Hey, Mom! The Explanation.

Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.

Friday, January 31, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1809 - Rhetorical Triangle and Analysis of Advertising part one


https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ethos-pathos-logos/
A Sense of Doubt blog post #1809 - Rhetorical Triangle and Analysis of Advertising part one

Image result for rhetorical triangle
Here's yet again another teaching moment for my students.

Currently (update 2003.18) my Concordia University students are accessing this page.

In my 101 class, we are studying the rhetorical triangle as a means for persuasion both on writing our own essays but also in analyzing the persuasive arguments of others, especially Kalle Lasn's book Culture Jam.

My 102 students need  a reinforcement of the concepts of Aristotle's rhetorical triangle and how it should function in their arguments along with modern argument structures like Toulmin or Rogerian structure.

Below are some videos with which we worked in English 101 to think about rhetoric in analyzing advertisements. I followed those two analytical videos with a general video of how rhetoric works in persuasive advertisements, two overview videos of rhetoric, and finally two different written overviews of the rhetorical triangle with cool graphics.

The MATERIAL THAT FOLLOWS is a hodge podge. The videos were made by others for their own purposes or classes. I do like the one from which the Aristotle image was taken, which is the first after the three related to advertising.

The print content varies, too. The first chunk is for a writing class, clearly, but it references quarters and school related things not relevant to my students. Still., the information is good.

I included the last print chunk even though it's about verbal presentations (speeches) because I felt it was very well written, though some of the material is not directly related to essay writing.

Some stuff that I previously shared on the Rhetorical Triangle here:

https://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2019/04/a-sense-of-doubt-blog-post-1530.html

a better version of it is here:

THE RHETORICAL SITUATION




I like this one a lot:


https://nesslabs.com/ethos-pathos-logos


VIDEOS




https://thevisualcommunicationguy.com/rhetoric-overview/the-rhetorical-appeals-rhetorical-triangle/






https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhetorical-Triangle-with-Ethos-Pathos-and-Logos-2827446






http://www.brunswick.k12.me.us/hdwyer/rhetoric/



Rhetoric will be the focus of reading and writing throughout the second quarter.  In order to maximize your understanding and perspective, you need to have a foundation for rhetorical strategies.
Rhetorical Triangle:
 Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are modes of persuasion used to convince audiences.  They are also referred to as the three artistic proofs (Aristotle coined the terms), and are all represented by Greek words.
Ethos or the ethical appeal, means to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character.
An author would use ethos to show to his audience that he is a credible source and is worth listening to. Ethos is the Greek word for “character.” The word “ethic” is derived from ethos.
Ethos can be developed by choosing language that is appropriate for the audience and topic (also means choosing proper level of vocabulary), making yourself sound fair or unbiased, introducing your expertise or pedigree, and by using correct grammar and syntax.
Pathos or the emotional appeal, means to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions.
Authors use pathos to invoke sympathy from an audience; to make the audience feel what what the author wants them to feel. A common use of pathos would be to draw pity from an audience. Another use of pathos would be to inspire anger from an audience; perhaps in order to prompt action. Pathos is the Greek word for both “suffering” and “experience.” The words empathy and pathetic  are derived from pathos.
Pathos can be developed by using meaningful language, emotional tone, emotion evoking examples, stories of emotional events, and implied meanings.
Logos or the appeal to logic, means to convince an audience by use of logic or reason.
To use logos would be to cite facts and statistics, historical and literal analogies, and citing certain authorities on a subject.Logos is the Greek word for “word,” however the true definition goes beyond that, and can be most closely described as “the word or that by which the inward thought is expressed, Lat. oratio; and,  the inward thought itself, Lat. Ratio. (1) The word “logic” is derived from logos.
Logos can be developed by using advanced, theoretical or abstract language, citing facts (very important), using historical and literal analogies, and by constructing logical arguments.
 Image result for rhetorical triangle
https://slidemodel.com/building-persuasive-argument-rhetorical-triangle-concept/


Building a Persuasive Argument with the Rhetorical Triangle Concept
PRESENTATION TIPS • DECEMBER 13TH, 2018

Rhetorical Triangle

Building a persuasive argument can be difficult for many presenters. It is easy to get lost in translation if you’re not sure about what are you looking for. To make things easier, presenters can focus on three main aspects of building their argument using the Rhetorical Triangle Concept. Derived from Aristotle’s three rhetorical appeals, the triangle consists of ethos, logos and pathos. This includes the speaker, message and the audience.


Using the Rhetorical Triangle for Building a Persuasive Argument
The Rhetorical Triangle Concept can help bring clarity in defining what the presenter needs to focus on and how to deliver the right message before an audience. The presenter must be aware of not just the precise message he/she is delivering but also the audience and the conviction of the speaker himself.

Ethos – The Speaker
It can be hard to convince an audience if you don’t have the high moral ground. Ethos is therefore an important part of the Rhetorical Triangle Concept. As a presenter you need to focus on the ethical aspects of your argument, as well as have the necessary conviction to present your argument before an audience. It is quite likely that you will find it easier to convince your audience if they believe that you are ethically justified in your point of view. Even if the audience disagrees (e.g. due to conflict of interest), you are still likely to have their respect. For example, if you intend to convince a group of people regarding cutting down on plastic pollution by reducing consumption of single-use plastic items, they might have a bias since many of their favorite products might come only in single-use plastic containers, however, you might still win their respect and make them think. Hence, ethos plays a major role in building a persuasive argument.

Pathos – The Audience
The most effective way to reach out to someone is to connect with them emotionally. Pathos or emotional appeal is therefore an important aspect of a persuasive argument. As a presenter, you must appeal to the emotions of the audience and try to connect with them on a personal level. A good presenter knows how to emotionally connect to an audience by discussing things which they can relate to. You can look for cultural aspects which might help you do so such as shared values or things which a specific group of people in a culture might find as a matter of pride. For example, talking about the heritage of an audience and their high moral values might win you some points, especially if you can connect them with your argument.

Even when dealing with a group of heterogeneous people, you can look for similarities. If you are for instance, pitching your project to a group of potential investors, aspects like profitability can be your winning pitch, as no entrepreneur can ignore profitability. The point is you have to look for what really matters to your audience and try to link it with your argument. You can also create an Empathy Map for this very purpose to better understand your audience.

Logos – The Message
When building a persuasive argument another very important thing to consider is your content. You must appeal to the intellect of your audience. In other words, you need to cater for logos or logic. In order to do that you can consider the reason for which you are giving the presentation and connect it with the hopes and aspirations of your audience. You can also look into research data to analyze the behavior of the audience, in order to understand what might appeal to them intellectually. For example, an audience interested in green energy initiatives will have environmentally friendly aspects close to heart and will be willing to invest time in trying to understand an argument, which might help in producing an environmentally friendly outcome. Similarly, a group of investors would be looking for returns on investment and profitability and the most appealing business idea which can logically provide a roadmap for reaching out to the targeted audience and increasing profitability.

It is likely that different audience will have different interests, so you not only need to build an intellectual argument but also one that might interest your audience (pathos).

Rhetorical Triangle PowerPoint diagram

Balancing the Rhetorical Triangle
When considering the Rhetorical Triangle Concept, you must also make sure that your triangle is balanced. When considering the ethical, intellectual and emotional appeal tied to your argument, you must make sure you don’t overemphasize on one aspect unnecessarily. Trying too hard to cater for emotional appeal might make you appear manipulative and fake, whereas the emphasis on ethics without a sound argument will not win you any points either. Make sure you spend proper time on all three; ethos, pathos and logos, and come up with an argument that is balanced enough to get you the desired results.

Rhetorical Triangle Logos - Pathos - Ethos

Using the Right Medium to Reach Your Audience
There are a lot of mediums you can use to reach your audience, using print, and electronic means. From a presenter’s perspective, this might be the difference between using more visual aid or using more text in slides or simply giving a speech without any visuals.

Text & Visual Aid
As a thumb rule, it is almost never feasible to use too much text in your slides. Similarly, use of visual aid such as clipart, animations and infographics, too, has its limitations. Unless you have created a video presentation, it is recommended to use little text, complementary visuals and to ensure that your content is legible. The use of over the top animations and flashy visuals can be distracting. In fact, they might even cause a migraine for some people in the audience.

It is best to use subtle animations, little text and illustrations which can be self-explanatory. You can also pretty much use the same rule to video presentations, with the addition of a voice-over. In the case of the latter, make sure to give a pause when explaining the context and pay special attention to your pronunciation of words to make sure that your audience does not find it hard to understand certain words which might be morphed by your accent.

Voice & Gestures
The rule for voice-overs is the same for giving a speech during a Live session. You should make sure that you are not hard to understand due to the way you speak and also ensure that the equipment does not cause any voice distortion. You will have to check the latter prior to the event beforehand. Don’t talk too fast or too slow, try to balance the speed, use pauses and emphasize keywords. It is also a good idea to use the rule of three by repeating an important word or phrase three times to make it memorable for the audience.

You should speak clearly and in most cases plainly as possible. Unless you are in a room with experts, using technical terms without explaining their meaning or not using simple terms will make it hard for your audience to understand you.
Your body language is also an important part of your presentation. While you might have the perfect pitch, if your body language gives the wrong signals, you will have a hard time convincing your audience. It’s not entirely true that using an aggressive body language is always bad. In some cases, such a body language might be used to motivate an audience or to pump them up to create excitement. However, you need to consider the context and the audience, keeping in you the ethos, pathos and logos. A formal presentation might require giving a calm body language by using gestures which are gentle and not aggressive. Keeping the palm of your hands in front of you is a good way to giving out a positive gesture, similarly, smiling often and using a calm tone can also help you gain some marks.

Using the right medium to reach your audience

Ensuring Longevity of Your Message
You also need to ensure that your message stays with your audience after the presentation. There are a lot of ways you can ensure this. A very simple method is to give handouts, be it printed handouts or by emailing them to your audience after the presentation. There are also a few web services which allow the audience to view your Live presentation and email the handouts automatically to the audience after the session is over. One such service is Beamium. You can also make your message timeless by uploading it on YouTube and sharing it across your social media accounts and with your followers. You can also follow up with your audience by sending them an email, survey or asking for their feedback.


Final Words
A sound argument consisting of ethics, logic and emotional appeal is hard to ignore. There are also other factors which need to complement these aspects. It can be hard to use ethos, logos or pathos if the audience can’t hear you due to an equipment malfunction or when your slides are just too distracting due to annoying graphical content. You need to also cater to the environment and do your best to make it comfortable and welcoming for the audience or at least be in a position where you can be heard and seen clearly.

It’s not just technology or paper handouts that can make your message memorable, using the rule of three and catering for ethos, logos and pathos is the old fashioned way of making sure that your audience remembers your message long after the presentation.



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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.31 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1672 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

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Thursday, January 30, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1808 - WRITING PROCESS: How to Plan and Write a Paper for English Class


A Sense of Doubt blog post #1808 - WRITING PROCESS: How to Plan and Write a Paper for English Class

SOME pretty good videos...








Image result for writing an english research paper frantic meme

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.30 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1671 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1807 - Kobe Bryant RIP #3

Image result for kobe bryant Mamba memes

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1807 - Kobe Bryant RIP #3

I am just processing this loss in a triptych of visual-laden posts. Here's day three.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.29 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1670 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1806 - Kobe Bryant RIP #2




A Sense of Doubt blog post #1806 - Kobe Bryant RIP #2

I am just processing this loss in a couple of days of memes and graphics.

Image result for kobe bryant memes

Image result for kobe bryant Mamba memes

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.28 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1669 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Monday, January 27, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1805 - Chasm - Ryuichi Sakamoto - Musical Monday 2001.27


A Sense of Doubt blog post #1805 - Chasm - Ryuichi Sakamoto - Musical Monday 2001.27

I am so behind as I type this (2002.09). So I am just going with simple posts or already finished shares or school stuff until I get not just caught up but pull ahead.

I am listening to this as I grade.


LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.27 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1668 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Sunday, January 26, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1804 - Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and seven others die in helicopter crash

Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1804 - Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna, and seven others die in helicopter crash

I found out this news when my step-son Ivan called me from Michigan. I like that I found that way.

Just stunned.

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/1/26/21082555/kobe-bryant-dead-41-helicopter-crash-lakers-nba



Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna dead after helicopter crash, according to report

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Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter were among five dead in a helicopter crash Sunday near Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant died in a helicopter crash in California, according to a report by TMZ.
Bryant, 41, and his daughter were on a flight over the Los Angeles county suburb of Calabasas when the helicopter reportedly crashed. The LA County Sheriff’s office confirmed in a tweet that five people were on board the flight when it crashed and there were no survivors. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed Bryant and his daughter were on board. Reports indicate the helicopter was taking Bryant and the others to his daughter’s basketball game.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department held a press conference at 2:30 p.m. local time, where Sheriff Alex Villaneuva stated that there were no survivors, adding that nine people were on board. He stated that the identities of the individuals would not be revealed at this time, and that a later statement by the coroner would identify the individuals after next of kin were notified. He added that speculation on these identities was irresponsible, and asked for patience moving forward.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement saying Bryant “one of the most extraordinary players in the history of our game.”
The Los Angeles Times reported the crash happened in the hills over Calabasas shortly after 10 a.m. local time, and that no homes or other bystanders were affected by the crash.

Bryant brought the Lakers back to NBA supremacy

Bryant entered the NBA as part of one of the most lopsided trades in league history. After jumping straight to the pros from high school, he was selected with the 13th overall pick of the 1996 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He never spent a single minute in teal, instead becoming part of a pre-draft trade that shipped him to the Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac.
In Los Angeles, Bryant helped change the trajectory of one of the league’s most storied franchises. He won five world titles along the way.
Bryant’s arrival in LA gave the Lakers a Hall of Fame foundation. Shaquille O’Neal’s first season with the franchise coincided with Bryant’s rookie year and together the pair would form one of the most devastating inside-out duos the NBA has ever seen. They’d play eight seasons together. In that span, they earned 13 all-star bids (out of a possible 14, thanks to 1999’s cancelled NBA All-Star Game), made eight straight playoff appearances, and won three straight world championships between 2000-2002.
The silky smooth shooting guard with the persistent heads-up defense was a revelation alongside his bulky running mate, but he wouldn’t become his truest, ball-dominant self until O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat in 2004. That move signified owner Jerry Buss’s desire to build around Bryant, and officially marked the transition from the Lakers’ binary star system into a universe that revolved explicitly around Bryant.
Bryant averaged nearly 29 points per game in his first nine seasons without O’Neal, earning NBA scoring crowns in 2006 and 2007. More importantly, he proved he could lead Los Angeles to the league’s highest heights without his dominant center anchoring the paint. The Lakers won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, ousting Orlando and longtime rival Boston to give the high-volume guard five NBA championship rings — one more than O’Neal.
In the process, Bryant piled up enough accolades to fill several mansions’ worth of mantle space. He was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time All-NBA honoree (with 11 first-team nods), a 12-time NBA All-Defensive team selection, a two-time NBA Finals MVP, and a four-time NBA All-Star Game MVP. His game was so respected in LA that the Lakers retired both numbers he wore in his career — No. 8 and No. 24.

Bryant left behind a complicated off-court legacy

Bryant was arrested in July 2003 in connection with a sexual assault investigation filed by a 19-year-old employee of an Eagle, Colo. hotel. Bryant was accused of rape and would later admit to having a sexual encounter with the employee, though denied the event was non-consensual.
The criminal case was dropped by local investigators more than a year later after the victim refused to testify in court. Bryant made the following statement shortly afterward:
First, I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident. I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. Although this year has been incredibly difficult for me personally, I can only imagine the pain she has had to endure. I also want to apologize to her parents and family members, and to my family and friends and supporters, and to the citizens of Eagle, Colorado.
I also want to make it clear that I do not question the motives of this young woman. No money has been paid to this woman. She has agreed that this statement will not be used against me in the civil case. Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual, I recognize now that she did not and does not view this incident the same way I did. After months of reviewing discovery, listening to her attorney, and even her testimony in person, I now understand how she feels that she did not consent to this encounter.
A civil suit followed, which Bryant settled out of court before hearings could take place.
In the years that followed, Bryant dedicated himself to his family, notably championing the youth basketball efforts of his daughters.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.26 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1667 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Saturday, January 25, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1803 - Ted Chiang - Powell's Q&A

Exhalation

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1803 - Ted Chiang - Powell's Q&A 

As of this writing, it's February 3rd. I have fallen far behind again. Quick share with no commentary as part of the catching up plan.

https://www.powells.com/post/qa/powells-qa-ted-chiang-author-of-exhalation


by Ted Chiang, May 7, 2019 9:07 AM

Describe your latest book.
My new book is titled Exhalation, and it's a collection of short fiction. It contains all the stories I've published since my first collection, as well as two stories appearing for the first time. Some of the stories originally appeared in limited print-run editions, so it's nice to have them widely available now. The stories have pretty varied settings — ranging from medieval Baghdad to the near-future to a universe made only of metal — but the theme of free will recurs in many of them. 

What was your favorite book as a child?
I don't know if I would call it my favorite, but I have powerful memories of a volume that contained both The Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe bound together back-to-back so each book got its own cover illustration. While I remember very little of the plot of either novel, I know I read that volume until it fell apart. 

Robinson CrusoeThe Swiss Family Robinson



When did you know you were a writer?
I'd make a distinction between "trying to be a writer" and "knowing one is a writer." I started trying to be a writer when I was in sixth grade, which was when I first attempted to write a novel. Before long I switched to short fiction, and I've stuck with that ever since. But it took many, many years before I was able to call myself a writer, even after I had stories published. I repeatedly encountered the assertion that a writer is unable to not write, and I found it pretty easy to not write, so I assumed that I wasn't really a writer. It probably wasn't until I was 40 or so that I came to accept the idea that writing very slowly was also a legitimate way of being a writer. 

What do you care about more than most people around you?
In the context of speculative fiction, I think I'm atypically interested in the question of how do the characters in a story understand their universe. I've heard some people say that they don't care about the plausibility of an invented world as long as the characters are believable. To me these aren't easily separated. When reading a story I often find myself thinking, Why has no one in this world ever wondered such-and-such? Why has no one ever asked this question, or attempted this experiment? 

Share an interesting experience you've had with one of your readers.
Many years ago a reader came up to me and told me that a story of mine had changed her politics. That was something I had never heard before, or since. My work isn't explicitly political; I'd characterize it as more philosophical in its focus. But over time I've come to appreciate some of the ways the philosophical and the political intersect, and that comment from that reader probably contributed to my education.

Have you ever made a literary pilgrimage? 
It wasn't exactly a pilgrimage, but once when I was visiting the University of California at Riverside, I was given a tour of the Eaton collection, one of the world's largest collections of science fiction. I asked to see a copy of the original publication of "Flowers for Algernon," the classic story by Daniel Keyes. They promptly brought out an issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1959. The table of contents for that issue is interesting: it contains an essay by Aldous Huxley and the first English-language appearance of a story by Anton Chekhov, both of whose names appear on the cover. Daniel Keyes's name isn't on the cover, but his is the story we all remember.

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

If someone were to write your biography, what would be the title and subtitle?
I once read a review that described me as "tantalizingly unprolific," and my then-girlfriend (now wife) said I should get that phrase printed on a T-shirt. I suppose that would be a reasonable title for a biography.

Offer a favorite passage from another writer.
I live in admiration of the prose of John Crowley. Here's a passage from his novel Little, Big, in which the protagonist is studying an orrery:

The screws, the balls, the rods, the springs were a syntax, not a picture. The orrery didn't model the Solar System in any visual or spatial way, if it had the pretty green-and-blue enameled Earth would have been a crumb and the whole machine would have needed to be ten times the size it was at least. No, what was expressed here, as by the inflections and predicates of a tongue, was a set of relations: and while the dimensions were fictional, the relations obtained all through, very neatly: for the language was number, and it meshed here as it did in the heavens: exactly as.

It had taken him a long time to figure that out, being unmathematical as well as unmechanical, but he had its vocabulary now, and its grammar was coming clear to him.  And he thought that, not soon perhaps but eventually, he would be able to read its huge brass and glass sentences with some comprehension, and that they would not be as Caesar's and Cicero's had turned out to be, mostly dull, hollow and without mystery, but that something would be revealed equal to the terrific encoding it had received, something he very much needed to know.


Little, Big


What's your biggest grammatical pet peeve?
While it's a usage issue rather than a grammar one, I hate the way the word "literally" has come to mean its opposite. I know that words can have multiple meanings and that language evolves, but whenever someone says something like, "I literally grabbed the bull by the horns," I want to look at them and say, "Did you now?" I realize this makes me a crabby old man. I dread the day when people preface their remarks with "seriously" as a way of indicating that they're joking. 

Do you have any phobias?
I have mild acrophobia. I can climb ladders fine, but looking down from a high ledge makes me nervous. I drew on this when writing "Tower of Babylon," in which miners climb a tower to dig through the vault of heaven. 

Name a guilty pleasure you partake in regularly.

Video games. I don't want to classify it as a guilty pleasure, though, because that would suggest that it's not a medium worthy of serious attention and I think it is. While not all video games provide emotionally powerful experiences, the same thing could be said about movies and television and I think it would be incorrect to dismiss them as guilty pleasures.
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Ted Chiang’s fiction has won four Hugo, four Nebula, and four Locus awards, and has been featured in The Best American Short Stories. His debut collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, has been translated into 21 languages. He was born in Port Jefferson, New York, and currently lives near Seattle, Washington. Exhalation is his most recent book.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.25 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1666 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Friday, January 24, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1802 - SCIENCE IS THE NEW ROCK 'N ROLL


A Sense of Doubt blog post #1802 - SCIENCE IS THE NEW ROCK 'N ROLL

I may return and add some content. Or not. I was wearing this T-shirt today, okay not today, in the future, but I posted back to today. My shirt is black and not read.

I am just posting these images to use in class.



LOW POWER MODE: I sometimes put the blog in what I call LOW POWER MODE. If you see this note, the blog is operating like a sleeping computer, maintaining static memory, but making no new computations. If I am in low power mode, it's because I do not have time to do much that's inventive, original, or even substantive on the blog. This means I am posting straight shares, limited content posts, reprints, often something qualifying for the THAT ONE THING category and other easy to make posts to keep me daily. That's the deal. Thanks for reading.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.24 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1665 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1801 - Teaching Social Justice in Theory and Practice

The Social Justice Classroom

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1801 - Teaching Social Justice in Theory and Practice

Just a share, today. This one came from Concordia University, and I liked it. I always try to inspire students to seek social justice.


https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/teaching-social-justice/


FOR TEACHERS

Teaching Social Justice in Theory and Practice

By Caitrin Blake  May 13, 2015
Historically, classrooms have been the stage for social change, providing a venue to promote and accelerate new ideas. In addition to academic instruction, one of a classroom teacher’s most important roles is to help students develop the critical thinking, collaboration, and self-reflection skills necessary to foster a better society.

Goals of social justice

Social justice doesn’t manifest in a singular fashion, nor is it achieved through a specific means of instruction. Students studying this field use critical examination of themselves, others, institutions and events to find patterns of inequality, bigotry or discrimination, then explore possible solutions to the problems they’ve identified. Social justice advocates hope to build a society in which individuals have equal access to resources and receive equitable treatment regardless of their race, gender, religion, sexuality, income level or disability.
Enabling conversations about these issues empowers students to voice their concern and question unjust situations in their lives or in the lives of those around them. To help students examine systemic inequality, teachers can have them consider questions such as:
  • Who makes decisions and who is left out?
  • Who benefits and who suffers?
  • Why is a given practice fair or unfair?
  • What is required to create change?
  • What alternatives can we imagine?
Through answering these questions, students can start to recognize injustice existing at the micro and macro levels.

Adding the philosophy of social justice to the classroom

In “Rethinking Our Classrooms,” Wayne Au, Bill Bigelow and Stan Karp write that “classrooms can be places of hope, where students and teachers gain glimpses of the kind of society we could live in and where students learn the academic and critical skills needed to make it a reality.”
However, classrooms can also shut down that conversation, whether it’s in order to prepare for standardized tests, through a lack of discussion time, or because a teacher simply doesn’t understand or value cultural competency. In order to foster classroom social justice, teachers must first build a safe, encouraging place where students can speak about their experiences and beliefs.

Fostering a classroom community of conscience

The first way to promote social justice in the classroom is to create a community of conscience. This environment ensures that students’ voices, opinions and ideas are valued and respected by their instructor and peers. Teachers can establish a community of conscience by creating rules that teach fairness in classroom discussions and behavior.
Productive conversations can be created by teaching students to share their ideas and respond to the ideas of others in a way that allows for disagreement but still values the student’s perspective. Teachers can model questions and answers that illustrate ways to thoughtful conversation rather than making students feel bad or devalued by their classmates. By providing model responses, teachers can illustrate to students how a good response helps to enrich a conversation whereas some responses can shut discussions down.

Helping students see each other as co-learners rather than adversaries

Ideally, students should view each other as academic siblings or co-learners instead of competitors. This perspective allows students to understand that while disagreements may occur, they must work together to increase their knowledge.
If students don’t perceive the classroom as competitive, they can approach the learning process as a path to solving problems instead of a mark of achievement only available to a few students. By creating this sort of classroom environment, teachers enable students to build each other up in conversation and action.

Including diverse experiences and backgrounds in classroom materials

Teachers can also strengthen the classroom community through learning experiences that draw upon the diverse backgrounds of their students. New information that includes multiple perspectives will better resonate with students’ previous knowledge.
Teachers must also be aware of the messages sent by the learning materials they use. To determine if texts are privileging certain narratives, teachers need to analyze whether they recount an event — the Civil War, for example — from multiple points of view or favor the dominant culture.
When choosing class materials, teachers should employ books, articles and lesson plans that include diverse voices and cultures. Educators also may need to call upon colleagues or community members from specific backgrounds in order to better understand their cultures.

Social justice in the real world: classroom discussions that help students critically engage with issues that affect them

Once teachers are able to foster a learning environment that enables thoughtful discussions with a variety of opinions and perspectives, they can facilitate conversations about real-world issues that affect students’ everyday lives. Students need to be able to recognize real-world problems and critically engage with these issues.

Racism and social justice

Racism in the United States has been the focus in several high-profile incidents of violence against people of color. As students explore issues like the Trayvon Martin case or witness racism in their own lives, they need to be able to bring up these issues in class discussions. They also need to be able to recognize ways racism masquerades as normal treatment and question this treatment.

Bullying, friendship and dating behavior

While young people are fairly adept at recognizing overt bullying in the form of assault, name-calling and online harassment, they might not be aware of the other ways that bullying can manifest. Students should be taught about the harm done by smaller behaviors that are often normalized as a part of the adolescent experience.
It’s important that students recognize this behavior both in their own actions and those of peers. Examples include groups of girls who exclude or mistreat one member, boys who prove their masculinity by dominating and controlling others, or anyone who bullies a peer due to their declared or perceived gender or sexuality.
Students should also learn they have a right to healthy romantic relationships. To do so, they must understand issues of consent and be able to tell the difference between positive dating behavior and the use of coercion, humiliation or other forms of abuse.

Turning social justice learning into community service and action

Once students are able to recognize and discuss social injustice, teachers can help them act upon the issues they see. Teachers can use service learning projects to connect their classroom to the surrounding community. Through long- and short-term projects, students can meet specific needs by participating in book and food drives, gardening or park care, or mentoring at-risk students.
Social justice classes can also use activist strategies such as social media campaigns, demonstrations and teach-ins to raise awareness of an issue and build support for positive change. Teachers can connect engagement in these activities to writing assignments that enable students to reflect upon how their actions have the potential to evoke social change.
Ultimately, social justice can’t be taught in one easy lesson. It is a value that gets integrated into the teaching philosophies and actions of teachers. By helping students feel safe and encouraged, teachers can help students start asking the right questions and then participate in ways that are purposeful and productive.
Caitrin Blake has a BA in English and Sociology from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree in English literature from the University of Colorado Denver. She teaches composition at Arapahoe Community College.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2001.23 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1664 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.