One Concept

There were a lot of different things that we have learned in class this semester. A lot of them I will remember, but I think that the most important thing that I have learned is about is marketing and advertising in chapter 10. This is an important chapter for me to remember because I am a business major, and when I graduate I am going to need to know these skills to be successful in life. It is very important to know how to market to the consumers. It does not matter how good a product is, if it is not marketed right it will not succeed. Even if a product is not good if it is marketed correctly the product would succeed. It is important to understand the audience. It is important to understand who you are selling the product to. It is important to research about your product and the area you are thinking about selling the product. Often times location is the most important thing. Even if your product is good if it in selling it in a location where no one is going to see it then it will not succeed. These are only the few things that I have learned in this chapter that I will always remember.

What I have learned

Throughout the semesters there have been many different topics that caught my attention. With this online class I learned that there are a lto of people out there that have experience the same things as I have. I learned this from all the comments that I received off my post. It feels comforting to know that there are other people out there that have been through the same thing as I have. I also learned a lot about the argument chapter. I found that that chapter was very interesting. I did not know all the different kinds of arguments such as inductive and deductive argument.  I also did not know about all the components that are in an inductive and deductive argument to make it effective. I also learned what not to do in an argument. Often times I just get mad when I am in an argument, but getting mad makes an argument a lot less effective. This is only one of the many thing that I have learned in this class.

Favorite and Least Favorite

There were a lot of things that I liked about this class. Even though it was an online class I feel like I got to know my classmates a lot through reading their posts and comments on my blog. I liked that a lot of the post we had to do were personal opinion post, so we got to see how other people are. I also liked that you replied to all of my emails very quickly. I was surprised by how fast you got back to me when I emailed you. Even though I did enjoy this class there were some things that I did not like. I did not like the group projects. I feel like individual projects are much more effective, because in a group project it is hard to find a time to meet and usually one person ends up with more work load than all of the other members. I feel like if there would have been more individual projects I would have got more out of the assignment.

Mission Critical and Causal Argument

I thought that both the Mission Critical and Casual Argument was very useful. The mission critical talks about all the parts there are in an argument. The website just outlines every part there is in an argument. It tells individuals what is needed for an effective argument and restrictions. There are certain things that should not be said in an arguent, and this website outlines it very well. They also map out ways to analyze an argument. It tells you about the appeals and fallacies The casual argument website discuses of a casual argument. It gave an example and then showed how the example fit the pattern of the inductive argument, and then explains it more in great detail. It help me understand the examples more when they related it to the pattern. I thought that the Mission Critical website was more helpful because it was an outline. It was very easy to follow, and it had a lot of good information.

Incorrect Conclusion

There are a lot of times where people observe a situation and come up with a false conclusion. It has happen to me a lot also. Once I was at my friends house and both of my friends were getting in a fight. I did not want to get involved in it, so I was just standing on the side and watching the situation. While I was watching the situation I thought that it was Johnnys fault because from my situation it looked like he was the one that was starting the fight. It looked like he was the one that was trying to get in a fight with David. When I went up to talk to my friend Richard he told me the whole story. The fight started earlier in the day. It started because David said something to Johnny about how he was a girl and scared of him, which started everything. It is easy to come up with a conclusion right off the back but often times it is wrong until you actually ask people what happens.

Libra

Libra:

• Your Most Likeable traits: Charming, Diplomatic, Easy-going
• SYMBOL: The Scales Signifying Balance, Equilibrium, Order, and Justice) Ruling Planet: Venus
• Element: Air Dominant
• Keyword: I BALANCE.
• Magical Birthstone: Opal (Brings financial success, frees its wearer from jealousy & greed & imparts clear insight.)
• Special Flowers: Rose, Cosmos & Hydrangeas
• Special Colors: Blue & Lavender (The colors of romance, harmony and refinement)
• Lucky Numbers: 6 & 9
• Lucky Day: Friday
• Part of the body ruled by Libra: The Lower Back and Buttocks & the Kidneys

When I first read the horoscope the first thing that came up was easy going. I think that this is the most accurate thing right off the back. I am a very easy going person. I usually just go along with what is going on, and I do nto like to argue a lot. What I think that is funny when I read this is it says that libras have great butts. Everyone always tells me that I have no butt at all. I always get made fun of for having such a tiny butt, so that is one thing that is not correct. Another trait that it says a libra has is that they are very diplomatic. I am by far the least diplomatic person ever. I am horrible at persuading people and getting people to side with me. I am horrible at public speeches and arguments. Overall there are a couple things that are like me, but I think there are more things that are not like me in this daily horoscope.

Internet Plagiarism

I think that these two arguments are very intriguing. Both of these authors believe that plagiarism is wrong. Hunt believes that students plagiarize because of all the pressure to succeed in school. He believes that the only reason why students plagiarize is because there are so much pressure on them to receive a good score on the assignment. Sadler believes that students should generally not even use the internet, because there is a high chance that the individual will plagiarize. She believes that plagiarism raises the grading scale, and that it is cheating both the students and the teachers. The teachers are trying to teach the students, but the students are not learning the materials due to plagiarism. I agree more with Hunt. I think that students cheat just because there is such great pressure to get good grades. There was this girl in my class that had a lot of pressure to get good grades. Her parents would always pressure her into getting straight As, and if she did not her parents would be really mad at her. She often times cheated on papers to get As because her writing skills were not that great. If she did not have all this pressure maybe she would have not cheated and actually got help from the teacher and tried to improve her writing skills. 

View from the Media

I think that the media reinforces my views on celebrities. I think that the in our society today individuals are too into the celebrities. Individuals are too worried about what celebrities are doing, and how to be more like them. The media reinforces my opinion, because everyday I turn on the TV I see something about a celebrity. For example, when I go on yahoo the first article that pops up is what outfit Christina Aguilera was wearing during her performance. The media is too focused on celebrities and not the world around them. There are plenty of other things like poverty that need the exposure so more people can be aware of the problem. However, the few times I do see commercials about children in disabilities it expands my views. Looking at those innocent children have such horrible diseases shows me how lucky I truly am. It shows me that there are people out there that need donations, and I always text to look for a donation to donate to after watching those commercials because they make me feel so sad. 

Product Placement

Product placement is one of the most important factors in advertising a product. Often times it is almost as important as the product itself. This is why producers spend thousands of dollars on rent for a good placement to advertise their product. If the product is great, but no one is able to find it then it will not be very successful. There ar e a lot of people that know their product is great, but still fail because their location is poor, and no one is able to find it. For example, my dad owned a donut shop when I was little, and it took him a long time to find the right place. There were plenty of places available, but he wanted to pick the one that would be the most beneficial. He wanted to make sure that he was the only donut store in the area, so he would increase his sale opportunities. After many months of searching he decided to get a place next to Valleyfair. This way there would be a lot of foot traffic, and there were not a lot of other donut shops in the area. Because of this prime location my dads business was very successful. It is important where the product is being places.

Advertising in the media

The media has become a very big thing in society today. The media is starting to play a larger role in everything. I believe that the most used way to advertise is in the media. The media is effective because the media is everywhere, and everyone reads or listens to it. I know that the media is a big thing in my life. There are mant informercials on TV that try to get society to buy their product. People often put thongs in newspapers, there are many people that read the newspaper. I believe that advertising in the media is the most effective way to get a product out there. There is one day that goes by where I do not see something trying to advertise a product through the media. Even people in my own family advertise in the media. For example, my mom owns a lot of houses so she cant rent them out to people. She uses the newspaper to tell people that her house is available for rent.

UFO

There are a lot of people out there that claim that they have seen UFO’s before. There has been a lot of research on trying to find other species out there, but there has been no success. Condon, Hynek, and Paynter are all skeptical about the existence of UFOs. Condon believes that there should be more scientists working on other things rather then looking for UFOs. He believes that scientist should be researching things that will advance science, and he does not think that UFO reports will.  Hynek believe that there needs to be more information from people that supposedly seen UFOs. Hynek believe that there could be aliens out there, but there needs to be more information. Paynter is also skeptical but believe that there is a possibility. He believes that there needs to be physical evidence. There are a lot of people that think they seen aliens before, but there has never been any physical encounters with aliens. I agree with Paynter the most. I believe there is a possibility of aliens out there, but until there is physical encounter with them, I do not think they exist. There are a lot of people that could be hallucinating and said they saw a alien. Physical evidence is all I need to show me that aliens really do exist. 

Evaluating Evidence

A interesting topic that I saw in this weeks reading is evaluating evidence. Evidence is important in every argument or conversation trying to prove a point. Without evidence a persons argument is based on opinion which makes the argument significantly weaker. Evidence could come from everywhere, but as a good critical thinker we have to evaluate that evidence to see if it is reliable. In the word of the internet, there are a lot of information out there that is false. For example, usually professors do not like students using wikipedia. There is a lot of information on wikipedia, but anyone can write whatever they want on it. Since anyone can just write whatever they want the information on the website is not very reliable. IT is better to find facts to prove a point through books or online websites that are published by schools, or highly educated teachers. A good thing to do before reading a website is looking at who wrote it, so you are sure that the information is correct.  

Wisdom and Knowledge

There are many different perspectives on the differences between wisdom and knowledge. Knowledge is knowing information. When a person has a lot of knowledge they know a lot of facts, and are very book smart. When a person knows how to use all of the information they posses then I consider the person to have wisdom. Knowledge is all of the stuff a person knows, and wisdom is how a person uses it. Wisdom comes with age. Usually a older person has a lot of wisdom because they have been through a lot of different situations, and they know how to react to a certain situation because of all the knowledge they posses. A person with a lot of knowledge could just enjoy studying a lot, so they are really smart, but they do not know how to respond to real life obstacles. I think that in the classroom we mostly accumulate knowledge. A lot of the things we learn at school is information. For example, a lot of older people tell me that they do not use anything that they learned in college. They just went to college to get a degree to receive a diploma and get a higher paying job. I think that wisdom is not something a person can just read in a book and learn. Wisdom is learn through experience and going through certain situations and learning how to respond to them. I feel like wisdom is a way more important thing in life then just knowledge itself.

Expressive Language

When it comes to live expressions are everything. Anyone, and everyone can tell what a person is feeling by the way they express themselves. Many people are judged without really knowing the person based on how they express their feelings and express themselves to the public. Expression is used to show the reader or the other person how you are feeling at the moment. Expression is a good thing for the most part because it is giving people insight on what an individual is feeling. However, expressions have its negativities also. For example, there was a really good basketball coach named Bob Knight. While he was coaching he was the all time leader in wins as a coach, but he was also known for his short temper. One time the official blew the wrong call, and it cost his team the ball. He got so upset that he took the chair he was sitting in and threw it onto the court. He continued to run onto the court to yell at the referees. Bob Knight let his emotions have the best of him and he expressed in emotion in a very negative manner that gave him a really bad image to everyone in the world. The way someone expresses their emotions are really important, because an individual is often judged by the emotions they are showing.

Rhetorical Device

Rhetorical devices are common in everyday conversations. A rhetorical device is when someone tries to tell another person something, but not directly telling them the problem. An example of a rhetorical device is sarcasm. I use sarcasm everyday. Since I live with 38 other guys our trash cans seem to fill up fairly quickly. One day I was cooking in the kitchen, and I saw that the trash was pretty full. It was my friends turn to take out the trash, so I went to him and said, I cant find the trash can, theres just a bunch of trash on the floor. He got the point that the trash was overfilled, and that he needed to take it out. I also use Euphemism quite often. Euphemism is when someone replaces a negative word with a more positive word.  For example, when I was at a fancy dinner with my parents and their coworkers and I needed to use to restroom I also if I may be excused rather then saying I need to go to the bathroom. 

Negative Effects of Emotion

I found a lot of interesting topics from this weeks reading. The one that interested me the most was negative effects of emotions. Learning how to react with negative emotions are important because there are always things that go wrong. In our society not everything happens as planned. There are bad things that happen to everyone, and individuals need to learn how to deal with negative effects of emotions. As humans, we often let our emotions take the best of us, and we make irrational decision. For example, my ex girlfriend and I use to fight all the time over a lot of small things. One night she got mad that I was talking to one of my friends that was a girl, and we got into a huge argument. During the argument I was really bad, and I broke up with her based off my negative emotions because I was mad. When negative things happen to one person they often remember it for a long time, and do specific actions because they remember the bad things that happened to them. It is important to learn to move on, and not ever situation is the same.

Aquinas

I have gone to a catholic school my whole life, but I do not believe in an actual God. I believe that there is a higher power up there, but I do not necessarily believe in God. However, Dawkins believes that we came here from evolution, so he sees it as there is no way God could exist. I think that Darwins theory of evolution is very logical, and I agree with it. I think that we have evolved to who we are today because of evolution. However, there had to be someone that put everyone on the world because there is no way people just came out of nowhere. I think that Aquinas would agree with Darwin on this highly controversial topic. He would agree with Darwin because there are facts that back up the evolution theory, and because back then there was no writing, so the bible was written all out of memory. There could have been a lot of things that changes over time, and a lot of things could have been forgotten making it less dependable than Darwins theory.

Reasoning

The type of reasoning that I use to make my decisions is seeing what my strong points are. I see what are the things that I can do well, and what are the things that I need to improve on. This is very important in choosing my career in the future. For example, I am not very good at math, so it would be a terrible idea for me to decide to try and become an engineer  down the road. Taking different courses while I am attending college is going to help me find out what I can do effectively and enjoy. When I first came to San Jose State I was never interested in health science. I thought that it was going to be boring, but after taking a kinesiology class I found out that it is really enjoyable and it is something I am now thinking about doing as a career. It is important to base my reasonings off of things that I am good at because it will give me a higher chance of success.

Team Leaders and Team Members

The topic that I found that was interesting this week from the reading is team leaders and team members. Often times these two groups are confused and is important to have these kinds of members in every group. A team leader is someone that takes charge. They make sure the group is on task and is the one to make the initiation for the group to meet. The team leader makes sure everyone has a specific job, and is getting the job done. A productive group member is a member that does what is ask of them. They are on ask and do what is needed to help the group out to complete the task. Team members need to get along with each other because it will lead to a more productive workplace. Team members do work that has been evenly split between all of the people in the group. I am personally more of a team member kind of person. I enjoy letting other people take charge of the group. I can easily get along with people, and work very well with people. What kind a group member are you?

Smoking among children and teens

Dr. Novello is a surgeon general in the United States. She was trying to reduce the use of tobacco among teens and children. Dr. Novello uses cause and effect inductive reasoning when she states that the number of children and teens that smoke has increased since there has been ads that promoted cigarettes. She also states that there needs to be more education on smoking. Cause would be banning ads about smoking and more education on teen smoking. The effect would be less teenagers smoking. She uses the cause and effect method to tell us how smoking among teens and children is a big problem in our society today. I believe that it is important for teens and children to be aware of the dangers of smoking at a young age. There are many kids that smoke because they want to fit in with a specific social group without thinking about the danger they are causing their bodies. It will be a huge problem later in their lives if they get addicted to cigarettes, so it is good for them to be educated early.

Inductive Argument

An inductive argument is where the premises support the conclusion. If the premises are true, it makes it improbable that the conclusion would be false. There has to be at least two premises. An inductive argument that I just made the other day was that my new tattoo was going to cost $375.

-Marks of Art tattoo charges $125 an hour (premise)

-Scotty, the tattoo artist, told me that it was going to take 3 hours to completely finish my tattoo. (premise)

-Therefore, my new tattoo will end up costing my $375. (conclusion)

This example is a inductive reasoning because if both of the premises are true, then it is impossible for my conclusion to be false. If one of the premises were not true, than it would make the conclusion not true. The premises are what is most important while using this argument. Inductive reasoning is a good way to argue because it is supports the conclusion with facts. 

Chain Arguments

Chain arguments occur when there are at least three statements linked together. There are two statements that are true that link together to come into one concluding statement. The structure towards chain arguments are A to B, B to C, and then A is to C. Chain arguments require concrete facts to be effective. If there are not facts then it will not make the conclusion of the two statements true. Chain arguments are very effective in writing. I usually use chain arguments to get my point across if give the readers facts to support an argument. An example of chain argument is that Girls like makeup. Susie likes makeup. Therefore, Susie is a girl. This is a real basic example, but it gets the point across. I think that chain arguments are the most effective way to argue because the conclusion is based upon facts. There is no way to disagree with the arguments if there are facts that back up the concluding statements. 

Chapter 8 pg 241

I think what Watson means is that it does not matter what facts there are that disagrees with an individual’s belief; the individual will always continue to believe whatever they want to believe. Facts will never change the belief of individuals because every person just chooses what they want to believe. For example if someone believe that the Golden State Warriors are the best team in the NBA, but fact and statistics curly shows that the Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the league. Even though all the facts are there the Warrior fan will continue to believe that the Warriors are the best no matter what. I believe that Watson is correct because I see it happen a lot with myself. For example, there are a lot of different cars out there. My favorite car by far is the Evolution 9 made by Mitsubishi. When my mom and I were looking to buy a car for me the first car in my mind was the Evolution 9. While we were researching there were a lot of other cars that had better gas mileage, were faster, and has less mileage on the car. Even though we found all of these other cars that were statically better, I still thought that the Evolution 9 was the best car.