, Johnston talks about how current kid's movies are a lot more complex today than they were in the past. For example, the intricate plot structure, the clever dialogue, and the fascinating special effects are all different qualities of a movie that make up mental exercises for children. Regarding the internet, Johnston brings up that it forces us to problem solve. We have to navigate through various websites, find necessary information, install new software, fix computer issue, etc, and these account for the various cognitive challenges that we go through on a daily basis. Addressing his message most likely to parents and adults, Johnston wants to change their views of pop culture so that a positive view is created. Johnston achieves his purpose by adding visuals and using reliable people to bolster his assertions. By using pictures, Johnston is able to covey his information in an efficient manner, allowing the readers to easily understand the points he is making. Furthermore, pulling quotes from reliable people, such as game scholar James Paul Gee for instance, establishes Johnston's credibility as an author who is arguing in favor of pop culture's benefits. His credibility thus makes him qualified to express his arguments. Through his use of visuals and reliable sources, Johnston was indeed able to achieve his purpose early on in his book. 

TOW #11 - Article: "Where To Travel Based On Your Personality Type" by Lisa Miller

Adventure Time!

Everyone loves to travel. Whether it is local or out of the country, travel calls for adventure, and adventure calls for new and exciting experiences. However, not every place is considered "fun" for everyone. There is a trend between personality types and vacation spots, and this can influence where people choose to travel. Lisa Miller, the author of "Where To Travel Based On Your Personality Type", is an associate editor and writes articles under the HuffPost Travel section, making her a reliable source for obtaining any travel advice or information. Her article gives brief insight to the general public into the various places of travel based on Myers-Briggs personality test. Ranging from the calmest traveler to the most extreme traveler, the article lists a variety of places that different personality-typed people would enjoy. For instance, "the wild traveler" would probably go to a place like New Zealand, where there are many "wild" outdoor activities such a bungee jumping and skydiving. On the other hand, "the chill traveler" would probably enjoy a laid-back beach vacation or some place quiet and serene such as San Juan. The article continues to list much more. To convey her information and describe how personality correlates to vacation spots, Miller uses a variety of rhetorical devices. Firstly, her incorporation of images of various places illustrates the types of areas different people would be willing to visit. Additionally, pictures have a slight appeal to pathos, making readers have a feeling of wanting to travel or something related, which also keeps them interested in Miller's writing. Furthermore, Miller's repetition in the structure of the article helps her achieve her purpose. For a total of 16 times, Miller first presents a picture of a vacation spot. Then she describes a personality type and finally ends by suggesting a place to travel. With a simple and easy structure, readers are able to easily absorb the information and go through the article with ease. Lisa Miller's use of images and simple structure crafts a well written article that not only conveys information about travel destinations, but also gives readers knowledge about the correlation between personality type and vacations. 

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/02/personality-travel_n_4344626.html

TOW #10 - Visual Text: "Join, or Die" by Benjamin Franklin

"Join, or Die" - Benjamin Franklin

http://www.granitegrok.com/pix/FranklinSnake.jpg

Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, was the political leader who created the "Join, or Die" political cartoon, which was published in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754. At the Albany Congress, Franklin presented this cartoon in order to create unity between the thirteen colonies before the French and Indian War. This sent the message to all the colonies that unification and allying with Great Britain was essential to defeat the French and Indians. Directed towards all the people, this cartoon was successful in creating unity within the 13 colonies, which eventually led to the American Revolution (where unification was key). Benjamin Franklin's incorporation of pathos creates a sense of fear in the audience. Bu using the word "DIE" in the cartoon, it is clear that without unification, there will be no future for any of the colonies, which forced all of them to unite. Because this cartoon sends its message primarily through its use of pathos, the cartoon can be regarded as propaganda. In addition to Franklin's use of pathos, he appeals to ethos through his incorporation of the snake. During the era of the French and Indian war, there was a widespread superstition that a snake which had been cut into pieces would come back to life if the pieces were put back together before sunset. Mostly everyone believed in that superstition, and by using a snake, Franklin was able to make his message to the colonies very clear. Furthermore, his appeal to ethos adds a sense of urgency. Just as the snake has to be put together before sunset, the colonies need to unite very soon or else death was imminent. Considering what happened after Benjamin Franklin had published his cartoon in 1754, such as independence from Great Britain, creation of own government, etc, it is clear that the "Join, or Die" cartoon successful achieved its purpose of unifying the thirteen colonies.