Five Myths About Healthy Eating

                                           
Ever heard of some of the excuses given as to why people don't eat healthy today? People living in poor vicinities don't have places to purchase fresh produce, modern advertising, high prices, need of nutrition information, and the large amount of fast food restaurants are the excuses about why people eat unhealthy. Katherine Mangu-Ward proves all of these beliefs false in her Washington Post opinion article "Five myths about healthy eating". In the United States, we see constantly the consequences of unhealthy eating and how many more health problems arise because of it. This article caught my eye because in this modern day, the government and powerful figures are trying various ways to find solutions to the problem of unhealthy eating. Katherine Mangu-Ward writes with numerous puns, providing some comedy for her audience, which I also enjoyed. Her approach to this topic had an obvious view of her opinion on the subject and I have to agree with Mangu-Ward. People can't make excuses for not eating healthy because what you eat is a decision you make every time you go to the refrigerator or go out to a restaurant. It's a decision and what you chose impacts your health.

Katherine Mangu-Ward's style of comic and certainty appeals to the audience in her article "Five myths about healthy eating". She throws in a couple of puns every so often with my favorite being "obesity remains a political hot potato, or maybe a tater tot," (Mangu-Ward 1). It adds some comic relief to the sometimes judgemental topic she covers. In the article, Mangu-Ward uses a wide variety of statistics and scientific studies to support her views. For the lack of fresh produce in poor vicinities, Mangu-Ward uses the facts that ninety three percent of people in these areas have a car, and farmers markets have tripled. For the advertisement belief, she quotes a study from the Institute of Medicine. Both of these techniques help appeal to the audience's logic. Katherine Mangu-Ward also compares herself as a common person with the audience when she caves in to having a chocolate milkshake. This article overall was funny, informative, and contradicts the common beliefs about healthy eating today.

Source: Mangu-Ward, Katherine. "Five myths about healthy eating." The Washington Post 14 Oct. 2011, sec. Post Opinions: n. pag. The Washington Post. Web. 16 Oct. 2011.

Psychology and Religion

                                          
The study of psychology gives up on the belief that possession of demons cause illnesses, and other religious beliefs and uses the basis of science. Gareth Cook once again writes another great opinion article for the Boston Globe, "Modern psychology's God problem". He questions the lack of religion in the work done by psychologists, and how utilizing religion could help those patients that are deeply religious. I have to agree with Cook because if someone is not in a good mental state, yet religion is part of their life, having the professional person they talk to could really help them. Though I would probably not be one of those deeply religious people, I do believe in a higher power. I also think that as their profession is defined, psychologists help patients through therapy, and if their patient believes in a higher power or is devoutly religious, then the psychologist should be giving their patient therapy that involves religion. The fact that professionals in psychology are avoiding religion in their work seems to defy the message of their profession.

Gareth Cook continues to utilize many writing techniques in "Modern psychology's God problem". In his opening, he questions the audience about a specific ability and states that God gave it to them. Cook writes of a contradiction between modern psychology and America's involvement in religion. He gives statistics about America and religion, including that over fifty percent categorize religion as very important and ninety percent belief in a higher power. Those statistics prove how important religion is in America therefore gaining the audience's point of  view. He also quotes David Rosmarin about psychology's issue with religion. Another technique that Gareth Cook uses is that he discusses a research study performed with a thirty minute video that uses the language of religion to express concepts of psychology. Cook writes of the effective results, which also appeals to the audience's logic. The last line of the article had a huge influence on the audience, when Gareth Cook writes, "It's about the field of psychology shedding its prejudices and preconceptions and returning to the first principle of therapy: meeting patients where they are," (Cook) That line convinces the audience of the basics of psychology and how their avoidance of religion needs to go. The opinion article "Modern psychology's God problem" by Gareth Cook convinces the audience of psychology's need to include religion in its work.

Source: Cook, Gareth. "Modern psychology's God problem." The Boston Globe 15 Oct. 2011, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The Boston Globe. Web. 16 Oct. 2011.

Children's books overstep evil

The children's books of today have taken on a new name for evil within the story. As kids, we feared Captain Hook from Peter Pan, the Queen of Hearts from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the evil stepmother in Snow White, and the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. However, a particular favorite children's book from my childhood was Madeline, which did not have any representations of evil-doers. This article lured me in through its analysis of how the modern day children's books have become drastically darker than my happy stories of Madeline. In the article, Maria Tatar uses Harry Potter and The Hunger Games as her prime examples, where both characters are constantly running away from death, fighting for their lives against wizards or children of their own age. I disagree that those two series should be considered on the same level of children's books with Peter Pan and the others, but children do know the plot lines of those modern day classics for kids. In the New York Times opinion piece "No More Adventures in Wonderland", Maria Tatar discusses the modern day change in the plots of children's books.

Maria Tatar gives examples that use logos to appeal to the audience in her opinion article. One example that really won me over was her use of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, which won the Newbury Medal award. The book is about a hand in the dark with a knife that kills three members of the main character's family. Sounds pretty violent to me for a children's book. Though I did not read that book, Tatar's other main example was a series I have read, The Hunger Games. A great series in my opinion, but looking back now, I realize the enormity of the violence in the plot. Children are sent to fight other children like savages in Panem. Tatar's use of examples win the audience over to the understanding that the plots are growing more violent. However, Tatar is not trying to stop this trend. She proves this when she says, "No one is about to slam the brakes on these new engines of storytelling, nor should they," (Tatar). Maria Tatar does mourn for the loss of plots similar to those of the past and how those authors would write with dedication for the audience of the kids in her article "No More Adventures in Wonderland".

Source: Tatar, Maria. "No More Adventures in Wonderland." The New York Times 9 Oct. 2011, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 9 Oct. 2011.

Starting life again with no memories

What if an accident caused you to lose all of your memories of the past? For Jane Rosett, that was exactly what happened after she was in a car accident and her head crashed into the car windshield, and resulted in a traumatic brain injury. How would you react if someone from college came up and starting talking to you and you couldn't remember who they were? A client? A friend? Even your sibling? This article explores the aftermath of Jane's accident. The article itself was honest and someone's story, which are what caused me to read it. I really thought about what it would be like if I couldn't recognize people or everyday items, and had to be introduced to everything all over again. I wouldn't have the same personality or hobbies. In the recovery process, the people who would stand by me and would be willing to help would have to be extremely patient and understanding of the new experiences. Jane is a survivor compared to many other traumatic brain injury patients who survive their accidents because the recovery path alone causes patients to struggle with their sense of the current time and moment, let alone remember the past.

In Jane Rosett's New York Times opinion piece "Brain Injury and Building a New Life Afterwards", Jane tells the personal account of her own life and the struggles she goes through in her new life. She takes on a pathos appeal to her audience by just telling her story. The fact that she had to learn to live her life all over again at the age of forty five touches the audience. She writes of her inability to recognize people who come up to her and she has no clue who she is talking to and provides examples of those awkward experiences for her when she can't remember the people who know her. Rosett writes how the memories come back to her and what causes her pain. In the article, Rosett gives statistics of traumatic brain injuries received in past years and how the normal care is not enough. She gives the connections that she makes in her current life to her life before the accident, and she gives advice to her audience on how to converse with people who have had a traumatic brain injury and make them feel included. Jane Rosett uses ethos and her recovery story to appeal to her audience in her New York Times opinion piece.

Source: Rosett, Jane. "Brain Injury and Building a New Life Afterwards." The New York Times 8 Oct. 2011, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 9 Oct. 2011.

My Younger Brother

In my family, having a younger fifteen year old brother explains a lot of who I am today. I was and still am the older sibling, so I am the responsible one, walking into the unknowns of different schools, pressures of parents, and always looking out for him. We keep each others secrets from bad school grades, to getting into trouble, or when we younger, in summer camps, and just having someone to tell secrets to other than your parents or your friends. We fight all the time, from stealing iPod headphones, money, or just trying to get to school on time. I have always admired him for being a little more carefree in life and always having fun. In the past couple of years, he has shown me true hard work and dedication to achieve his goal. Being the older sibling and having only one younger brother, has made me the responsible, smart, and hard-working person I am today.

                            

Twitter has a position in science

The rapid movement of technology taking its place in the scientific world is amazing to me. Twitter is now taking a role in the world of science. Though I do not have a Twitter, I still find it very interesting that a networking site with "tweets" only 140 characters can have an impact in science. This article peaked my interest because science is the career path that I hope to follow. Also, Gareth Cook has been a great author that I followed this past summer in a school project. In the article I found it interesting that Cornell students were able to pull together a scientific study of the world's changing mood. By sorting through tweets from three years ago up until early last year, they were able to rate the positivity of the tweets and come to some observations from their research. In Gareth Cook's opinion piece "Science and Twitter #mixwell," Cook supports the emerging aid that Twitter has become to science with evidence.

Gareth Cook's main source of evidence in his opinion piece that wins over his audience is the example of Cornell students Scott Golder and Michael Macy. In the article, Cook writes about how Golder and Macy used over 509 million tweets and analyzed their positive levels of the words. With those analyses that were used as research, these sociologists were able to find the world's mood timeline, the day's emotional arc, and a reason for why depression is so common in the winter. Pretty interesting how those tweets provided answers to sociology questions and scientific data. Gareth Cook also writes about the Library of Congress's decision to make Twitter part of its enormous collection. To some people, this addition is outrageous, however Cook thinks it is a good move to include details about the generation's daily life. Cook's opinion about this is expressed when he says, "You cannot understand a time or a place if you do not understand how people actually experienced it," (Cook). That line shows Gareth Cook's agreement to add tweets to the Library of Congress. The Boston Globe's opinion piece "Science and Twitter #mixwell" by Gareth Cook proves that today's science is being improved on with the aid of Twitter.

Source: Cook, Gareth . "Science and Twitter #mixwell." The Boston Globe 1 Oct. 2011: n. pag. The Boston Globe. Web. 2 Oct. 2011.

Scientifically in love with iPhones

In today's modern world, about how many times a day do you spend checking your phone for texts, emails, or calls? It's an interesting question considering most of us know that we check our phones even when they didn't vibrate or ring, thinking we got a text or a call. In his New York Times opinion piece "You Love Your iPhone. Literally," author Martin Lindstrom writes about the "love" this generation has for their iPhone. This piece sparked my interest because even though I don't have an iPhone (but I really want one!), I have many friends and family members who do. The variety of connections to apps and the Internet is addicting. But, scientifically speaking, Lindstrom under covers that your addiction to your iPhone is actually love. It was very interesting to find out that in Lindstrom's experiments, the activity levels in a part of the brain that are related with love and compassion were equal in response to an iPhone and the presence of a loved one. With the many actions that can be performed on an iPhone, it is not surprising that our closeness to our phones is more than an addiction.

In Martin Lindstrom's New York Times opinion piece "You Love Your iPhone. Literally," Lindstrom proves to his audience that he is valid and creditable on his subject. He is a branding consultant who is very knowledgeable on the history of Apple as a company and its products. Not only is Lindstrom's knowledge on Apple valid, but he also writes of his numerous experiments that prove the love for iPhones. Lindstrom has performed many experiments that support his claim. One was a brain activity test between famous brands and famous symbols of religion, that showed very similar results. Another was giving babies Blackberries and watching them try to slide their fingers across the screen as you would for an iPhone. Lindstrom found that the vibration sound of a phone was the third most affecting sound in the world. A final experiment that Lindstrom performed was the brain activity level in the insular cortex. The levels were the same between an iPhone's sounds and the presence of a loved one. All this evidence mounts to Lindstrom's claim that we are in love with our iPhones. However, Lindstrom does not agree with the "love" to check our iPhones constantly, but expresses his opinion to try life with your iPhone off. Martin Lindstrom proves that our generation is in love with our iPhones in his opinion piece "Your Love Your iPhone. Literally."

Source: Lindstrom, Martin. "Your Love Your iPhone. Literally.." The New York Times 30 Sept. 2011: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 2 Oct. 2011.