You need to read the science of fear chapter 2 and 3 pdf
files that I have attached below then answer to these 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?
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