Favorite and Least Favorite Things...

My favorite thing about this class was being able to work at my own pace, being able to meet new people even though this was an online class, and learn information I feel that I will actually use in my life. I like to feel in control of my work and study time so taking this class definitely allowed me to do that. I also enjoyed that even though this was an online class, we had the opportunity to meet the people in the class and get to work with them, instead of just being alone all the time. Lastly, I liked that the information we learned during the course of the semester will come to use during the rest of our time at SJSU and even into our careers and life.   However the things I liked the least was not actually having a teacher to push me to work harder.  This cannot be improved, except for if I was to take a class with an actual teacher meeting time. 

What I've Learned

I have learned a lot in this class. I thought that because it was online I was not going to have to do a lot of work and get an easy A. However, this was not the case; I had to do a lot of work and actually try to get a good grade. As a result, this class has taught me not only academic lessons but life lessons as well. I learned how to space out my work and not wait until the last minute to do things, and that I should not judge a class before I know about it. As for the academic things I learned, there is quite a few.  One of the things I learned is how to examine an argument. I feel as though this will be important in my career since I will have a lot of people arguing against what I have to say; and having the skills to examine their argument and have the ability to argue effectively back will help a lot. 

Mission Critical & Causal Argument

            The Mission Critical website and the Causal Argument website were both very helpful. I thought that they are helpful resources for when I need help with not only critical thinking but other classes as well. I found the mission critical website helpful because it gave specific example. On this website it not only tells you a definition of different types of statements, as well as other things, but it gives you a specific example to show you what the definition means. I also found this website to be helpful because it had exercises to engage me with the site and further my learning.  The causal argument website was also helpful. I found this site to be helpful for when I am writing a paper or speech because it focusses on arguments. I liked how this site was easy to understand and easy to use for a later class or assignment. 

Gemini Horoscope

You are extremely hardworking and ambitious on the professional level today. This morning you are able to sit down alone and get many things accomplished. You could be most persuasive with authority figures. The situation is a natural for self-expression and lends itself to your particular ideas and thoughts. This is a significantly fortunate day for you. Communication with friends or relatives may be on your mind this evening. You could find yourself writing and phoning--keeping in touch. This coming weekend is a good time to take a vacation or make short trips. Setting out on a trip this evening may be a little taxing--don't be too rushed! Sharing common dreams or goals with loved ones this evening can only bring good fortune to you now.

I believe that my horoscope for today is accurate, or will be. I start work later tonight but I know that I will be extremely hard working today since it is Friday and our store gets very busy. However, for the part that says I will get many things accomplished this morning, I can prove false. The reason this is not true is because I worked late last night and slept for most of the morning, resulting in not getting anything accomplished.  The next part of the horoscope is also possible true. I have the weekend off and plan to take a mini vacation with friends or family.  The prediction could be falsified if my friends are busy this weekend, or if something comes up and I have to go in to work; having one of those happen would defiantly not allow me to take the mini vacation. Overall my horoscope seems to be very accurate for what I have planned today, and this weekend. 

Internet

I found the section on the internet most interesting this week. In this section, how the internet affects our daily lives, social networking and misuse of the internet. I was surprised to learn that during the 2000’s the internet more than tripled the amount of users, and that more than 1.8 billion people a day use the internet. Another fact that was interesting to me was that college students spend more time on the internet than studying. I thought this was revelent to this class since it is online and we have to use the computer to ‘study’. Social networking is also a large part of why students spend so much time online. In the book it said that 86b percent of college freshman use social networking sites. President Obama also used the internet and social network sites to help get young voters out in the 2008 election. Even with all the good the internet can bring there is also a bad side. The internet allows information to be accessed easily whether that is private or not.  With new technology there will always be people to find ways to make it seem bad, we just need to find ways to prevent this from happening. 

Plagiarism in College

Plagiarism is an issue that has become a bigger problem in the last few years. This is mostly because of the easy access to the internet and information.  College students have been seen using plagiarism the most and arguments on whether this is good and bad have risen. Brook Sadler argues that plagiarism is wrong and how it negatively affects the student. She states that during plagiarism the student does not actually lean what the professor has intended and that the idea of higher education is jeopardized. On the other hand, Russell Hunt argues that plagiarism is beneficial.  Hunt states that students do not always need to write their own work because it will not help them in real life. He also explains that by plagiarizing students learn how it really works. I believe that Sadler has a better argument. She has stronger argument points and information to back up those points. 

Media Experiences

Media plays a big role in my life. I am always connected to the internet and social networking sites that keep me updated with current news. I would say that media has helped shape my worldviews because it gives me an idea to what is happening in the world.  Without the media I would not have access to this information. The news on television and online is how I find out the big events that are happening in the world and locally. The social media component, such as facebook and twitter is how I find out what is happening that is not as important news but still affects me.  I would not say that media has challenged my worldwide views but, helped me become aware that not everything you hear is the truth. This is especially true when two news stations are reporting different facts of the same story. Media is something that shapes everybody’s world view whether for good or bad is up to how you interpret the information. 

Wootan vs Liodice

Children’s health is a very important topic in the news today. There have been many laws and regulations made for the food choices and advertisements that are available for children. These restrictions have created a large argument. Margo Wootan, a director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest argues that the new restrictions are beneficial to society. She stated that the regulations help children not be exposed to non-nutritious foods that are harmful to their health.  On the other hand, Robert Liodice, president of the Association of National Advertisers argues that the regulations are an infringement of the first amendment. Liodice explains that as a free country we are allowed to express ourselves how we want, but the regulations on food advertisements do not allow companies to do so. I believe that Robert Liodice makes a better argument because he uses the first amendment as an example, and many people take the first amendment very seriously.  

UFO’s: Real or Not?

UFO’s are something that people either believe in or not. I personally believe that there is a possibility that UFO’s are real. Scientists are the same way, they believe in them or don’t. For example, Edward Condon does not believe that UFO’s can exist. He supports his argument by saying that there is physical proof of the ‘thing’ in the sky being something other than an UFO, and the reason why we do not study into UFO information is because scientists have better advancements to make in science. The next scientist, J. Allen Hynek, believes there is a possibility that UFO’s can exist. The evidence he uses is all the reported sightings of an UFO by people. He also believes that in order to make progress data must be collected to make the final decision. Lastly, Royston Paynter is not sure to whether UFO’s are real or not.  He states that we must have physical evidence to support the belief that they are real however, aliens are smart and would not leave behind evidence that they were here..

Social Biases and Errors

This week I found it helpful to recognize the types of social biases and errors we make. Learning what they are will help me be aware when I make one or help me not make the biases in the first place. The first error is a “one of them/one of us” error. In this error we group people as either with us or not. This creates a problem because we treat those not ‘with’ us differently and often badly. Social expectations are the next type of bias. We often have collective delusions of people because it is socially acceptable, regardless of our worldview. Next is the group pressure and conformity. Behaving in a way that we would not normally because the rest of the group is, is what this error is. We want to fit in with the group we are with so we do what everybody is doing. Lastly we often commit diffusion of responsibility. This is where when there is a large amount of people together the chance of somebody helping in an emergency is lower because everybody thinks somebody else will do something. 

Wisdom and Knowledge

I believe that wisdom is something you gain with experience and knowledge is what you learn to gain the wisdom. The definition of knowledge from the book is, information which we believe to be true and for which we have justification or evidence.  Wisdom is defined as the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment by the dictionary. In order to have wisdom you first must have knowledge. I do not think that anybody can be wise without first learning something, whether it is scholarly or social. College is a place where you gain knowledge that you will use to live in the world. Wisdom comes from experiences which increase with age. I believe that the knowledge we gain as we grow up help us become wiser. This is because we not only have the information to solve a problem but the chance that we have experienced something similar before and know how the outcomes affect our lives.   

Types of Definitions

I did not know there are so many different types of definitions. I knew there was a dictionary definition and a personal definition, but stipulative, lexical, precising, theoretical, operational, and persuasive definitions. The first type of definition is a stipulative definition. This type is “given to a new term of new combination of old terms”. An example of this is the word laptop, there was not a definition for this word before computers were made but now we have computers and laptops. A lexical definition is, “the commonly used dictionary definition”. For example, the definition of house is a building for human habitation. Precising definitions are used to reduce vagueness that goes beyond the lexical definition. When the phrase ‘term paper’ is used a teacher must include a precising definition to explain what they want for that paper.  Within a précising definition there are two categories, theoretical and operations. A theoretical definition is a definition that explains a term’s nature; while an operational is a standard measure for a use in data collection and interpretation. The last type of definition is a persuasive definition. This is explained as, a definition used as a means to influence others to accept our view. For example, theft is given a negative definition as it is looked down upon. 

Rhetoric Devices

The rhetoric devices explained in the book are used a lot by our society. Some of the types they listed in the book were: euphemism, dysphemism, sarcasm, and hyperbole. Personally I use sarcasm and hyperbole the most. Sarcasm is defined as the use of ridicule, insults, taunting, and/or caustic irony. An example of when I used sarcasm in the last week is when I was talking with one of my friends. We were talking about my old cheer uniforms when he asked what I did with them. I responded with, “I wear them around the house” and he thought I was serious. I do not actually wear them anymore.  A hyperbole is defined as a rhetorical device that uses exaggeration. Hyperbole is easier for me to think of an example because it’s so easy to use. The example I’m going to use is when I’m hungry; I often say I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. I cannot actually eat a horse but I feel as though I could. 

Sally Ride

Sally Ride is a very intelligent woman who knows how to think critically. Achieving the title of the first and youngest American woman in space is not something that anybody can do. The ability to think critically is something that can get somebody farther in life than those who cannot. I believe that Sally Ride is a critical thinker. The first reason I believe she is a critical thinker is because she loved to solve problems as a child. This is one of the characteristics of somebody who is a critical thinker. Being able to solve problems and in a creative way helps you think critically. Ride was also described as being “calm and totally focused” in college, this is another characteristic of a critical thinker. Open-mindedness is important when describing a critical thinker. Having an open mind allows a critical thinker to make a decision on fact and evidence rather than just their personal beliefs. Critical thinking is something that can take you far in life and we all should work towards becoming a better critical thinker. 

God vs. Evolution

Evolution and a belief in God I believe are incompatible. I think this because if your truly believe in evolution then the idea of God does not make sense. Evolution is the idea that all things living on Earth came from a simple thing to a more complex thing, such as a cell to a human.  With this being said, God would have not been able to create the world like it is believed he did. God is believed to create the Earth in 6 days. This belief does not support evolution. Richard Dawkins points out many things that support my belief that the belief in God and the belief in evolution are incompatible. One of the examples he give is, The Argument from Degree. In this example he states that just because somebody is not the maximum of something does not mean that there is a higher being that is and they are God.  I think Aquinas would respond by arguing that Dawkins does not fully support the idea that God does not exist with examples, he just uses personal belief.  

Recognizing Your Strengths

Recognizing your strengths is something that is very important. When I was in high school I wanted to be a fashion designer, and that was what I was going to go to school for. However, I am not a very good drawer and would not be able to draw my designs of clothes. Recognizing this helped me change my mind and do something that I was better at, Science. For argument type I’m strongest in inductive, this is because you can never guarantee an answer is going to the right one. This is easiest for me since I use it a lot in my everyday life already. Being good at inductive arguments can help me with my career as a nutritionist because getting people to eat right is not going to be easy and giving them a probable outcome to their actions is better than saying something will happen when there is always a chance it might not.  

Organization Communication

This week I found the whole chapter of communication within organizations really helpful and interesting. I did not notice that that much work and effort went in to communication with in a group of people. The tips for communicating via telephone and teleconference were helpful for the future. Learning now when to call people and how to make a successful conference call will defiantly come handy with future jobs. I also like learning about the open and closed systems in organizations. Having an open system allows new ideas to come in when they are needed. Being an open system organization benefits them a lot because they can reform or come up with new ways to do something without becoming bankrupt or forced to shut down. The last topic in the chapter I found interesting was, the relationship between team leaders and team members. Having recently gotten a new job this has helped me be a better team member and communicate efficiently with other members and even my leader. 

Inductive Argument in Real Life

Picking an example to use for the inductive argument I used this week was difficult to pick. I almost always use inductive arguments. The one I choose was deciding what to wear to school. I knew that on Monday it had rained and was cold outside, and I only wore a sweatshirt and that Tuesday it was not going to rain but it was going to be windy and cold so I wore a long sleeve shirt. So I figured on Wednesday it would also be cold but I should wear a warm jacket. This is an example of an inductive argument because I did not know that it would be cold on Wednesday, I just assumed it would because of the weather from the two earlier days. More specifically this example is a generalization because I used the two earlier days as an example of what the weather would be like for one specific day.  Even with my generalization I was able to dress comfortably for the day and was not cold! 

Joe Camel and Smoking

Dr. Novello used cause and effect inductive reasoning in this argument because she related the cause of young people smoking with the ads. The tobacco companies used a character that would attract children and teens to start smoking so they would have more customers. Dr. Novello noticed this and decided to do something. Dr. Novello saw a positive correlation with the number of young smokers and how often Joe Camel was shown. This is part of the cause and effect argument because correlation of the two events are looked at. After looking at the statistics of children and teens smoking before and after the introduction of Joe Camel, a character in Camel cigarettes she noticed more and more young people started smoking. This is a cause and effect because Dr. Novello noticed since the introduction of Joe Camel more young people were smoking. She did not know for a fact that was the reason why children and teens had started smoking but she noticed a strong relationship. 

Leaders

I did not know that there was that many types of leaders, I thought that all leaders were the same or very similar. The book discusses four types of leaders: authoritarian, consultative, participative, and laissez-faire.  An authoritarian leader makes the decisions for the group without communicating with them or hearing what they want to do. A consultative leader makes the decisions for the group based on what the group members want.  Participative leaders work with their group members to make the group decisions. Lastly laissez-faire leaders have little leadership within the group.  All types of leaders have a benefit for their style of leadership, some may be beneficial for the type of group they lead or the situation they are presented. Learning the different types of leaders and the characteristics of their leadership style helped me know how I can lead people when I need to in the best way.