Now after analyzing your books in your journals, you have the chance to discuss your thoughts and reactions to the arguments you encountered in your books. Feel free to use any of the prompts to respond to--DON'T feel like you need to answer all of them.
* Why should people read this book? What is important, significant, or life-changing about the argument and the information presented? Or, why shouldn't they waste their time with this book? What was disappointing, frustrating, or even disturbing about what the writer did here?
* How did this book affect and influence your own thinking about the issue? What did you think/believe before you started the book? What do you think/believe now? What was the most compelling part of the book that influenced your own thinking?
* What did you learn by reading this book that you would like to share with others? What connections did you make with the reading? What new insights and understandings do you now have?
* How successful was the author's argument? What did the author achieve? What didn't he/she achieve?
A good blog post will have an angle or a focus that will be hinted at in the title. This angle will be the driving focus of the blog post. It will discuss only a few really important specifics from the book, but it will discuss them deeply. It will make connections between the reading and personal observations and/or experiences. The writing will be clear, effective, and have a sense of voice. Length: approx. 250-300 words.
After you post your blog, read the posts of your peers and respond to them. Try to engage in a conversation with at least 2 or 3 other people today. Be respectful in your responses and share ideas.
* Why should people read this book? What is important, significant, or life-changing about the argument and the information presented? Or, why shouldn't they waste their time with this book? What was disappointing, frustrating, or even disturbing about what the writer did here?
* How did this book affect and influence your own thinking about the issue? What did you think/believe before you started the book? What do you think/believe now? What was the most compelling part of the book that influenced your own thinking?
* What did you learn by reading this book that you would like to share with others? What connections did you make with the reading? What new insights and understandings do you now have?
* How successful was the author's argument? What did the author achieve? What didn't he/she achieve?
A good blog post will have an angle or a focus that will be hinted at in the title. This angle will be the driving focus of the blog post. It will discuss only a few really important specifics from the book, but it will discuss them deeply. It will make connections between the reading and personal observations and/or experiences. The writing will be clear, effective, and have a sense of voice. Length: approx. 250-300 words.
After you post your blog, read the posts of your peers and respond to them. Try to engage in a conversation with at least 2 or 3 other people today. Be respectful in your responses and share ideas.
Pleasant Irony
ReplyDeleteBy Eliana Yanoff
My book is Gay Marriage: why it is good for gays, good for straights, and good for America By Jonathan Rauch. The point of this book is to make an argument for why gay marriage should be legalized. What caught my attention however, is the fact that Rauch brings up several points that I didn’t even think of, like the effect that the legalization of gay marriage will have on heterosexuals. I never even considered that there might be an effect on straight people that gay marriage would have. The author argues that this would have a positive effect, because marriage has a sort of taming effect on people specifically men. So if more people are allowed to marry, then the world will be a better place. The thing that I find to be ironic about this book is that because it was written in 2004, a lot of reforms have been made since it was published. Gay marriage has been legalized in many places, so it’s kind of interesting to read this book nowadays now that many of the authors predictions have become reality. This is especially true in the case of chapter ten, where the author proposes a plan for how gay marriage should be legalized. The plan was to let the states work it out on their own and try different approaches, for example, one state might go for full legalization, one might give all the benefits of marriage to civil unions, one might offer benefits for child care, you get the idea. Isn’t it ironic how that is pretty much what happened? And his idea has worked too! Now that gay marriage has been legalized in a lot of places, I feel that the world has been improving.
This sounds like an interesting book. Very relevant to today considering that Gay marriage has been in the news a lot lately. I'll bet that it was an stramge perspective having been written in 2004.
DeleteI wonder how this book would be written differently if it was written more recently?
DeleteThe book seems very interesting because of how its predictions came true. It is such a controversial topic so its always interesting to see when someone takes the topic and just talks freely about what they believe on the subject, and how they believe the issues will be resolved.
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DeleteThe Success of Mass Murder
ReplyDelete“What We Knew” by Eric Johnson is a book educating the common reader on the terrors and tragedies of everyday life in Nazi Germany. The significance of the book is so important and anyone who reads will definitely be more informed and emotionally touched.
Johnson interviewed over 50 survivors and asked them questions about how they lived and even who they killed. The honesty of people was astounding and their openness to retell their stories of survival really helped the author’s argument. If they had not opened up in that way, Johnson's argument would never have been persuasive or even remotely interesting. Of course, the honesty was quite disturbing. Stories told of how a Nazi killed Jews or a Jewish father strangled with a packaging cord is quite graphic but Johnson needed this information to prove his claim.
You should read this book because it is informative on a subject we all would like to avoid. During the last few chapters of the book, Johnson analyzes the interviews and surveys he sent out. The author does not avoid any facts, no matter how upsetting or gruesome. You should read this book because the facts and the stories bring new insight into what life was really like during Nazi Germany. The interviewee’s stories share how hard and hopeless life was for them and how some Nazis do not regret killing, but some do.
This book changed my thinking of the Holocaust by telling facts straight up and hearing real stories of everyday life. The terrors were truly horrifying and the mass murder is put into perspective when you read about how terrified people were, even non-Jewish Germans. You should read this book because of the factual evidence to prove the argument and intensity of truth about everyday life terrors during Nazi Germany.
I guess you don't really know just how bad things were until you get information first hand from people who have actually experienced the tragedy.
DeleteWow! I'm not sure if I want to know about all the awful things that happened during the Holocuast, but it sure does sound like an interesting book. When was this book published? Because if he interviewed fifty survivors, it must be pretty dated.
Delete@ Abigail
Delete2010
It seems like this book could change your entire view on the Holocaust due to its honesty. It sounds like a very interesting book because it opens up on something not talked about as in depth as it seems it was here.It does also seem like a tough read though.
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ReplyDeleteThe claim you mentioned in the first sentence was true for a lot of painters as well.
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ReplyDeleteFootball is a Scary Sport to Play
ReplyDeleteCarla McClafferty’s book, Fourth Down and Inches, barely changed my opinion on football, but did show me more facts and aspects of football that I didn’t know. She teaches the reader about the safety used in football, but that it really isn’t enough because the brutality and violence in football can get past most any safety precautions. From the beginning, I knew that football is a terrifying sport to play on the field with another team ready to take you down as hard as they can, literally, but I didn’t know that some of the effects of football could be so extremely severe and life changing.
From this book, the reader learns that there are many different types of concussions that take place in different parts of the brain from different kinds of impacts that affect the person involved in different ways. Not only can these concussions end a football player’s career, but they can end characteristics/traits that the person has, or even their life. The author gets to these points by using stories from people who were injured by football in high school, college, or pro to make the reader sympathetic to what happened to them. This use of pathos appeal greatly influenced my perspective of playing football and how horrifying it can be to be on the field getting ready to risk your future and your life for the game you love.
I believe that the author’s argument was successful because she deeply implanted in my mind that I will never play football because risking your life in that way is just too scary for me between concussions, broken legs, etc. I run, and running can have long term effects on your body which can be negative, but there are more positive aspects of running that also stay with you for life. Reading about football and how most of the effects of playing the sport are negative, helped me to better appreciate my choice of watching football and not playing it, and running instead.
I agree with this fully. It is always difficult when it comes to exercising because the amount of research being done changes the playing field (no pun intended) so much. It is interesting to read the different theories. It sort of sounds like the author is a little biased towards football. Would you say the author was?
Delete@Lucas
DeleteI think the author was biased, but not very much. She did provide a good amount of counterarguments about why people play football to balance out why people shouldn't play football due to all of the risks. Overall however, I think she does make a good arguement about how the dangers of football outweigh the safety precautions given, even though she is a bit biased.
I also did not even realize how dangerous football really was.
DeleteObviously I know you can get seriosuly hurt but not that you could lose apart of yourself. I also agree with Lucas, what if i wrote the book or anyone who knows absoluutely nothing about football? How would the evidence be presented differently?
@emma
DeleteI think that if someone who knew nothing about football wrote this book, the book would have little evidence to back up their claims and vague claims to begin with. Although the author probably hasn't played football becasue she is a girl, it's very obvious in the reading that she did her "homework," due to all of her references to articles, interviews, and quantitative evidence. The evidence of someone who knew nothing about football would be presented in a questionable way probably, and I would feel different after reading that book than I do after reading this one - I would feel less sure on what they would be saying as opposed to this book which I feel very confident is accurate in the information it provides.
While the book sounds good is doesn't sound revolutionary. Concussions are somewhat common knowledge and I have heard about them before, and the danger they pose. There is even a movie coming out about the original court case with the NFL.
Delete@Sean
DeleteThe book isn't revolutionary, but there's a lot more to concussions than what common knowledge covers. Reading the book would help you to better understand the types of concussions and more information about them.
I comletely agree with the negative aspects of playing football. If you were asked if football should be kept as a high school sport, would you say yes?
DeleteI think this sounds very interesting. You always hear about football injuries, and some last the player's entire lifetime! Pretty scary to think about...
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ReplyDeleteAtlantis, Where the Claims are Made Up and the Evidence Doesn't Matter
ReplyDeleteIs Atlantis real? Where is Atlantis, or where would it have been thousands of years ago? Who or what shaped our world in the beginning? After reading Atlantis and the Seven Stars by Jack Countryman, one would be very disappointed to know that this book tries, and fails, to answer these questions.
What makes an argument good? One would assume that it would take strong evidence, lots of logical claims, and the knowing of your audience to make a compelling, or at least competent, argument. The author of this book does none of these things and in the end, I was not convinced that Plato was trying to tell us that the Greek Gods were actually giant aliens that visited Earth thousands of years ago and populated our world by breeding with the natives, and then travelling back to the Taurus constellation in their giant spaceship. One would assume that such a large claim as that would require an extreme amount of evidence in order to prove it true. According to Jack Countryman however, the best kind of evidence, is educated guessing. This and many other glaring issues with the book made it a chore to sit through.
One problem I had with the book was the way things were structured. It felt like I was listening to the ramblings of a madman. The author would constantly jump from faulty evidence to another piece of faulty evidence (faulty evidence in this case meaning no source given, or something the author just assumed based on something Plato or Aristotle said), with no conclusion or follow up to, well, anything. From the claims, to the chapters, to even the book itself, everything just abruptly ends as if the author knew that he backed himself into a corner with no logical evidence or any relevant/interesting information, and just decided to stop writing about whatever he was rambling about and just moved on to something else.
In closing, do not read this book if you are looking for a compelling, interesting argument about Atlantis. If you are however, looking to peer into the mind of a madman with no way to prove his madness, then this book is just for you.
Ha Ha! Your title is funny!
DeleteI feel like people that do believe this, simply can not be argued with. The whole idea of "you can not not prove this was what he was trying to say" is one of the worst things you can say in an argument, yet it seems like nowadays more and more people are using that and getting away with it even more now. The only reason I would read a book that consists of crazy theories like the ones you mentioned would be just for a good laugh
DeleteThis book sounds extremely interesting, especially since I really like Mythology and the Greek Gods' stories. However, when you say "rambling," do you mean that the author writes many run-on sentences or just talks about the same topic or what-have-you for a longer time than he should?
Delete@Abigail
DeleteThe author would go on, and on about utter nonsense based on one piece of evidence, as if he were a crazy dude muttering to himself about what he would do if he conquered the world, without ever telling how he would conquer the world.
I honestly feel as though after reading this, I don't need to read the book. Not because it sounds like a bad book or anything, just because I feel like you basically just rewrote the book here, and probably used more evidence here than was used in the book. That said, the rants of a madman do sound pretty funny
DeleteWhat I never really understood about the whole ancient aliens is how the aliens would supposedly have left behind a large number of monuments and structures, but no other archaeological evidence or proper records.
DeleteSooner Rather Than Later
ReplyDeleteIt is claimed that a lot of writers do not get credit until they pass away. If that is the case with Jeffrey Sachs, the author of The End of Poverty, I believe that the world that we know will only get worse and worse. In this book, Sachs makes a plan on how to end poverty, why we should and shows a ton of evidence to back it up. This is not a book you pick up at anytime to breeze through, it is a tough read. This author is so successful in arguing his claim that I believe around ninety percent of people that read this book will agree by the end of it.
This book, if given the credit and time to really take in all of the information, will be one of the most important books of our time. That said, not everyone might make it through the first half of the book, which goes into the entire history of economics. The good thing about that is he gives a very clear explanation for those who might not know a lot about the subject, and gives details that people who know a lot about economics, may not have known.
While of course I believed that we should end poverty, this book really made me realize just how much our generation could help to solve this issue. I believe that our generation will not do it. It also made me realize just how much money the Government spends. The contrast that the author presents between the amount of money that goes into the military and the amount of money that goes into aid for countries stricken with poverty is the opposite of what it should be right now. I suggest that people stop making excuses, and really try to end this crisis.
While I believe you in the fact that this book got you convinced, I have some questions.
DeleteWho is Jeffrey Sachs? Why should we believe what he says? What is his plan for the economy? Will the countries that are currently superpowers lost their status as all powerful and be equal?
Other than that, it sounds like an interesting book.
It's impressive that you were able to digest this much from that difficult of a book in the amount of time we had to read. Do you think this book has effected how you look at childhood poverty?
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Delete@Benjamin
DeleteHe is an economist. I did not mention it because I did not want too much summary. It would be difficult to explain one of his ideas in a page. Also, he helped try to fix economies for Governments from the mid 80's to the early 90's including when the Soviet Union was turning into Russia (and just how difficult that was)
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DeleteSorry. Your book sounds good.
Delete@Zoe
DeleteIt definitely was not easy. I have always felt very strongly about child poverty. The book definitely amplified that feeling of wanting to fix it.The book focused a lot more on poverty and poverty traps in general. At the start, the author described his visits to countries which definitely proved to me the necesity to fix this.
Your faith in our generation is astounding! That said, I completely agree with you on that our generation will not fix this. Even if someone could get us to read this book, with the culture of this time, people would just put it off until its too late, or say "It's not my problem"
DeleteThe Nurture Effect? More Like The cOoOOOoooOooOOoL Effect
ReplyDeleteThe Nurture Effect by Anthony Biglan is about the astounding effects a positive environment can have on a child. Being interested in psychology, I found it fascinating the different effects that a child’s environment can have. It can completely determine whether or not someone grows up to be an educated scholar, or a murderous psychopath. It mostly derives from their childhood, and how they were raised. For instance someone who grew up with abuse and neglect is far more likely to be commit a crime then someone who grew up with warm and welcoming parents. The author firmly believes that if we can implement programs that help provide a nurturing environment for children, then we can achieve a future that is better for his grandchildren.
The author divides the book into four parts. It is structured in a way that makes you understand what the problem is, why we should fix it, how we can fix it, and what would happen if we fixed it. I felt like I could raise a child by the end of this book (except I wouldn’t), because of all the information he provided on different ways to encourage children to be prosocial. I am completely convinced that prosocial behavior could drastically improve our society, because of the ideal the author provided and the evidence he had to back it up. This ideal involves a lower crime rate, a lower unemployment rate, and Maria Barrera as president for some reason. (She was the mom on Wizards of Waverly Place)
This book sounds really interesting! Where did the author's evidence come from? I like the claim and I'm sure there are many studies proving the argument, but how would it change the perspective of someone who is having a child or has a child who is not in high school?
DeleteIt could persuade someone to be kinder to their child, as opposed to screaming at them when they mess up. It can teach parents that there is a middle ground between letting all their mistakes slide and just yelling at them after every single one. It teaches parents what to do to encourage prosocial behavior. Also most of the evidence was done by previous experiments done by behavioral scientists.
DeleteAfter reeading this book, what do you think happens to parents that are too "soft" on their children?
DeleteThese children will most likely be less interested/motivated in school, as their are no consequences for doing doing poorly.
DeleteThis is a very interesting proposal, but I too wonder about the authors sources, or even the publication date of the book. While I'm sure much of the book is founded in truth, I have heard from other sources that childhood is definitely not the only factor in a person's predisposition later in life, nor can you predict what someone will by evaluating their starting conditions.
DeleteI also find what you say about giving children a prosocial upbringing to be very interesting. Does the author propose any way that could be used to guarantee all or most children are raised this way? Or is it written as a tool for inspiring people to find this way?
The way children are raised most definitely impacts them for the rest of their life. Our brains are very moldable, especially at a young age. Even the smallest, unintentional thing can affect how a child act. Setting an example for the future generations could positively impact them in a big way.
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ReplyDeleteMy Biased Opinion of an Important Event
ReplyDelete“What We Knew” by Eric Johnson was an interesting book but does not come recommended for this project. The claim was about how contrary to popular belief, during the Holocaust, the Germans knew what was happening to the Jews, but many chose to stand by and watch it all happen. It was an interesting claim and I can connect personally to it with my family history, however the author tended to be repetitive and I often found myself debating over whether or not I enjoyed this book.
It had an interesting set up, which is what I enjoyed. It was sectioned off with interviews of Jews during the Holocaust, then interviews of Germans, and it ended with other surveys and a conclusion. I found that the author did a great job of addressing all sides to the story, and although I am obviously biased with my opinion, he was able to step back and provide explanations of things which allowed me to be open to other points of view during this period.
I learned a lot from the book, with the content but also from the author. My family told me many stories about the Holocaust, how my great uncle had to escape from Germany and hide in forests and on farms, once having to disguise as a woman so he wouldn’t be separated from his family. Through some of these interviews, it’s clear that many Jews were able to forgive, but never forget. If this author was able to show me how there were multiple sides to this story, I believe that he can do it for almost anyone, making his argument incredibly successful.
As you may be able to tell by this post, I am greatly conflicted on how I feel about this book. There were certain times when I felt that I wasn’t sure how I could POSSIBLY write another entry, when I felt that the author’s claim was constantly repeating through the interviews of the 50+ people, but the argument of the book kept me going for an overall very interesting read.
Did the book give an account from just the Jewish victims, or any other victims of the Holocaust?
DeleteThat sounds like a brutal read. It is always tough about reading books about events like that. When were these interviews done? It seems like that would have a great impact on the argument. Also, there are two documentaries on the holocaust called "Shoah" and "Night and Fog" that might interest you if you want anymore information on this topic (they are both very sad as well)
DeleteI could definitely believe the author. While I am sure some people didn't know I think it is probable that most did because of the huge stigma against jewish people at that time as Hitler passed so much blame onto them for creating the country's problems. It is so easy to pass blame onto a people than to fix the problem in general... :(
DeleteIf You Are Interested in the Social Side of Statistics This Book is Worth a Read; You might Even be Surprised by Some of it.
ReplyDeleteThe sequel to Joel Best’s Damned Lies and Statistics, More Damned Lies and Statistics probably won’t be an overwhelming surprise to anyone who reads it. Most people are probably aware that public figures or news reporters are more than willing to skew numbers in order to support a political agenda or make a cool news story. The main function of this book is to go into a little more depth about how the statistics are manipulated, and how we can identify this as we observe the statistics we see every day. Despite that it still has some surprises and can promote some statistical critical thinking.
Reading this book probably isn’t essential, but you might want to if you want to have your understanding of the social side of statistics enhanced a bit. For me the best part of the book was when the author discussed “magical numbers.” These are numbers that turn issues that are incredibly hard to calculate into statistics that appear to be extremely simple and clear-cut. The author uses examples such as ranking colleges, and attempts to calculate allegations of policemen performing racial profiling. This is probably what I’d like to share with people most from this book. We have a tendency to put an almost sacred trust in numbers; the idea that when someone without bias presents a number that it must be factually accurate, or at least good enough to get a scale of the problem. While I would generally say that I was at least somewhat aware of bias and manipulation of numbers in order to support an argument before reading the book, I gave every little thought about how even a person who tries their best to calculate numbers might be trying to do something that is completely impossible, or at least not guaranteed to actually turn up good information.
The book took me a bit by surprise with that section, but it is not the only reason to look at it if you want some more statistical knowledge. The author talked about how blacks suicides and school shootings did not go up at any point before 2004, and that not a single children require foster care or adoption because of the 9/11 attacks. This surprised me. These were the sort of statistics that I would not really think about questioning The idea that we should not always trust statistics that we are given is a common one, but this book will probably make you think at least a little bit more about whether or not you were really critical about numbers, and be somewhat eye-opening.
It sounds like this book was about the causation and correlation of data. How was the author able to back up his claim when it came to supporting these statistics he was claiming were real?
DeleteHe actually spent most of the books criticizing existing data rather than proving it true. In the black suicide one, for example, he noted that there was also decline in the number of deaths from shooting, drowning and falls in the same period. His research showed that people were logging the deaths differently, which could account fot the increase of "suicides." But, yes one could argue that the author assumes correlation implies causation.
DeleteThe Right Mindset
ReplyDeleteI do not recommend this book to any kids simply because they would get nothing out of it. However it would be super beneficial who are involved with kids, for example teachers, parents or coaches. The book “Mindset” by Carol S. Dweck basically states that there are two mindsets to life; the fixed mindset (the wrong mindset) that says you are either good at something or you are not, you give up when you are challenged, and your abilities determine everything, and the growth mindset (the right mindset) that says that you want to keep challenging yourself, and your effort and attitude determine everything.
Before reading this book I didn’t think anything of a mindset, and after reading this book I still don’t either. In my opinion this growth mindset should be taught at a young age and that is why it is crucial for teachers to read this book. Yes I do think the growth mindset is important to have and is the better mindset for many reasons, like you are always improving yourself and you embrace challenges but it is not necessary in life to have it because many people have gotten through life without this growth mindset and they are still prosperous.
The most compelling part of my book was that after every time they stated a mindset the author could relate it back to any situation in your life. She used many personal examples and did studies with children that proved every single time that the growth mindset was better. This shows how important having the right mindset is because you use it in your daily life whether it is at work or in a relationship, it is always important to have that right mindset.
This is so interesting! I think I remember my mom talking to me and my siblings about mindset when we were younger, but reading a book about it must've been more eye-opening than just someone talking to you about it since there's probably more information given.
DeleteKit, I absolutely agree. My aunt is a teacher, and she recently read this book and she found it very helpful. But for us, I see how we would get nothing out of it. Great job!
DeleteI agree! I feel that my mom may find this to be of great interest because she is both a parent and a teacher. I can tell by just reading your blog that you put a lot of time reading your book! Great Job!
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ReplyDeleteSolving the Global Warming crisis?
ReplyDeleteThis book, The Climate Casino, by William Nordhaus, an economics professor at Yale University, was very interesting, but very difficult to read. The word choices were easy enough, but I think I got a little bit lost in the syntax. I would find myself having to read a sentence two or more times, or sometimes even a paragraph because I would completely lose focus on the words. But enough of all that.
The book claims to be a book written for people who are either mildly conservative or on the shelf about the environment. Reading the book confirms this because it engages in arguments that most ultra-conservatives simply put down as lies. However, as someone who already sees a need for change in the global actions regarding this problem, my opinion was still affected. Up until now, my solutions to global warming focused entirely on the rapid shift in technological use from fossil fuels to renewable energy. BUt Dr. Nordhaus’ solution to the problem is much more elegant and realistic. He proposes that a tax be imposed on carbon emissions, and suggests an opening rate of $25 dollars a ton to begin, and then increase the tax as time moves on. This idea is revolutionary. Instead of forcing a new industry into the market, or imposing direct restraints on industries that are not ambitious or motivating enough, simply set up an environment where the industries want to increase efficiency. Many industries would suffer significant, possibly even destructive loss of income and profit. The only way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is by giving a tangible and immediate economic incentive.
This idea would work if people would go with it. But this would have a difficult time becoming a law. It would be met with massive protests. This is a shame becuase it sounds like it would really work. It is possible that it could one day get pushed through congress.
DeleteSounds really interesting! I agree with Sean in that politicians would probably rather not give up economic benefits to solve environmental issues. In politics climatic problems are overlooked or under exaggerated to make it seem like planet is fine, when the issues are much bigger.
DeleteSounds really interesting! I agree with Sean in that politicians would probably rather not give up economic benefits to solve environmental issues. In politics climatic problems are overlooked or under exaggerated to make it seem like planet is fine, when the issues are much bigger.
DeleteI see your points, and I agree that it would not be simple to push through the American political system. However, I may point out that while conservatives have a majority in our political system (in all parties), and a notable majority in the house of representatives, there has been a significant liberal shift in our society, which will probably continue. My best examples are the double election of Barack Obama, the passing of the affordable health care act, and the legalization of gay marriage.
DeleteMy point is, it may become simpler to make Nordhaus' seemingly sensible concepts a reality.
Freakonomics. The book that people should suffer through
ReplyDeleteFreakonomics is about economics, how they connect with everyday life, and how small background factors affect the outcome. I’m not going to lie, this book was a little tough to get through. As someone who is not too interested with economics, all the statistics and data, while sometimes interesting, was for the most part boring. The authors did a good job of getting their claim and their thoughts across, and told it in such a way that it almost felt like stories. Almost, but not quite. They would throw in statistical analysis, and a whole bunch of other “fun” data that would disrupt the “story feel”.
Even though it was a little bit of a rough read, I would recommend Freakonomics. It affected the way I think about things, and made some things make more sense. It kind of opens one’s eyes to see why some people do what they do, and why others encourage or try to stop it. Freakonomics almost has the feel of a book that everyone should read, like To Kill a Mockingbird or Shakespeare, simply because the topic it discusses is so important, and many people (myself included before reading it) have basically no idea what happens in economics, or why they are important, or why they affect so much.
Even though I basically just spent two paragraphs saying that Freakonomics is not fun to read, and that it was really boring, it can still be enjoyed. People who are interested in economics, sociology, or cause and effect will definitely enjoy it. People who just like to look at data and charts will also enjoy it, because there is a lot of data being displayed, especially in the last chapter. That said, I would still recommend it to everyone to read.
After reading this book, what is your opinion on today's economics?
Delete@Ben That's a good question. I feel as though many people in high up places sometimes act too strongly on incentives, and will not always do what is best for the greater good, but rather what directly benefits them
DeleteYou basically desribed my book, sounds like a nice read! I would say that correct statistical data and analysis can really affect viewpoint and it was important for them to incorporate it into their 'stories' - the same thing happened in my book.
DeleteWho do you think this book is intended for?
DeleteI really would like to read this book as I am interested in this topic a lot but don't know much about it.
DeleteWhy Armageddon Science was almost convincing.
ReplyDeleteThe book Armageddon Science by Brian Clegg is an insightful view as to how science will cause the destruction of the human race, or so I thought it was. Throughout the book, the author is very convincing in how certain things like Antimatter, global warming, chemical warfare, atomic bombs, and even robots are all examples of scientific discoveries that could, and will most likely, cause the end of the human race. The author presents solid evidence for most of these examples. Though some of the evidence is hard to understand without research, for example why you need to separate Uranium 235 from Uranium 238 in order to make an atomic bomb, it is solid and convinces the reader that science equals destruction. Throughout the book the author's argument was very successful. It relied on some things, like the lack of knowledge of the reader on certain topics at times made it easier for the author to claim certain things and present facts. The author has the reader convinced by chapter 7, at that point the author had covered mad scientists, black holes, atomic devastation, climate catastrophe, extreme biohazard, nanotechnology, terrorist use of information worms and even the possibility (though small) of a Terminator-like situation (robots taking over the world basically). These all were heavily supported with thorough explanation, making the reader unable to deny that science will indeed destroy the human race. I know I was convinced.
In Chapter 9, the author took a turn and refined his claim, stating it could be nature or humans impact on nature (science) that destroys the human race, he continues to discuss how natural disasters could destroy the human race. This off topic chapter was the beginning of the downfall of the authors argument.
The last chapter is a complete turn around. The author claims that it will most likely be nature that destroys the human race, and that we just need to be careful with science. The reader is left confused. The authors turning point caused the book to fail at convincing what he wanted, due to poor organization. It was not wise to convince the reader of one thing the entire book and then just completely side against it right at the end. The author definitely did not achieve his goal of convincing the reader that nature will destroy the human race. Armageddon science almost convinced me that science will destroy the human race, even thought that was not the goal it seems.
It sounds like a confusing book since the author keeps changing his claim. However, I can understand how the author's first two claims are believable because there are a lot of scientifically- and man-made objects and such of the kind that have slowly been destroying nature which could eventually leave us oxygen-less and starving. I can see a connection between the first two claims and the last one, but it's weird that he would sort-of jump around like that.
DeleteI personally think that climate catastrophe sopunds like it could happen, but the rest sounds out there. Self-aware robots would not happen. They would have to be programmed to be willing to destroy humans. And scattered claim. Glad I did not read this book in the end.
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Delete@abigail It was very frustrating to read because of how convinced I was of the first claim. I see what you mean about the connection between the first two claims.
DeleteDo you think that he meant that human's effect on nature will cause nature to do us in?
DeleteCalling all Middle Children
ReplyDeleteReading “The Secret Power of Middle Children” by Catherine Salmon and Katrin Schumann changed the opinion I already had on the topic of middle children. Before reading the book, I believed that many middle children received less attention than their siblings, and therefore were at a disadvantage in life. Now, because of this book, I have come to the conclusion that because of the environment that middle children grow up in, they develop certain qualities and characteristics, such as being a good negotiator, which will help them to prosper later in life.
The most compelling part of the book that influenced my thinking was the evidence that the authors used. Their evidence mainly consisted of real life examples. They described situations that various real middle children have found themselves in. These situations could be anything from arguments among co-workers, to creating an identity that differs from your siblings. The reason that these pieces of evidence influenced my opinion so much, is because I am a middle child. I found them extremely relatable and familiar, because I have been put in the exact same positions that many of the other middle children from the examples in the book have been in.
I would recommend “The Secret Power of Middle Children” to all other middle children because it is an eye-opening book. For a middle child, reading about the success that other middle children have come to will give you a newfound sense of confidence. It will change the view you have on yourself, and make you satisfied on your role in your family. The book talks about how you shouldn’t have to be competing with your sibling all the time, and after reading this book I feel as if I don’t have to.
I totally agree with this because I am also a middle child. It is mostly in my opinion because there are two parents and three or more kids when you are the middle child, therefore it ends up that one gets less attention over the other.
DeleteAlthough I am not a middle child, I think this book would be very interesting, if I were one! I have noticed that in life, most middle children are often forgotten about and I think that this book would definetly give you the confidence to know that you're not forgotten about later in life as well.
DeleteMy mom should read this! Heraing her complain about her childhood and me not understanding, this brought new life onto what she really went through.
DeleteThank you, For Stating the Obvious.
ReplyDeleteBias by Bernard Goldberg was an interesting book in that the author presented a claim that may not be openly discussed too often today. That being said, I have always been under the impression that we all knew that the news media is biased. The author began and ended the book essentially complaining about his ex coworkers at CBS news. While this makes sense for his particular topic, I couldn't help but feel that he was just mad that his co workers shunned him after he published a controversial article about their station. Maybe he would still have his job if he had not published an article claiming that his own employer was biased.
Granted that Goldberg’s delivery may not have been ideal, I will admit that I agree with what the author was saying. The media today is definitely biased and it is pretty obvious that reporters and journalists inject their own personal opinions into their news coverage. But hasn’t that always been the case? Goldberg followed a particular pattern in his writing where he would present a subclaim that most often complains about some sort of liberal bias and then he would support his evidence by talking about a news story where this bias was evident. As the reader, I couldn’t help but feel he was being redundant and stating the obvious. Have you ever turned on fox news and said to yourself, “Wow this will be a great chance to watch some totally neutral public broadcasting!”? no. We all know Fox news is not “Fair and Balanced” and the same goes for just about every other news station you see today.
What was interesting about this book was that the author was an insider. He worked for CBS for 28 years, a pretty impressive stretch for someone who would then turn around and write a book about all of that station’s flaws. This, in my opinion is what added the most interest because all of the information he had gathered was from personal experience. A new perspective on what I had thought has always been an unspoken agreement.
Overall, the book was okay. The topic itself seemed more interesting before I had actually started reading, but the interesting perspective maintained my interest long enough to finish this project. Maybe if someone who did not watch the news read this, it would be a compelling topic to consider. Worth the read, but not for everyone.
I agree in your statement saying that all aspects of media is biased and I think it is very important for people to be aware of that when reading or looking at it.
DeleteWoah this book seems very valid. I agree that there is almost all biased opinions on the news. It just seems so funny that this person worked 28 years for the news before he could come to his conclusions that the media is biased. I am going to be on the lookout for any neutral news reporters!
DeleteThis is truly an interesting topic. It just goes to show that as individuals we need to do more research and fact checking so we can get the full picture and formulate our own opinions.
DeleteMathematical Competence is Scarce
ReplyDeleteThe subject of Innumeracy, by John Allen Paulos, is pretty self-explanatory. What’s really intriguing about the read is that it’s supported by real, statistical evidence and can’t be easily refuted. As a consequence, this book is very convincing in its argument that much of the modern world can’t adequately utilize numbers to see truth. It’s definitely a great read for anyone interested in math and real-world applications of it, and it really made me think a little more objectively.
Before reading Innumeracy, I hadn’t really given much thought to how statistical evidence could be skewed or misinterpreted to represent various arguments. I also hadn’t used math very extensively outside of certain classes in school. This book, however, opened up a myriad of instances, some that I encounter on a daily basis, in which a better understanding of application of math would prove useful.
One thing in particular that I found really interesting was a proposed logarithmic system by which the relative safety of various activities could be determined accurately and without bias; it’s simply a number. The lower the number, the higher the risk of the activity. Two things are really proposed here, however: the logarithmic system, as well as a call to think more objectively in general about real-world topics, and an argument about how being oblivious to the real numbers can affect people. This sort of thing is done throughout the Innumeracy; an example is given that compels the reader to think about how innumeracy affects an outcome.
All in all, John Allen Paulos argued a good point, and had essentially irrefutable evidence to support him. He also addressed the misconception that only a select number of people are ‘good at math’, and stated that, with adequate education and encouragement (he argues that many mathematical problems stem from discouragement and anxiety about math), nearly anyone would be better off in math, and by extension the real world.
I wonder what the logarithmic number would be for football and how it would stack up against the claims that the football book is stating.
DeleteSo I'm now expecting you to use the logarithmic system for everything...
DeleteDo you think that it would help if people took a statistics class to become more accurately informed?
DeleteWhy young girls hidden aggression should not be classified as “bullying”
ReplyDeleteIn the book Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons, the author argued that girl’s aggression should not be classified as “bullying”. In the start of the book, Rachel first talks about her personal experiences with bullying and how she thought she had been “the only one ever to face it.” This novel quickly became very significant to Rachel because it is the first time that Rachel has spoken out about her experiences and the first time that she has realized that she is not alone.
After various research, the author described girl’s hidden aggression as being related to jealousy. She described jealousy as being a characteristic that can make you do things that you did not know you were capable of. I found the author’s description and use of jealousy, closely related to its use in the play we are currently reading in class, Othello. In the play, Iago describes jealousy as “a green eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” Iago’s use of syntax and the author’s description of jealousy, gave me a new insight on what great power a characteristic such as jealousy can hold.
Along with the superior significance of jealousy, I learned that the reason why girls use gossip and eye contact but often no words when bullying one another, was due to the fact that beating someone up or confronting the person, “is not what girls do”. Stereotypes characterize girls as sweet young girls who do not pick fights and stay away from conflict. Some of the girls who Rachel interviewed happen to tell her, “that in order to be popular, girls must maintain societies standards for girls”. Rachel told us that because of this fact, girl’s bottle up all of their anger inside and at some point just explode.
I happened to like this book because I liked the fact that Rachel had once been on both sides; the victim and the bully. Rachel talking about her experiences made the girls feel more comfortable to open up on their own. I discovered new understandings, including the fact that almost every young girl has their own story and almost all of them are bottled inside and never heard.
Maddie, as a girl I have seen this aggression first-hand. I get what you are saying about having new understanding, and this book seems like a great read! I love your connection to what we are doing in english class right now. Fantastic work!
DeleteThis sounds so interesting! I agree that in many cases girl's aggression shouldn't be considered as bullying because it's usually based on one girl being mad at another, so being passive agressive is the girl's way of "expressing" herself, but there are times when girls hidden aggression should be classified as bullying when there was no conflict and a girl just out of the blue starts gossiping and giving rude glances towards another girl (when jealousy gets out of hand).
DeleteShould the Internet be Feared?
ReplyDeleteI highly suggest that people read Virtual Unreality by Charles Seifi. Before reading this book, I never really thought about the negative impacts from the internet. I thought of it as more as a tool that helps people share and quickly spread information with each other. Seifi argues that the internet is more often used to deceive people rather than to benefit others.
An example that Seifi used was Wikipedia. Anyone can change what has been written on any page at any time. Some people change it to fit their bias on a certain idea. Seaworld’s wiki page was changed by one of the managers. He changed parts where it suggested that they harm their whales and added other facts that made them seem like they were taking perfect care of their animals. Biased articles are everywhere and it has become easier to find and read them with the help of the internet and smartphones and other devices.
After reading this book, I have become more aware of what I read on the Internet and what to believe. According to Seifi, many articles you read on the internet are just reworded articles of previously written articles that contain no new information nor benefit you. Every time you click on a link, the company that owns the website earns profit. It doesn’t matter if there’s anything written at all, but as long as someone visits the site, the owners are satisfied with their paycheck. I understand that even though their are many websites and ads that don’t function in this manner, it’s hard to tell which are the phony websites and which ones aren’t with the technology available today.
His argument has changed my view on the internet slightly, but does not change the fact that I still believe that it’s there to benefit others. I view this as more as a warning to others that there’s a good chance that what is said is not true, or has been altered in some way to fit a bias.
I feel like Wikipedia is always dragged into these books and articles when in all reality it is a pretty accurate source of information.
DeleteThis book seems so interesting! I totally agree that the media on the internet is biased and can be false. I didn't know it was so easy just to change what the truth is and edit the website. I will be sure to not believe everything that I read on the internet. I hope that websites make it harder for any person to edit them and voice their opinion so that the internet can have real information.
DeleteWomen’s rights is good for society and this project
ReplyDeleteFor this assignment, I read Backlash by Susan Faludi. She discusses how women have faced many roadblocks in their efforts to achieve equality.
Even though it is mainly targeted towards women, I still highly recommend this book to everyone. Women’s rights is still an issue today and the reality women have faced in the book is still relevant. I really liked how the author presented her evidence; she would put opposite information against one another which really strengthened her argument, because it clearly shows how illogical and unreasonable the ideas of media and other sources are against women. It changes the perspective of the situation, and you can easily see how women were treated unfairly. However, she failed to establish her credibility. She claims that sources of the Backlash were using inaccurate information, but she never justified that the evidence used in her argument wasn’t faulty as well. It makes her seem unreliable, which was very unsettling to me.
This book greatly strengthened my support towards feminism or women’s rights. However, I didn’t know how badly they were perceived in society. The author’s evidence was very compelling. She went very in-depth into many stories and experiences, and it was almost detective-like. It made me feel very sympathetic towards women, and somewhat frustrated and angry towards people of the Backlash for how poorly they treated them. It also made feel a sense of urgency; like women’s rights is something we have to quickly act upon on.
Although the author’s lack of ethos made me very skeptical, I still think the author’s argument was very successful.
This is a very interesting subject, I see how it strengthened your suppoet of women's rights.
DeleteThe book that I read also focused on feminism and women's right, and I noticed that the evidence that the author used often appeals to pathos and logos similar to the way yours did, but because of the claims the author made I did often feel like the author took an authoritative position.
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ReplyDeleteI am a little bit disappointed that the author didn't really succeed in carrying out her argument. I feel like this could have been very good for women and all people to read in the 60s when women still didn't have too many rights. It seems like it would be hard to read a book where the claim keeps changing. It would have been interesting if the author could have written a reliable book 50 years ago and maybe history would have been a little different.
Delete@Claire Actually this book was very successful in convincing women to be empowered. The Feminine Mystique is regarded as one of the most influential books of the 20th century and it sparked the second wave of feminism in the United States!
DeleteDo you think that reading it as a modern reader changed how convincing the argument was to you versus a woman in the 1960-70s or not really?
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Delete“Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance”
ReplyDeleteDavid Epstein’s, “The Sports Gene,” the author explored advantages within sports. The author tried to create an argument on whether there is a sports gene or whether there is a series of favorable genetics that can help an athlete become elite. The author influences the reader by providing a series of examples in each chapter. These examples vary from scientific research to observations with mice, etc. The book affected the way a person would think, or look at sports. For instance, in chapter 8, the author talks about the outlandishly tall, and ridiculously long bodies on NBA players. The author also provided facts on each subject, like the fact that 17 percent of people who are 7 feet tall between the ages of 20 and 40 living in America are in the NBA right now. The author, strategically, never makes a main claim in each chapter, therefore letting the reader, myself, think about each topic and form their own opinion. This book affected my own thinking on the subject by showing the reader, myself, the genetic side of sports. The author tended to not show sports statistics, or talk mainly about performance. The author would show the research, or observations, pertaining to the subject, then show a real life example pertaining to the subject. For instance, fast twitch muscle fibers are responsible for explosive movements such as jumping, or sprinting, but they tire quickly. Not surprisingly elite sprinters have an an abundance of fast twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch muscle fibers need an abundance of oxygen, and are surrounded by blood, therefor elite distance runners have an abundance of slow twitch muscle fibers. This is how the books affected my thinking on the issue.
Before I started the book I simply believed that top athletes worked tirelessly to become the great athletes they are. Before the book, I never thought about genetics, statistics, heritage factors, or genetic mutations that help the athlete. I never thought of muscle fibers, or wingspan length, torso and leg length as determining factors among top athletes. I believe now, as much as training relentlessly play a factor into performance, favorable genetics play a role in the performance of athletes more than people may think. The most compelling part of the book, was chapter 9. In chapter 9, the author talked about the big bang of body types, and how each sport has become more specialized in terms of body types. For instance, the average height for an elite female gymnast has shrunk from 5’3” to 4’9”. This is better for the explosion neede for turing in the air. Another example is that 6’4” Michael Phelps and 5’9” Hicham El Guerrouj wear the same size pants due to their specialized bodies in their respective sports. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the biology that goes into sports, or an athlete, or anyone interested in sports.
This sounds like an interesting read. It would be cool to have a comparison of all the different sports and then see which you fall into. Then you could compare it to sports that you already play.
DeleteSounds like something all athletes should take a look at. Maybe one day with more advanced genetic technology, scientists can recover "sports genes" to make people more athletic.
DeleteHard Core Evidence Beats Factual Fluff
ReplyDeleteMore Damned Lies And Statistics explores the concept of numbers and statistics being manipulated to provoke a certain reaction from the public. When I started this book, I did not realize how much that the facts being presented to us are blurred by visual effects, exclusion of information, and pure forgery. The concept of politicians using scare tactics to draw a certain reaction from the public is not a new idea but, the thought that they are manipulating facts to better suit their argument is the truly scary thing. How many times have we been a bit hasty about a decision but after seeing the number find the answer quite clear? Well, this is an idea presented by Joel Best and he shows how these statistics are being changed to make you feel one side is better than it really is. Humans depend on numbers because we feel it is a more sound way of choosing what is best for us. Although when influential people use this against the public isn’t that just a manipulation of our minds? We don’t have the ability to say that we believe the word of someone over the hard evidence being shown to us.
Joel Best exposes the tricks being played on us and even uses models to express the different ways numbers can be used to fool us. His use of subclaims is evident because they are quite simply the subheadings in each chapter. He waste no time with ‘factual fluff’ and explains his ideas in a straightforward manner. There are a multitude of real-world examples that help to support all of his ideas but, he chooses not to limit himself to this style of argumentative writing. All of his claims are supported by one or more graphs and charts that don’t exhibit the usual statistics but rather the ways that the charts and graphs can be changed to better suit the argument being made by its author. His process of building up a specific technique used and then slowly tearing it down with proof really grabs the reader's attention and gives you that climatic action you want but don’t expect from an argumentative book. This book provided enough evidence without all the extra word use that most authors add to make themselves more appealing to the reader. Joel Bets did not need to do this because, his style of writing and graphic additions pleased that part of the subconscious enough to where it was easy for the reader to focus on what was being said.
Society’s Bad Side
ReplyDeleteReviving Ophelia-Saving the Lives of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher is an eye-opening book that all people should read. The book dealt with the idea that society influences adolescent girls in many ways that affect their lives and who they become. The book discussed points such as girls going to extremes like being depressed and having potentially fatal eating disorders just because they wanted to fit into society’s standards of what the ideal girl should be and look like. The author is a therapist and was able to share some of the most unfortunate and scary examples of the extremes that girls take just to be accepted by society and their peers. One girl went to the extreme of becoming bulimic and forcing herself to throw up every time she ate any food or binged. This girl ended up having health issues in her esophagus and and stomach because her food couldn’t be digested properly.
That being said, I believe that all people should read this book. I don’t think that people understand how much society is negatively impacting girls in adolescence. These girls are at a fragile state in their lives and are under so much pressure at the same time to develope themselves and become their own person. Males and females of all ages should read this book so that they know what their specific impact of their opinions is having on girls in adolescence. Just by a teenage boy calling a girl a silly name without thinking or understanding what effect this comment could have on her, could lead a girl to thinking she is worthless or to become depressed. If grown ups only respect girls who are thin and “beautiful” this is adding to society’s rigid views on how a girl could look.
Everyday people judge adolescent girls and make assumptions about them without knowing any information on them. If people are aware of the consequences that these assumptions have on people, the percent of girls in adolescents with depression might go down because people will not judge girls based on their looks or how much they weigh. I think that this book is perfect at pointing out all of the ugly outcomes of society’s harsh judgements.
I remember when I was with another adolescent girl who said that the only reason she likes a certain celebrity is because she’s pretty. I don’t think this individual would have made that comment if she had read this book. Is she along with society implying that girls who don’t wear a ton of makeup and have some acne are ugly? All girls are beautiful. This book has been eye-opening to me because I have realized this. Society needs to change their views on girls and think of the girls with acne as being just as beautiful as girls without. I realized this in the book when I saw examples of girls who do not eat for days and have no friends because they start to believe these judgements and don’t believe in their own self worth. It made me feel a great deal of empathy for these girls and now I know that the problem can easily be fixed. People need to read this book so that they may change their ways and as a whole, society can be changed to value girls as who they are and be more accepting of all different individuals.
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DeleteThis sounds like a gruesome topic. That being said, I definitely agree that this is a topic people need to be educated on. Really interesting.
DeleteI agree with both you and the author, all girls are beautiful, everyone is. Our society needs to realize that there is not just one form of beauty.
Delete‘Merica!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading The World America Made by Robert Kagan, I’ve come to discover much about a topic I never thought about before. The novel basically hypothesizes what it would be like if the United States were to decline from being the world’s superpower. Since we can’t look into the future, the author looked into the past, and provided lots of historical events to help explain and provide evidence to his points.
Now before you go off thinking I’m some redneck from the deep south, I just want to say that I only chose this book because it seemed short. Anyways, in my opinion, the author’s inclusion of these historical events helped me, and most likely other readers, to understand where he was coming from since I am not a historical expert. On another point, I am impressed at the author’s ability to combine the mass of effects and ideas that could come out of such a general topic into only 140 pages. He did this by making broad segments (Meet George Bailey: What Is American About The American World Order, The World America Made, What Comes Next, So is the United States in Decline?, It’s a Wonderful World Order) that successfully made Kagan’s topics move fluidly from one to the next easily. My last point isn’t very big, but it bothers me how the title of the book says “America” where I think it should say the United States because America could mean South America or Canada or just the whole stankin’ thing. I believe this point makes the author come off as a bit big headed.
All in all, I would recommend this book to someone who’s interested in learning about the United State’s and past superpower’s impacts on the world. We’re so busy in our day to day lives to realize where we have came from as a nation and the responsibility we have today and how we got it.
@Angelina
DeleteYour post is very funny, I applaud your honesty! I like the author’s references to It’s a Wonderful Life. I might read it because it sounds interesting (and short!).
For my nonfiction book project I read Under the Surface; Fracking, Fortunes, and the Fate of the Marcellus Shale, by Tom Wilber. This book is a journalistic view of oil extraction techniques in the Marcellus shale region which is located in parts of New York State and Pennsylvania. I feel like this book would be important for people to read to gain more knowledge of fracking techniques and the way it impacts geography and economy of regions where it takes place. I feel like it is even more important since it is happening so close to where we live.
ReplyDeleteEven though this book is important for people to read, most won’t make it through the first couple of chapters. I say this because the book is so tremendously slow to read. Tom Wilber takes a book that would be a very quick and informational read and fills it with testimonials that all sound exactly the same and evidence that wouldn’t make sense unless you were already knowledgeable in the field of oil extraction. Another thing I have against this book is that there is no claim stated and since it is a journalistic view it is difficult to determine what the claim is.
But through all of this pain and misery I did end up learning a little. I learned about environmental impacts of fracking and about the corporate side of how fracking is set up and people are taken advantage of in benefit of oil companies. So if you are looking for a read that you hate when you are reading it but then end up learning some useful information, look to this book.
@Alexander
DeleteI am glad you made it through all of “the pain and misery” of reading this book and ended up learning a little! I agree that fracking will only benefit the oil companies and the impact on the environment could be catastrophic. It is scary that it is happening so close to where we live. Does the author give any insight on why this is being allowed to happen without long-term studies and data?
If You Are Looking For The Road To Success, This Is Not The Book For You
ReplyDeleteWhen I first picked up Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell, I was anticipating a self-help book, one that would inspire the next great luminary, or lead someone to achieve the kind of success story that people only dream about. This book, however, offers some interesting views and a different perspective on what leads to successful people, but it is not a step-by-step guide.
I was interested by the idea that what truly leads to success are the conditions one is exposed to, including opportunities and cultural legacy. However, I found the book to be a little disappointing in that it did not offer any great revelations on how to achieve success for myself. The reader is led to draw the conclusion that successful people are not self-made, they are a product of opportunity and cultural legacy. I felt his argument was not as strong because there were no opposing claims presented, which caused the book to be somewhat biased.
For the most part, I did not feel that the evidence the author provided was sufficient to substantiate his claims. Much of his argument was based on just common sense while some of it seemed a little far-fetched. For example, his explanation for Asians being good at math is that their ancestors worked in rice paddies, and a diligent work ethic was developed. It seemed to me that Gladwell used a very broad brush and made generalizations.
Throughout the book, the author follows a similar pattern of introducing anecdotal stories of successful people which I found to be interesting and enjoyable. After each story, he tries to convince the reader of his argument. I did not always see how his reasoning connected to or supported his claim.
If you’re looking for the secret to success, you may want to choose another book, but if you want an upbeat book with an unusual perspective on success, you may want to try this one.
I think the "Asians working in rice patties for hours thing" is more that when education systems were made they mirrored the difficult work of the time. Asian school systems are very tough on students, and in order to succeed you have to learn how to be a good student and have a good work ethic.
DeleteI agree that Gladwell is being too broad here and I think that the things he said were a bit racist honestly. Saying that "all asians are smart" not only demeans the ones who may not be academically talented or have a learning disorder, it also demeans all of the hard work that they have done to get there. Imagine working for hours on something to become good at it and then someone tells you "oh you're succeeding just because you're asian so you were born that way" when you actually spent a lot of time and effort to do that. That statement takes it all away!
These are all good points, although a study was done regarding this topic specifically. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the study (it's amazing what you find by typing in "smart asians scientific study") to post a link to it. However, the study points out that the reason we have this stereotype is because of the types of people that actually do immigrate to western cultures. Not all people in places like China, India, and Japan are as smart as we think they are, but the people who can afford to travel here are people who have a high level of achievement behind them, which can be represented by the moderate wealth required to move to another country and buy a house, or a condo, or an apartment. These people are very smart, which creates a stereotype on its own, but on top of that, they push their kids to have very high academic standards, leading to a further impression of higher intelligence.
DeleteSimilar to this is something I learned while I was talking to Lillian Hong the other day. I'll try not to butcher it too much, but I don't remember the specifics. Lillian was saying that her parents used to work for the Chinese government, and they were paid to move the united states. I could not, unfortunately, find the name of this program or its workings, but this furthers the point made by the study, which is that the only Asians we see in america are the smart ones, and the ones of average intelligence just stay put.
I hope I didn't butcher too many facts, and I hope I didn't offend anyone while talking about this, race can be a difficult subject for a white guy to talk about.
Discussion is always welcome.
Wow, another book about gender and feminism! (And why I want to battle the patriarchy)
ReplyDeleteListen up homeskillets and let me talk to you about Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine. I would definitely recommend this book to everybody. Delusions of Gender argues against the idea that men and women act differently because their minds are hardwired differently. This would mean that every stereotype about women being nurturing, emotional and weak while men are strong, calculating, and logical would be destined from birth because of “gendered brains.” Fine, the author, just wasn’t buying that though. And spent three years thoroughly researching how outside factors instead cause difference.
Before I read this book I already firmly believed in the ideas of gender equality and feminism, but this book showed me truly how deep sexism lies in our society.
I was surprised to find out how sexism and stereotypes can greatly impact everyone, even those who don’t believe in gender stereotypes. Our brains are constantly taking in information and unconsciously adapting based on them. Unfortunately, this includes those stereotypes.
One of the concepts I found the most interesting was the “stereotype threat.” This is when somebody is in a situation in which the stereotype goes against them surrounded by people the stereotype works for. So let’s say that a woman is taking a very difficult college math course in which a majority of the other students are men. That woman is probably aware of the stereotypical inferiority of women in mathematics, and this knowledge makes her brain decide that that is suddenly relevant triggering “performance anxiety and other negative emotions” which can hinder performance.
I can actually relate to this as I’m on my second year of computer science at the school. As one of three girls in my large AP class it is really easy to feel pressured about letting down your entire gender and proving the stereotypes right by failing.
This is a difficult topic to talk to people about, especially people who believe men and women are already equal, or do believe in hardwired gendered brains. But Fine truly does a great job. Her information is completely based on scientific research and you can tell how thoroughly it was done.
Sometimes it made me sad as I read this book and to see how deeply sexism is in our society and how firmly ingrained it is, because it made me feel like in some ways society is working against me and all women. But I believe it is important information to know and that if more people do, then there is a larger chance of stopping this and creating a more equal, gender neutral society.
A World Underwater or At Least it Seems So
ReplyDeleteImagine a world where coastal cities that people have admired for generations, such as Manhattan and New Orleans, have been flooded, forcing humans further inland to higher ground. Greenland, Antarctica and other ice sheets are melted and countries are fighting for their natural resources, which may be the last stores of oil and minerals available. Livestock such as cows, pigs and sheep have all been killed off from toxic amounts of hydrogen sulfide rising from the seas, which has caused global starvation and poverty. In The Flooded Earth by Peter D. Ward, the author states how our planet is in deep water, literally. The rising sea levels is presently and will create many problems in the future and humans might not be able to prevent what we started.
The information explained in the book is significant in understanding how rising sea levels will affect the world in the future. The author thoroughly describes the causes of the rising sea levels as well as many problems that may arise from them, such as saltwater intrusion in crops and more money being spent on the protection of coastal regions. The author also includes future scenarios in the book that display unsettling consequences of these problems. Despite all the evidence that was presented in the book that tells about how the planet is practically irreparable, little hope was offered to the audience, which in my opinion was the author’s biggest mistake. The end of the book leaves the audience overwhelmed as if the rising tides had already engulfed the Earth. Nonetheless, The Flooded Earth serves as a wake-up call to anyone who does not believe rising sea levels will have a large impact on the future of mankind if this issue is disregarded.
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ReplyDeleteWhat I Learned From Reading The Feminine Mystique
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started reading The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan I was a supporter of the feminist movement occurring today(and still am), but I will admit that I was very uneducated. I had no idea that the feminist movement started in the 1960’s and I had no idea what the feminine mystique even was.
By reading The Feminine Mystique I learned that the feminine mystique is the fulfillment of femininity, and is often defined by the beliefs of each individual culture.
The feminine mystique of the 1950’s and 1960’s was the cause of many problems for American housewives such a limited rights in education and inequality in the workplace. The feminine mystique even led to women suffering from health issues such as anxiety, depression, and alcoholism. These problem did not only affect the housewives themselves but they also affected the housewives families. The problems that the feminine mystique caused for the American housewife often led to affairs among both husbands and wives, divorce, and even rebellious children.
Before reading The Feminine Mystique I believed that the only problems that women ever faced were problems such as unequal pay and a general lack of respect(cat calls,”You throw like a girl!”, ect.). I had no idea that any of these problems ever affected women’s health in the past, but now that I do I am a much more passionate supporter of the feminist movement.
I would recommend The Feminine Mystique to everyone, even if you would not call yourself a feminist, because it is a very interesting and informative book to read, and it is more that likely to change your views on the feminist movement today.
Eating Dead Animals
ReplyDeleteI have always been an animal lover, but I have also always been a person who enjoys eating meat. I have many times considered quitting meat eating, but always decided against it because I like eating it.
In his book Eating Animals Foer talks about how we chose to not see the animals we’re eating and I realized that’s what I’m doing. I have been choosing to not see what I’m eating. Of course, I have had moments when I’ve stopped to look at the piece of meat on my plate and had the thought “This used to be alive.” But I’ve been consciously deciding to ignore that fact, because I know that once I find out how that meat ended up in front of me, I will not be able to eat it.
Foers main argument in the book is that the way our animal agriculture works is not sustainable and it is causing lots of unnecessary pain. To show us how horrible it really is he describes both the conditions that animals on factory farms live in and the slaughter process of those animals.
Reading these descriptions was disturbing, but I think it’s important to know how your food ends up in front of you.
I can’t say that Eating Animals has made me a vegetarian, but I’m heading that direction, and I think I already was before I read the book. But the book has opened my eyes and I now I know how meat ends up on my dinner table.
Saga Stranden
Daniella Dodge
ReplyDeleteBefore reading the book, The Flooded Earth by Peter Douglas Ward, I had no interest in the effects that the rapid melting of ice had on the Earth. However, after I finished reading and analyzing this book, I feel as if I gained a great amount of interest and also knowledge. The new information I learned helped me have a much better understanding of the Earth’s environmental issues
I recommend this book to someone who already has some previous knowledge or interest in the environmental issues that have been happening throughout history, because the reader might be able to understand this book much more with some background information. I also recommend this book to readers that have a passion for science. Peter D. Ward is a scientist that knows almost all the effects that will eventually lead to the earth being flooded. The important thing about the argument Ward presents is that it raises awareness to the reader. He talks about potential problems caused by humans that could negatively affect our planet, for example, the rise of population. One of the many new understandings I now have is that the more people there are on earth, the more energy is used, this causes the Earth is heating up, which then causes ice to melt rapidly.
However, the ending of this book was very disappointing. The author says that over a long period of time, humans have already caused the earth such an extensive amount of damage. Ward says that there is absolutely no hope of completely preventing a flooded earth from happening, there is only the possibility of prolonging the amount of time we have before that happens.