Finals Week Question 2

My favorite thing about this class was being able to participate in it from the comfort of my own home. I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything by not having a classroom setting. One thing I didn’t like about the class was the group work. A big plus for taking an online course is that you can work whenever is convenient for you. But with the group work, we were nailed down to specific times. I found it difficult to coordinate with so many people’s schedules, and was frustrated at the lack of responses from my group members. The other thing I didn’t like about the course was the waiting 12 hours between posts. I understand it is necessary to make posts available for people to comment on, but it would be nice if the students could post all of the blogs at once, and perhaps comment on posts from the week before.

Week 4 Post 2

Chapter seven discusses the concept of raising objections. Like Dick, on page 148, I also am interested in getting a dog. While I own my own place, when I discuss this idea with my mother, she raises quite a few objections; Who will take care of the dog when you travel? Won’t it be harder to train a dog while you have roommates? Wont it be harder to replace your roommates if you have a dog living in your house? I’m allergic to dogs, so I wont be able to come over☹ Is it fair to leave a dog home alone all day? You don’t have a yard. While I have developed counter arguments to many of the objections she has raised, I don’t have strong arguments for all of them. When compiling a pros and cons list, like suggested on page 149, I have to admit that Mom’s objections carry weight, and it is not practical for me to get a dog at this time.

Week 4 Post 1

At my job as a nanny, I speak using conditional claims all day long! A conditional claim is typically an if/ then statement, although the if or the then can be inferred, and doesn’t always need to be said outright. Often times I will say to the kids, “If you do this with a good attitude, then we can go for a treat later.” The children often make claims that are contradictory of a conditional, meaning that the antecedent is false. One of the children will make some punishment up for the other child, even though it isn’t necessarily true. For example, just today the little girl told her brother,” If you don’t help me carry the cooler, then Jen (me) will spank you.” While this is a humorous way to try to manipulate someone, the statement wasn’t actually true. I would never spank either of them (no matter how naughty they are!)

Week 3 Post 2

I found the information in chapter five about personal experience to be incredibly important. So often we accept or reject claims because of our own experiences ,that may not have much to do with the actual situation at hand. When we do this we are failing to be objective. I also thought it was interesting that page 85 says, “…we remember what we deduced from our experience, not what we actually experienced.” I believe there are many people that have one negative experience with something (or someone) and assume that all experiences with that thing or person will be negative in the future. While it is important to try to remain objective, it seems that biologically we are wired this way to protect ourselves. If I put my hand on the hot stove and I get burned, I will never put my hand on a hot stove again. But if I have a date with a German, should I never date a German again?

Content Fallacies

I have heard the slippery slope argument used many times when people are discussing politics. When someone claims something is a slippery slope, they are implying that while the initial allowance may not be that dangerous, it will quite easily and quickly lead to more dangerous situations. While I do not agree with this argument at all, I have heard people use it when it comes to discussing the legalization of gay marriage. In a discussion I had with a Christian Fundamentalist about the topic, she argued that if gay marriage was made legal, the next thing you know it would be legal to marry an animal, or have multiple spouses. She also argued that once gay marriage was legalized, they would be teaching homosexuality to elementary school students. This argument was so clearly a fallacy (and just plain insulting) because there is no evidence supporting that any of those conclusions would come to fruition.

The process of Decision Making in Groups and Teams

In chapter 3 of Group Communication book, the decision making process is laid out. I tried to apply it to different group decisions I have made recently. While it wasn't quite used to the t when we decided where to go to dinner, I did think of one time where this process worked perfectly. My brothers and I were driving cross country and had a lot of time to contemplate unimportant things. We decided we would identify the greatest rap song of all time. Here is how it applied to the pyramid in chapter 3:

Identifying the problem: we don't know the what the greatest rap song of all time is
Conducting research: we began with a google search of the top rap songs of all time, as well as an iTunes search on the most lucrative.
Establishing guidelines and criteria: we decided that it must have been popular in it's time, danceable, and hold up over time- meaning it is still played on the radio and doesn't sound dated.
Generating alternatives: We started with one song and then started submitting alternatives we believed to be superior.
Evaluating alternatives: When "Hey Ya" was submitted, we all agreed it was popular, danceable, and held up, but while it was technically sung by a rap group, we determined it was actually pop and therefore ineligible.
Selecting the best alternative: We eventually selected a song when no one could think of anything superior to it.
Implementing the solution: We joyously played the song immediately on my iPod!
Evaluating results: we told everyone we knew about our conclusion and challenged them to top it.

In case you are curious the greatest rap song of all time is The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize."

Nice to meet you!

Hello Classmates! I am The Little Tomatoe, and very much looking forward to getting to know you all! I am currently finishing a vacation in Kauai, an have created this blog on my phone! I promise I will make it more beautiful when I return home!