Easy = True?

Being a facts and figures junkie, this article speaks to me on many different levels. For one, it serves to solidify my understanding of Logos - from a theoretical aspect to a more practical one. It connects the dots that have been placed in the last couple of weeks at ILS class, whereby we have mainly focused on more abstract concepts. Moreover, it opened my eyes to the whole idea that virtually everyone trying to sell something to me, whether via promotion in person or via advertisement, taps into Logos (and most definitely Pathos and Ethos, though that is out of the scope of this discussion) in an attempt to sway me.

In working through the writing assignments during the Logos phase, I’ve come to realize that many aphorisms chosen by my fellow students are constructed with simple words by their authors. Clever permutation of simple words allows authors to create more complex structures and convey multiple ideas. As such, I’ve noticed that the benefit of an author’s use of accessible language is twofold – one, to reach out to a larger audience, and two, to ensure that it “sticks” with readers.

A particular finding which struck a chord with me talks about how fluent things are familiar and comfortable. As an international student, I often crave simple, Chinese food. The very taste of my carbohydrate staple back home, plain white rice, is something that I have to go back to once every week. Potatoes and pasta just don’t fill me up like white rice does. That also probably explains why grandma’s brownies and mom’s apple pies always taste so good.

As we have dealt with much theory over the past couple of weeks, a real-life example of Logos in action definitely helped to sensitize me to the whole idea of the “science” of persuasion. It all started to make sense – semantic value, word choice, diction level, schemes, word order, arrangement and syntax, all had a place in every aspect of our lives. Think about it, our everyday conversations with people, advertisement, literally everything we see and hear goes through the whole process of rhetorical figure. What is ultimately transmitted strongly defines our emotions, thoughts and actions. Such is the moving power of rhetoric.

The article got me thinking, why do college students choose to do chapter summaries? Well, with thorough revision of the material, they are able to better sort and compartmentalize the information into simpler, more organized pieces. What was previously a spew of information in the textbook has now become a useful, coherent flow of ideas. It is always through this flow of digesting dense information, breaking it down into an understandable format that processing really begins. The same concept applies to language.

Unfortunately however, the notion most commonly conveyed nowadays is that intelligent people speak in complicated prose. It seems desirable to speak in flowery language, where only a select few, if any, can understand. Our society is conditioned to believe that people whose opinions are more intricate, more complex, more multi-faceted are smarter than those who communicate in clear and intelligible thought. Culture often associates simplicity with ignorance. It is most certainly not a good thing if someone calls you a simpleton.

Despite what we are all led to believe, I feel that people who over-complicate things are not necessarily more intelligent. On the contrary, they may be less experienced, more confused and lack the mental flexibility to grasp the material in different ways.

Therefore, enlightened is the person who can take a complicated issue and express it clearly in simple terms.

In conclusion, I feel that the article by Bennett is a useful piece in giving just one of the many real-world examples of how rhetoric is so pervasive in our lives. It reinforces my understanding of the integral part that Logos plays in expressing a thought and putting forth an argument. After all, who doesn’t want to sound convincing?

First Hand Witness

Sitting with my dad, brother, and some of our employees just three rows up along the first base side of the diamond I anxiously waited for the warm-ups to conclude and the game to start because for the first time that season I was able to enjoy the game surrounded by forty thousand other screaming and passionate fans as we cheered on the Crew in hopes of a thrilling victory; today I wouldn’t have to just hear Bob Uecker’s hall-of-fame voice call the game over the Brewers Radio Network while I tilled the soil or just watch it on FSN Wisconsin while play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson passionately called the game with color analyst and former Major League catcher Bill Schroeder, but I could first hand watch the action as Yovani Gallardo went through the windup to throw an opening pitch breaking ball that just caught the black and fooled the batter into looking at strike one, and I could hear the batter up song as the left handed hitting Prince Fielder marched towards the batter’s box with hopes of adding another RBI to his yearly total, and, if the first eight innings went as planned, I could hear and feel the sound as Hells Bells rang loud enough for the neighboring community to hear while Trevor Hoffman trotted onto the field to close out a win in the ninth inning of another Brewers’ victory!

Home Run

I’m not sure what possessed me then, but it was just one of those dog day afternoons when I decided not to take the big old red bus; I sprinted across the road briskly, past the rows of swanky restaurants, malls and offices thronged with a sea of well dressed professionals, along the row of shop houses that were overflowing with the delightful scent of saffron and cinnamon, through the empty soccer pitch strewn with tawny leaves and onto a sturdy stone bridge that towered above the bustling highway, leading me to a narrow, helical staircase which I bounded up, inadvertently brushing past a weary old man hobbling with a hefty load of newspapers; Sorry I say, it is just one of those days, and I earnestly burst through the wooden door, only to step into the quietness and eventual realization that once again, I was alone.

8/16/2009

Arriving at the scene the victim was no where to be found, but his bike, a Suzuki 1200 Bandit S, was totaled, practically unrecognizable laying motionless on the jet-black asphalt (battered by the overturning motion of the flying motorcycle and resembled a golf course with divots more than it did a road) and sat on the edge of a subterranean ditch, a ditch my family and I passed about a million times every day since our thirteen years on North Birchwood Lane, a subdivision so secluded from the outside world not even the delivery boys know where to find; it used to be a peaceful ditch, where deer and squirrels merrily pranced and played, but ever since that dreadful day, I pass by the ditch on Pioneer Road and shudder and hyperventilate and break down because the last time I closely gazed upon that ditch, my father was laying in it.

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger. – Confucius

Today, thinking and learning are considered positive habits but rarely have the both of them been collectively emphasized. While schools generally encourage students to think for themselves, the process of learning new material and getting the grade devalues the thought process that is quintessential in development. This topic of learning and thinking is often the subject of the maxim that many great thinkers delve on. One would be hard-pressed to think that someone back in the day could come up with a saying that rings ever so true even today.

Flashback to 551 BC. Confucius – thinker, philosopher and educator whose influence on Chinese history has been compared with that of Socrates and Aristotle.

Preferring silence over the utterance of scholarly prose, Confucius chose his words with due caution. One would think that spending a highly contemplative life would lead to the procurement of much knowledge, and quite rightfully so. Over the years, he has been cited and parodied for his sayings and words of wisdom. He founded the Confucian school of thought that centered upon the pillars of how one should live their lives and interact with the world around them.

Among his library of works, I have chosen this aforementioned aphorism as I feel that it captures the whole learning process succinctly – the very reason why we are here in college (and ILS for that matter) - so that we learn to think, and as Confucius will concur, think to learn. He purports that they are not mutually exclusive, linear processes. But rather, they are ongoing, and seamlessly transition into each other. For an education to be considered successful, thinking and learning have to be part of a continuous two-way process.

Confucius never limited his choice of students or audience, evident in his overarching choice of words. This broad appeal unconsciously prompts readers to “think” and “learn”, and the mere mention of these two verbs catalyze the thinking and learning process. Upon reading the blog title, you might find yourself pondering its true meaning, maybe you might begin reading up on Confucius, his teachings, philosophies, analects and I am certain that you might find something within to apply to your own life. Therein lays the effectiveness, and beauty, of the quote.

Like many Confucian sayings, the inductive logic at work holds more substance to this saying than there appears to be. While the message is clear, its implicit meaning holds substantial truth and gradually unraveling its layers will reveal a deeper significance.

Principally, thinking and learning does not refer to getting an education alone. If someone is a good thinker and learner, does he mean he is learned and educated? Perhaps Confucius meant to cover more bases than we initially thought. Though society has generalized notions that these terms refer to getting an education and in a very loose sense of the term, “academically intelligent”, I believe being a good thinker and learner can also apply to other aspects of our lives, say for example, physical intelligence. Any athlete can tell you about the mental fortitude and perceptiveness it takes to outwit and outplay their opponents on the field. Being able to self correct, pick apart weakness and ultimately win, involves a great deal of thinking and learning, both on and off the pitch/court/field. A seamless flow between these processes is ideal; one cannot exist without the other. They enforce each other to create a snowball effect that leads to the stimulation of cognitive activity, generation of creative ideas and the stimulation of analytical and evaluative skills.

Being lost conjures the image of lacking a compass, intellectually, morally or spiritually. To learn without thinking means the absorption of knowledge without reflection; to be a passive absorber, much like a sponge. Without actively ruminating and making sense of what is before us, we do not have a perspective on it, and we are thus lost. From any existing body of information that is presented to us, we have the capacity and opportunity to churn out new ideas and share these with the world. The ability to analyze gaps in knowledge, fallacies, assumptions, stereotypes, strengths; such is the power of the human intellect. If we merely absorb the knowledge (which might mean learning to some, but definitely not to me) without actively thinking about it, the information is lost on us. The whole point of learning is to gain something useful, but it will only be so if we think, discuss, and form opinions about it.

To be in great danger, as Confucius puts it, is to jeopardize one’s life or career, whether working or academic (just to name a few). For example, college students would be at the danger of failing their exams if they simply answered essay questions based on what they thought, without being able to explain with concrete evidence and facts they are supposed to have internalized from material during the course of their learning.

For a more literal interpretation of being in danger, I shall begin with a question, “Why do we have laws?” If there weren’t any laws to govern us, there would be complete anarchy and chaos (literally, great danger). People would act impulsively and there would surely be much display of unrestrained behavior. Having laws keep people in check; we learn about the law at an early age, and are assimilated into society to think in a certain lawful way so that there would be order and peace.

Everyone has the capacity to think and form their own opinions, but our points of view are baseless without some sort of foundation, and this is where the knowledge we learn come in. Facts, theories, evidence, case studies and knowledge that we pick up in books and in school help to buttress our opinions. They are anchors to our thoughts. We must always be able to justify our reasons/thoughts with some form of logic. It would be hard to get by otherwise because it is the linchpin of society. Should we choose to think without learning or vice versa, society and man are doomed.

Reading through the phrase quickly, one would get the idea that there is repetition involved. However, clever permutation of his subjects (thinking and learning) and consequence (being lost and in great danger) provide suitable juxtapose of structures in both sentences. It turns both sentences in on themselves and with only a seemingly minor change, this stirs the want in the reader to give it another pass. The reader is rewarded this second time around with a more logical understanding of the whole idea. Along with this, a second pass yields a different and deeper meaning, reinforced by Confucius’s employment of concise words which forces the reader to contemplate his intended meaning. It is useful in this scenario, as it creates a pensive mood, which I believe is the intended effect. In essence, a simple and ingenious play of words and structure help create the very act of thinking and learning, playing right into the author’s assertion.

Its uncomplicated choice of words and epigrammatic structure distill the very essence of Confucian thought and philosophy. How thinking should not exist without the learning, and how both aspects are interdependent. The beauty of this timeless aphorism lies in its simplicity and cleverness, and it is a maxim that I feel everyone should always have at the back of their minds.

Without the will to prepare...

Without the will to prepare the desire to win means nothing.

Embedded, not so deeply, inside each and every human being is the must win attitude. We can’t simply accept that another person could possibly be better than us. Whether the competition is academic, athletic, financial, or involves a relationship ‘I’ believe ‘I’ have to be victorious. However, this statement sends a stern warning to those who simply hope to excel at their particular activity; one fails to celebrate victory unless the proper preparation is carried out.

We can hope, dream, and desire to achieve a goal all day long, but if we lack the motivation, passion, and will to prepare ourselves to reach our goal the desire to win means nothing. In eleven simple words this maxim sums up what coaches, teachers, parents, and employers want their pupils to have engraved in their mind. This maxim is not ground shattering news. It simply states a truth we have known for millenniums. Despite the fact that everyone knows it takes focus, determination, and work to reach the pinnacle of any dream we try to achieve our success by putting in as little of that work and time as we believe we can sneak by with. The problem with this attitude is that we then ask ourselves, for example, “Why did I just receive a B in that class while Joe received an A?” The obvious answer lies in the fact Joe put as much time into studying as he needed to achieve success where ‘I’ did not. However, we commonly will try to avoid accepting that fact and try to spin the truth into blaming some other extenuating circumstance. We do not want to admit to ourselves that our own laziness caused our failure. If when striving to win or achieve goals we keep this maxim in mind we will stay focused on the correct path to success.

Using inductive reasoning this statement sends a clear message of how to avoid failure when trying to achieve success. It does not necessarily explain how to achieve the success, but says how not preparing results in no real chance of success. Taking the small and focused statement, without the will to prepare, we are exposed to the broad truth that the desire to win means nothing. By just failing to accept the specific fact that we must work hard and prepare to win, everything about winning (even our desire to win) means nothing because it won’t come true. Inductive reasoning is essential to making this maxim meaningful because it demonstrates that by skipping one step (albeit an important one) in the process terminates the entire chance of winning.

The presentation of this statement is strait forward. No fancy clues, no analogies, and nothing has to be assumed in order to understand it’s in depth meaning. It avoids humor because it portrays an essential message. Without the will to prepare the desire to win means nothing neither overstates nor understates the importance of its meaning. This statement could be considered a coaches best friend because it targets the problem (not wanting to prepare), and it shows that unless this challenge is overcome the hope of success will not mean anything.

The one thing that ties this maxim together is the structure, most notably the first and last words. Both without and nothing are extreme words. They do not describe or allow for an intermediate opinion. The placement at the beginning and end of such clearly defined words magnifies the importance of preparation if one desires to win. These are the only two words in this statement that have such clearly defined and passionate meanings. With these two bold words capping off the statement, the more emotionally driven middle part injects feeling into the maxims reader. Will, prepare, desire, and win all mean something slightly different in each situation, but they trigger an emotional and heartfelt response. With these more vaguely defined words surrounded by intense, clearly defined words the structure helps support the message of this maxim. The presentation and the structure make this a clear-cut and strait forward message.

When analyzing the diction used I found that it was closely linked to the structure. There are no rhymes or extremely elaborate words used, but they all tie each other and the entire statement together. The word choice is similar to the overall impact of the statement which is plainly presented and clearly defined. The effect of this diction is that anyone who hears this statement should understand the importance of its meaning.

This maxim is original. Even though one could argue that a statement so simple and obvious should be considered a cliché I believe it is not because it is not as commonly repeated as the clichés our society loves. This statement greatly impacts anyone who hears it because it is original and yet means so much. The fact that we must face the challenge of preparation in order to even hope to win hits home with everyone.

We know that success does not come easy. People posses certain talents, but none of us can win what we set out for if we fail to work hard and prepare for the challenges that face us on our journey. This simple sentence carries so much meaning because it reminds us in a compact way that we must have will and determination to prepare if we hope to be considered a winner.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

In every household, there exist certain sayings that light up the room. For example, my mom loves the phrase, “Buck up!” She usually utters it when I am down on myself, my dad is having a tough week at the office, or when my brother just got a bad mark on a test. My dad on the other hand, sticks to more comical remarks sucks as “How y’all doin?” or “Yeehaw maynard!” You see, his family first lived in Missouri, then reluctantly made its way up to Wisconsin, where people refrain from saying “y’all.” Now, however, my family lives by a more serious, more important saying: Bad things happen to good people.

On August 16, 2009 my life changed in a split second. My mom and I sat upstairs sorting my closet for college. My brother, like every sixteen year old, was at the local Sendik’s bagging groceries for nominal pay. My dad came up to let my mom and I know he was going for a quick motorcycle ride. Literally 3 minutes passed and my dad was back. He forgot to grab the movie we rented the night before. He was trying to be thoughtful and return it to the store so one of us didn’t have to, but my brother took it back on his way to work. I told this to my day while also modeling my mom’s old prom dress. He gave out a laugh and was on his way out again.

This is the part that begins to blur. Five minutes later, the phone rang. It was a random number so my mom tried to persuade me to let voicemail get it, but I had a gut feeling. I should answer this call. Scott Bergman. 262-673-2060. I will remember that name and number for the rest of my life. “Your husband has been hit on his motorcycle.” That’s all I had to hear before I started to hyperventilate. “Where is he? Where is he? Where is my dad!” I screamed.

“On the corner of Pioneer and I-43” Mr. Bergman answered.

“That’s a mile from our house! We will be there in two minutes!” I hung up the phone and my mom and I were out the door before I could even grab a pair of shoes. Thoughts were racing through my head. How am I going to find him? Who hit my dad? Is he going to be all right? I was so nervous because I saw my dad leave and I remembered that he did not have his motorcycle jacket on, the one with all the protective padding, for the first time ever. It was the first eighty degree day of summer, he was working outside all day and he was hot and wanted to take a quick ride to cool off. This jacket was his protection. If he didn’t have it on, how did he survive this crash?

My mom and I cruised down our road going a million miles per hour. We reached the intersection – no dad. I saw a minivan, a dented in SUV, but no Suzuki 1200 Bandit. Then I saw him. I was out of the car and at the bottom of the ditch before my mom even stopped the car. “DADDY!” My father was lying helpless in the ditch. He was conscious, breathing, lucid…

“I’m O.K. Jess. Daddy’s O.K. It’s just my foot.”

I looked more closely at him and his left foot was twisted, bent, turned around…not his normal left foot. He has an impeccable pain tolerance so he laid there and described what happened. He was driving down our quiet road, when a lady in her SUV made a left turn, not realizing he was right in front of her. She made a left turn and ran over MY dad. He tried to swerve and almost escaped. Three more inches would have done it. His bike went flying in the air, he landed in a ditch 200 feet away. A lady ran over my dad. How could someone do this?

If you know my dad, he is the safest driver on a motorcycle you will ever encounter. My brother and him would ride their dirt bikes as a hobby, but now Corey is sixteen and wanted to drive on the roads. My dad was always cautious with Corey and told him repeatedly, “You have to drive like you’re on defense. There are some inattentive drivers out there who will not notice you on a motorcycle, so you have to be on the lookout for these people constantly.” Like I said, he is the safest motorcycle driver you will find. His helmet that he was wearing that day saved his life.

Luckily the ambulance, five police cars and a fire truck arrived. Good thing too. If I had to wait another second at the scene, the unaware woman would have had my fist in her face. The paramedics loaded my dad into the ambulance and I rode with while my mom went home and locked up the house. The paramedic in charge told me my dad’s break was so severe it could possibly be an amputation. Amputation. Hearing the word just makes me shudder.

I stayed by my dad’s side, but he was air lifted to the best orthopedic trauma hospital. I am going to skip the gory details, but after long hard work, there was nothing else the surgeons could do for my father. Two days after the accident, they took my father’s foot.

It has been almost six months since my father’s accident and that day still haunts us. He has maintained such an optimistic outlook on life. Instead of thinking about what he doesn’t have, he remembers what he does: his life. It is miraculous that he survived the crash to begin with. When an SUV rams a motorcycle, the outcome is never this good. My dad’s life, my life and my family’s life will change forever, but it slowly improves as the months pass.

The small phrase, bad things happen to good people, never crossed my mind until August 16^th. We have always been such a privileged family. To this day we wonder why on Earth this happened to us. My dad wasn’t a crazy Harley owner who raced down freeways with a T-shirt and a do rag. Instead, he was a cautious driver, always wore his helmet and constantly was on the lookout for inattentive motorists.

Bad things happen to good people. A short, upfront sentence that presents its idea clearly. It doesn’t present the in a comical manner, nor does it understate or overstate it. The saying applies a serious tone that essentially achieves its entire meaning. Irony. This six word sentence ironically changed our life in an instant. One would assume that only bad things happen to bad people. However, in this scenario, a traumatic accident led to a dramatic life change for an amazing man and his entire family. August 16^th came and gone. We are not going to let a six letter saying paralyze our entire lives. Therefore we chose to live by another one of my mom’s sayings, one that picks us up on the cloudiest days: don’t let this tragic accident define who you really are.