Most of the discussions this quarter will deal with The Science of Fear. Every chapter in the book contains at least one argument, which is the main focus of this class

June 29, 2019

Discussion :The Science of Fear Chapters 2 and 3

Most of the discussions this quarter will deal with The Science of Fear. Every chapter in the book contains at least one argument, which is the main focus of this class. So, even if you think Gardner are full of crap, his book should at least demonstrate some strategies of argumentation. These strategies and your reactions to their arguments will be the focus of the discussion
questions.

Your responses to each of the questions should be at least 200 words long and should incorporate specific examples and/or quotations from the text.

Here are the questions:
1. Gardner gives us a rather dire version of our modern attitudes about the world around us: “Open the newspaper, watch the evening news. On any given day, there’s a good chance that someone – a journalist, activist, consultant, corporate executive, or politician – is warning about an ‘epidemic’ of something or other that threatens you and those you hold dear” (6). All of these dire warnings and predictions of doom and gloom, Gardner argues, leads us to think that our world is always on the verge of collapse, and that is why we live in fear of so many things. Do you see this in the world today? Are we a “risk society” – overly concerned with risks?
2. From page 19 to the very top of page 23 Gardner gives us a very condensed lesson on the evolution of humans. What is the purpose of this four page evolutionary review? How does it fit into Gardner’s ideas and the point(s) he is trying to make? Is doing this a good choice for him as a writer? Explain yourself, of course.
3. Re-read the sections where Gardner discusses some of the rules that influence our choices: Appearance equals reality (24), The Anchoring Rule (36), The Rule of Typical Things (41), and The Example Rule (46). For three of the rules, describe a time you have seen it working in everyday life, but do not use the any of Gardner’s examples.
4. Since this week is focused on ways you can use sources in your arguments, pay attention to how Gardner incorporates source material into his writing. Choose two instances in each chapter (2 and 3) where he uses a source and make some observations about how he uses them. How does he introduce them? Why do you think he chooses to use them as he does? In other words, if he directly quotes a source, why quote it instead of summarize or paraphrase the information? How is he using them? To support his idea(s)? For an acknowledgement to the opposition? Just for entertainment purposes? For an emotional appeal?

4 To practice your summary and paraphrase skills, I am having you write some summaries and paraphrases of The Science of Fear. ( CHAP 2 AND 3) For this first exercise write a short paragraph (3-6 sentences) summary of the section that explains The Rule of Typical Things and the one on The Example Rule. Also, choose two sections from this week’s reading that are three to four sentences and paraphrase them. So, you should end up with two summaries and two paraphrases.
Remember, summaries are much shorter than the original text and paraphrases are roughly the same length as the original.

The post Most of the discussions this quarter will deal with The Science of Fear. Every chapter in the book contains at least one argument, which is the main focus of this class appeared first on Ink Essays.

Most of the discussions this quarter will deal with The Science of Fear. Every chapter in the book contains at least one argument, which is the main focus of this class