Texting

We spent a lot of time in English 1213 discussing whether texting is as good of a form of communication as talking face-to-face.  My opinion is that texting is an inferior for of communication, because mere words will never be able to convey the emotions and subtleties that conversation has. On the radio today, I heard the results of studies that back up my viewpoint.

Pirates of the Internet

Pirating has become a giant issue since the rise of the Internet.  Every day, millions of people share songs with each other or download blockbuster games for free, most with no idea that what they're doing is illegal. Stealing physical objects obviously harms the person stolen from: they own a car, now you have it, they want it back.  Digital robbery, on the other hand, is much less tangible and understandable.  How can getting a file be wrong if the provider does not lose a file?  How are they harmed by that?  Nevertheless, digital piracy is illegal in the United States, although usually not enforced due to the high number of pirates.

Reflection

Before English 1213, I never thought much about what made up an effective argument.  If I did, I would have placed being logically sound as the most important requirement for being effective.  Now I know that there are several other equally important parts of effective arguments.  One of those features is ethos.  Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, the textbook for English 1213, summarized ethos as the "appeal to credibility."  Based on the textbook, in-class discussions, and other readings, I have developed my own definition of ethos.  Ethos is the professional and personal background of the author.  Having a strong professional background, such as having written several bestselling books on the topic being discussed, contributes immensely to the credibility of the writing, while revealing personal details helps readers understand why the author took a particular stance in his writing.

Killing Time

After writing about gaming and Internet addiction in South Korea for an English paper, I started worrying how much I was addicted  to my computer.  The profile of one of my Steam 'friends' showed that he had played a game 140 hours in the last two weeks.  I knew I didn't play computer games for 10 hours a day, but I wondered how much I did spend.  As an experiment, I decided to record how much time I spent playing computer games or being online for entertainment over one week.

Benefits of Skype

My best friends and I grew up doing everything together.  At any given point in time we could be found at one of our houses, playing the newest board game we were inventing.  Or perhaps we would be at an empty park, fighting Airsoft wars with plastic pellet-firing guns.  Other times, we could be hidden at a nearby forest, building a secret hideout.  Unfortunately, all of our activities ceased when we all moved to different states.  Now, it is difficult to talk to, much less spend time with, each other.  However, there is a technology that lets us talk to one another and even see whoever we are talking to: Skype.  Because Skype has enabled us to maintain our friendships even though we live in different states, Skype is a very beneficial technology.