Hi, Everyone.
As part of your group work during tomorrow's discussion of our three "scientific" genre samples, please spend some time writing a brief but coherent post on the question that corresponds with the genre you analyzed:
• Mann Group: what role do metaphors, imagery, and word choice play in conveying how Mann thinks we should feel about the impending “death shortage”?
• Wald Group: how does Wald push the limits of current research on ethanol use and production to increase the certainty of his position on the topic?
• Wechsler Group: On page 86 of his chapter on "Arrangement," Gross quotes Francis Bacon to say that “a research program, in fact, consists of ‘a double scale or ladder, ascendent and descendent; ascending from experiments to the invention of causes, and descending from causes to the invention of new experiments’.” Where do you see this “ladder” principle at work in Wechsler et al’s study, and how does it support the study's aim?
Feel free to post your group response by "commenting" to this post.
-Dr. Graban
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
To begin Wald does not agree that ethanol can release the U.S from foreign oil dependency. He gives many reasons for his position against ethanol. He starts with explaining exactly how little ethanol we are actually producing which is only about 5 billion gallons yearly while gasoline remains at 140 billion gallons yearly. There are many plants going up but it is simply not worth the time effort, and the energy it takes to produce ethanol. To produce ethanol it takes more energy than it provides. That information alone seems to win me over, because why do it? Wald also references a part of the reason why we are so adament about ethanol usage right now which is politics. We are being persuaded by politicians with an agenda in "farm states" to accept this new fuel although it is really not beneficial in the long run. Wald continues to make valid points such as the fact that you actually will end up buying more ethanol to fuel your vehicle than you would have to buy regular unleaded fuel.
To sum this up, I think that Wald makes a very successful arguement using the information he gives us to convince us we would be wrong to continue on with the effort to produce more ethanol, and that we should find another better alternative to foreign oil.
-A.J and Brett
Mann makes several references to figures in pop culture, that for many are associated with obnoxious images, including Anna Nicole Smith, Michael Moore, and Donald Trump. These three individuals are not often considered ‘America’s sweethearts’ and are commonly mocked in the public eye. For a reader, imagining any of these plump unpleasant people leaving for an exceptionally amount of time is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. Mann also draws on the image of unhappy married couples, saying as the human life span increased divorce would become, “a functional substitute for death.” For many living with a “spouse whose charm has faded” this image would also cast human longevity in a negative light.
Mann really pulls together a very graphic view of what the world would look like if science created a way to extend the life of human beings.
The opening paragraph starts off with the story of Anna Nicole Smith's battle for her late husband's money. This metaphor that Mann started off with really stood out as a starting point. Whether you viewed her as a gold digger or not, the question that he really wanted you to think about was would this have been as big of an issue if people had a much longer life expectancy than they do now, say a new one of 150 years.
Mann used graphic examples such as what would happen to the work force, older people would be working longer before retirement, which would lead to a shortage of jobs for the young. Another was showing how people would wait longer before they would consider marriage and having children, which would lead to a rate of birth to go much lower than would be needed to sustain the population.
The next thing that I really though gave Mann a way of showing us what it would be like is what he said about the economy. Playing with words, he said that things would turn around when dealing with immigration to the United States. The economy would be so bad here that people would be flocking to countries that are currently to us as third world as a way to find jobs. He used Mexico as one of his examples.
Mann really was able to write in a way to make this sound like it is a very bad thing for our future if this happens, and his use of language really succeeds in this case.
In Wechsler's article the ascending part of the "ladder" is evident in the Methods and Results sections of the study. The section describing the methodology used to conduct the "experiment" (the samples chosen and questionarres given to students discussing binge drinking) leads to the invention of the causes, which are in this case the correlates significant in student binge drinking. These findings then begin the descending "ladder" into the invention of new experiments, which is essentially found in the Discussion section. The new experiments would be the efforts placed to reduce binge drinking among college students, based on the aformentioned causes. The article's aim focuses on the importance of this evidence in devising a new and hopefully improved way in dettering student drinking. These "ladders" help create an arrangement that is easy to follow and parallel what is done in an actual procedure.
Mann's word choice, imagery and metaphor are all based on his personal sense of humor.He opens up his article with the story of Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall, leaving the reader the ability to judge these characters on his or her own. Mann is able to use many terms and references with in pop culture to appeal to his audience. Mann refers to the ending "Anna Nicole Smith Syndrome" as one of the only benefits from increased life span. His use of her name as a syndrome allows the reader to judge what kind of person she was, and assume that she was a "gold digger". Mann also uses "Organs R' Us" to refer to organ farms. This is another way he is able to take a subject and modify it for his audience. It adds humor to the article, and allows his reader to create an image of an actual organ farm set up like a toy store, where you pick out what you need then check out at the next available register. He describes the possible future as an H.G. Well's "Time Machine" era, where two groups of human beings( in this case the young and the old), are fighting for civilization. His use of this epic novel is an important way to connect the reader with an image that they are most likely to know about, since most American's had to read this book sometime in their high school career. Mann is able to connect the scientific evidence and language, with the use of his humor and metaphor. His language is appealing to everyday readers, and allows the readers to build their own images, based off of prior knowledge.
Mann uses word choice very effectively to convey how the reader should feel about the possible "death shortage". My favorite example is on p163 when he is describing what senior citizens will be using their money on in the future. He explains how they no longer will be investing in their families (college tuition, house down-payments, etc.) but that they will be spending their retirement money on themselves (memories, senses, and immune systems) in order to live longer. However, Mann does not call the older generation senior citizens; instead, he chooses the phrase "rich oldsters" which has a negative, irresponsible connotation. Also, Mann uses imagery to help form the readers' opinions also. On p164, Mann uses a credible outside source (Kass) to explain how more and more adults are living with their parents as they age. He even uses a British word to describe this group of young adults, "Kippers"--"kids in parents' pockets eroding retirement savings". Mann helps the reader imagine the negative aspects of having an adult live with his or her parents, i.e. not learning responsibility (living rent free), unemployed or working part-time, etc.
These are just two examples of the many instances of how Mann uses literary devices to appeal to the audiences emotions and make them feel a certain way about the "death shortage".
Wald goes to considerable length to tell us why the current methods of producing ethanol for fuel impractical. He gives us allot of numbers and facts and figures in proving to us this fact. But when he is giving us his solution of using cellulose sources for ethanol, all of this empirical data disappears. He just asserts that it will be much better process.
Post a Comment