Fallacies

I really enjoyed the reading for today about the 7 deadly sins. I think its crazy that these fallacies are everywhere around us and I know that I'm guilty of using them in arguments even though I know they aren't exactly addressing the issue at hand.
I know that ones like the bad example and false analogy come up a lot in arguments with other people, and I'm definitely one to fall for ads containing these "sins" in them.
I will now be more able to recognize these in everyday life and will now be more aware of the kind of arguments that I make.

The Seven Deadly Logical Sin

I found this reading by Heinrich to be both easy to understand and interesting. All of the fallacies that he presents can be seen in our everyday lives. The second deadly sin, the bad example, is one that I see quite often. This takes place when the examples used in everyday life, fail to prove a conclusion. The example given in the book, pertaining to crime, shows how people believe unrepresentative examples to reach a conclusion. In the example people believe that crime has increased due to what they see on televion. In reality, the level of crime has actually decreased in the past couple of years. This is called misinterpreting the evidence. After reading this I realized that this really is something that happens in everyday life.

Chewbacca Defense

Great example of how this fallacy was used. When I first watched that show I did not realize just how similar those arguments were. Though the glove was at least related it still does not have that much significance in the case to allow for a acquittal. Another great read from this enjoyable author.

Thank You for Arguing

I always enjoy reading from Thank You for Arguing. There were some lines within the reading that even made me laugh. Every time I read from this book, I notice the passion Jay Heinrichs possesses for rhetoric. Within these chapters, Jay Heinrichs discusses many examples of common fallacies. Personally, this helps me connect with the reading. For example, I’m sure we have all heard the fallacy regarding that a child needs to eat everything on their plate because there are other children who are not fortunate enough to receive a meal each time they are hungry. Fortunately, my parents never used this fallacy on me. However, I will admit this fallacy is persuasive and does work on children.

7 deadly sins

Heinrich's seven deadly sin's are so interesting! Again, I'm going to say that I really like this book and how he incorporates learning to life. I know my mom always pulls the second deadly sin on me. Whenever I am at home, she never lets me do anything because of what she saw on the news!

second deadly sin

I thought reading about the second deadly sin was interesting. Pretty relevant to my life and im sure many others! I am very familiar with the hasty generalizations ("oh, the restaurant is owned by Mexicans, it must be delicious!") or ("That guy failed the exam? He must be a horrible student!") These generalizations don't take into account any factors or variables. Another common fallacy is misinterpreting the evidence.
There was also one line in the section we read that has stuck with me.
NEVER ARGUE THE INARGUABLE!!

Logical Fallacies

I never realized how many ways an argument could be weak. After reading this week's chapters in Thank You for Arguing, I realized that there are many logical fallacies being used everywhere. I'm sure that most people use these fallacies everyday and fall for them just as much. When do people really look at their arguments to see if they are committing one of the "Seven Deadly Logical Sins?" Although it is very interesting to understand these logical fallacies and be able to argue effectively, do most people even think about their arguments to such an extent?

Logical Fallacies

I found it interesting that so many people use logical fallacies in their arguments, often times unwittingly. I can remember my mom telling me to finish my whole meal, because kids elsewhere are starving. I wasn't aware that when I was refuting her statement, I was actually trying to expose her logical fallacy. Also, I didn't realize that many advertisers are guilty of using fallacies in their advertisements. I usually fall for them and buy the products!

Logical Fallacies

There are deadly sinful logical fallacies. but also ones that are fine to use in argument such as the fallacy of power, which is probably the intent of learning the rhetoric. One thing I didn't get while I was reading was the tie innuendo. It took me a while to get it as it explained in the next paragraph. There are so many tools and sins on this chapter. I don't think I need to memorize them hopefully.

ummmmmmmm

Yea. Logical Fallacies... That was some interesting stuff, but it just seems like too much to think about on a regular basis. But it's still probably good to know...I really don't have anything to say.

Thank you for arguing.

I have to say that I really enjoy reading from this book. I learn something new with each page! After reading these past few chapters over fallacies and the "seven deadly logical sins", I realized that I'm guilty of pretty much all of the sins that Heinrich points out. Now that I know what these rhetoric fallacies are, I can think of dozens of instances of when I've fallen for each one. But now I know better. Now I feel that I could point out someones flaw in his or her argument, and it's all because of Heinrich. After I read his stuff, I just feel more aware of of what's going on I guess. It's almost as if I'm learning to read inbetween the lines of what people are saying and decipher their true meanings. It's pretty darn cool.

Cultural Globalization

I thought the article by Philippe Legrain was very refreshing to read. I have often read articles addressing America’s powerful influence on other countries but rarely the influences other countries have on America. The article discussed examples that are commonly used to show how other countries are Americanized. Philippe Legrain then uses facts concerning each of these examples to demonstrate just the opposite. I think this article could benefit critics of American culture and anyone with a fear of American imperialism. The article “Learning from One Another” has a similar argument. It is rare to learn about a culture that has managed to sustain its sense of community as well as its unique traditions. I admire the people in Ladakh for their dedication to their culture and their individuality. Before observing the image from Spider-Man: India, I noticed an important question regarding the image. The question reads as follows: “As an American reader, what is your spontaneous response to the drawing of this character?” Personally, I initially noticed the differences in the costume and the stance Spider-Man has in the image.

A Blog About the Current Readings

In Jane Poynter's article, "Learning From One Another", my group wondered if globalization was a two way street. 

In certain cases it really is, but on the other hand America's impact across the world is unquestionable. 

In one case she states, "Today, an influential core of Ladakhis is struggling to retain the best of traditional culture-community, art, and history-while retaining the many benefits development would bring."

It is in that sentence that explains a great deal. I believe societies can retain their traditional culture while also adopting developments from others. This type of globalization should not be ignored.

Additionally,  I felt the spiderman manifest destiny was interesting. Now, I pose the question is the United States still practicing a form of manifest destiny?

Spidey...

I'm pretty sure i'm the last to blog and as i was scrolling through the blog i noticed that almost everyone referenced the Adesnik article! I must be added to the bunch. I must say that the connection used with the Spider-man metaphor was brilliant. My favorite quote of the article is when Adesnik talks about how before becoming "Spider-Man", Peter Parker devoted all his time to "academic pursuits" such his love for science. Adesnik says, "although nominally an accident, the spider bite is a metaphorical expression of the American faith that knowledge is power and science is the engine of progress. Initially taunted because of his devotion to science, Parker ultimately becomes all the more powerful because of it."

Cultural Imperialism?

It's nothing new that American and Western culture have been dominant for a long while.

I have learned about MTV in my RTF class briefly but it is very true that about eighty percent of its viewership is outside the United States. MTV is especially popular in Asia and each country in this region has its own programming that is a a good mix of American programs and the country's own programs. Yet they are constantly influenced and exposed by the American culture whether it is doing good deeds or not. 

English is has also become the global universal language and it is becoming the common language. More and more country accept English as one of its official languages to my knowledge. Might as well declare English as the official language of the world? or is it already? However I do not believe it is ever going to happen since the French, Russian, and Chinese are not likely to give in. But if we have just one language in the world, it will make communication around the world so much more convenient.

In Defense of Globalization

This article by Philippe Legrain really gave me a realer perspective of globalization. Before this, I really kind of had this view that America dominated the globalization scene although I never thought that this was a bad thing like others from different countries that we affect. Now that I actually see the facts that Legrain pointed out, I can definitely see that we really are more affected by globalization of other countries. I guess I always had that american view of life.

The Amazing SpiderAladdinMan

This is awesome! Admittedly, I have heard about this before. I don't read comic books, but love superheroes. Anyway, I just did not expect to see this in a textbook! This Indian Spiderman illustrates a good point. Anyway, culture is not completely inherited. You inherit the culture of your people and family but it would not be natural if you passed on the exact same culture you were given. The world would stand still. learning would not happen, advances would not be made. We would still be grunting and snorting and in loin cloths. I guess that doesn't relate to spiderman so much. Here's how I got there! I think that culture is inhereited or learned from the generation before. But as we live, learn, and grow throughout our lifetime, our outlook on life changes. Some things lose relevance, and new things are created and adopted as traditions. For instance: my parents used to have real christmas trees with real candles on them. These would often catch on fire. Nowadays we have both fake and real trees and they have electric lights on them. That is a tradition that has changed but is still sort of the same. On my tree, I have LED lights that use less electricity and produce less heat. A small change I know, but that may change again some day. Maybe in a few years we will have some reason mot to have christmas trees at all. Who knows? The thing I do know is that you are not bringing a real christmas tree into my house with flaming candles on it. I would like to live through the night. So, for my parents and me, super heroes are role models for little kids. They teach us important life lessons through their triumphs and shortfalls. Why should it be a bad thing for little kids in India to borrow a story from another country to teach them life lessons in an interesting and captivating way. Why shouldnt they pass those stories they enjoyed to their children if they are a good thing?

Learning from One Another

I really enjoyed this article for many reasons. It is to the point, short, and has a lot of interesting details and descriptions. In fact I really enjoyed reading about the description of Ladakh, "a remote patch of India perched high in the Himalayas". It truly seems so different from the world we live in here. Places such as this are very heavily rooted in their culture and are trying to keep it that way for the most part. It is interesting to me that "Ladkha is struggling to retain the best of traditional culture" so strongly when places like the U.S. allow culture to change so willingly. I feel that it is almost impossible for places such as Ladkha to keep their culture while at the same time make changes to their society. It seems that with new development, culture would change as well. As much as some people would like to deny, I feel that Western influence on Ladkha is a good thing. The article describes the downfalls of the underdeveloped society, and the amount of suffering families go through in the winter. Culture may be important, but the people of Ladkha could greatly benefit from Western ideals, and many lives could in turn be saved.

Legrain/Spiderman

I really liked Legrain’s article. I thought it was interesting how he said that America was forcing its culture on everyone else. I also liked how he showed how certain countries dominated certain areas of entertainment. I thought it was interesting how the United Kingdom’s box office hits were mostly American. On the other hand, America is not always the leader, especially in sports. Football does not appear to be as interesting to other countries as soccer. Adesnik’s article was also quite interesting where he compared Peter Parker with Pavitr Prabhakar. I thought the difference between Pavitr Prabhakar from Peter Parker was a good advertising technique to tailor to the Indian readers; however it appears man die hard Spiderman fans do not agree. The image of Pavitr Prabhakar was quite different than the Spiderman us Americans know. Who’s to say it is a bad thing though? I think Spiderman has globalized himself through Pavitr Prabhakar just like companies expand across the world. Even at Mc Donald’s the same burger we get in America is quite different in England and China.

Defending Globalization

I thought Phillipe Legrain's article, In Defense of Globalization was very interesting and persuasive. Legrain's arguments about globalization "free[ing] people from the tyranny of geography" while "cultural pessimists want to freeze things as they were," make very powerful ideas. I think Legrain's article really brought to light some thoughts about globalization that most people may overlook. Instead of making the issue of globalization such a black and white topic, Legrain points out that just because an individual explores other cultures, it does not take away from their cultural roots. There is a lot of convincing evidence and arguments for globalization and the ways that it has influenced many different cultures.

Spider-who?

I thought the Image of Spider-Man from India was interesting. What am I saying.. It's crazy! Clothing is very much associated with culture so I guess it is only appropriate to change the image of Spider-man for various cultures. Although this article was short it had a powerful message. It shows the large impact that various cultures have on each other. It's a mutual sharing of cultures. The Indian culture did not completely create a whole new spider-man, instead they merged the American spider-man with their own culture. A FUSION of cultures!

Ps the image looks totally hilarious.

Learning From One Another reading passage

Poytner describes an inspiring story of how the Ladakhi culture has deteriorized and has emerged because of globalization. He emphasizes that "we humans need cultural diversity as a storehouse of human resources, just as the Earth needs species diversity as a bank of genetic material we can draw on to meet new challenges." This quote really caught my eye because it's true. Globalization is all about cultural diversity and without it, no culture can form its own name without others to distinguish it. Other cultures give us "ways to live together in a world where religion, suburbanization, and social mobility are tearing us apart" and distinguish us for who we are. This was among my favorite reading for this week because I found it truly inspiring.