FW Some thoughts at the end of the day

It's amber sunset behind the path. A stream flows past and cuts down the staircase of water falls, between the cliffs, and then out, on into the sea. Gulls cry and call above the murmur and boom of waves on the rocks. Cool breezes turn chilly with the setting sun, the water darkens and grays. The tide will soon be coming in, but at the base of the cliffs we wander looking for mussels before returning home.

But mussels are best found where the waves beat on rocks, and everywhere here is open sand or cliff. So maybe out there by that big rock, standing like piece of the cliff broken off? We wade across the stream, rolled up pants, cold water getting chillier as the tide comes in. A few morsels, but nothing large enough to take. Erin climbs up the rock, laughing and exclaiming when she slips. David takes off towards the other direction loping along on his tall legs. Dad goes on further, determined to find some mussels. Mom and the other girls are getting cold, and start to head back. It's getting dim.

We come to the stream, deeper and wider now, and get soaked going back. David runs up excited: he's found a good spot, a precarious bit of rock right around the edge of the cliff. Dad gets out his flashlight, hands a screwdriver to David for prying mussels, and I get the bucket. The girls head back up to the van to dry out and get warm.

Crouched on the outcropping they hack at the mussels while I stand with the bucket, watching for big waves in the blackness. Some slap up around our legs, and others simply wash over us. After the second one of those, we figure it's time to go while we still can.

Back in the van the heater's on high. We are all soaked, but warm. Wrapped in wool blankets and smelling like the sea, we drive home telling stories along the way.

TA Introduction Practice

What is the point of an animation major learning calculus? While a professional will probably use the practical aspects of calculus, practice is quite a different thing from theory. What use are mathematical proofs to an artist? The other point of view is that everything you learn about your craft can be beneficial to your art. Certainly there must be some benefit to understanding the principles behind the software you use? But then again, how much benefit?

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The world gets smaller every day: by way of trade, immigration, and social movements. The need to understand the world only increases, yet the stereotypical American remains ignorant, proud, and uninformed concerning foreign culture. Unfortunately this stereotype still fits far too many people.

But how does one start to change a culture so centered on itself? Educational reform? The educational bureaucracy is a behemoth to wrestle, even assuming that you can get the proper legislation passed. By public media? Entertainment is a risky enough business, even without trying to sell something mostly unrelated to the common American experience. Economic incentives? Common "wisdom" has it that all the incentives are to immigrate to the USA and learn English.

Yet the fact remains that events in a foreign lands are having increasing impact on life in the US; and that all too often the American populace is sorely under-equipped to understand those foreign events.

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A man I once talked to on the bus observed that it's difficult to retire. He worked as a construction worker; said that despite the physically challenging bit of work, he saw many workers, who'd come back to earn extra money. It wasn't really the money. It's just that, if construction's what you've been doing all day, every day for forty years long, it's tough to stop cold turkey no matter how much your body aches from aging and labor. Of course they're not chucking plywood up to rooftops or putting in ceilings, but there's plenty to do besides that. And there's lots of ways to keep the aches away and the body going...

He went on to comment on how many workers would use drugs in various combinations, herbal and prescription, legal and otherwise to keep themselves on their feet.

RA "Strike a Blow for Democracy in Asia"

Audience

Readership interested enough in Washington politics to write, call, or otherwise sway the result of a vote.

Question

WATCO of limiting or removing ROL (rule-of-law) education aid to Cambodia?

Reasoning

Ethos

The State Department and the Asian Wall Street Journal are quoted as sources of authority. The author of the article implies that he is an authority as well, by evaluating the article as "correctly reporting."

Ordinary citizens rather than the dictatorial government of Cambodia are the ones requesting aid for ROL education.

Pathos

The article appeals to the disappointment of Vietnam. Argues that following current course would result in a similar tragedy.

Also appeals to dislike of dictator by presenting the US as being more of an obstacle to human rights education than the dictator.

Logos

Removing ROL education would hinder the development of democracy in Cambodia, because removing ROL would hinder the development of an educated populace.

There is no infrastructure or populace capable of supporting ROL. Visible progress has been made in restoring both populace and infrastructure by way of US aid.

Aid for ROL education should be provided regardless of the current form of government, because it is essential for the development of a democratic government. Likewise, it does not support a dictatorial government.

Sufficient

While the argument seems sound, the author, as director of a program likely affected by the change in funding, is left open to the criticism that he is protecting his job.

Typical

The argument uses resources that are typical to a newspaper format (with perhaps the exception of quoting another newspaper.)

Accurate

As director of a Cambodian aid program, the facts are likely accurate. The actual connection between ROL aid and the development of the infrastructure is only implied: he could be glossing over the fact that the most influential programs were not funded by the US government. However presenting that kind of evidence would not work in a newspaper article format.

Relevant

At the time of writing, both sides of congress were in the process of deciding how much to cut aid to Cambodia. Suspension of current funds was an administrative decision that could still be reversed.

Effective?

The article would be slightly more persuasive to me if it were written by an impartial spectator. However it seems sound.

TA Practice with Enthymemes (?sp)

• WATCO of raising the cutoff GPA at BYU?

Raising the cutoff GPA for admittance to BYU will increase students' tendency to whine about their grades.

B/C Raising the cutoff GPA increases the number of A students at BYU, of which a certain percentage are only A students by way of whining about their B+ scores to teachers.

• WATCO of appealing to the authority of "scientists" to prove a fact to a science major?

Using the authority of a scientist to prove a fact to a science major will likely be met with skepticism.

B/C Science as a discipline relies on arguments based on evidence and reasoning rather than authority. Thus a science major will be skeptical of someone who relies on their position of authority instead of evidence and argumentation in explaining facts.

• WATCO of never quitting on your mental health?

Never quitting and never winning is just stupid.

B/C Consistently failing and yet still trying to win is like intentionally setting yourself up for disappointment.

• WATCO of accepting food that you never intend on eating?

Accepting gifts that you don't intend to use establishes a junky relationship between giver and recipient.

B/C Accepting a useless gift just increases the junk you manage in your life, while establishing a precedent for yet another useless gift which can only hurt the giver.

RA Advertisement - Daily Universe back page, Tue Jan 15

Audience

Three audiences are addressed, each a subset of the previous.
First: BYU Students in general. They however are not concerned with the question.
Second: Marriott School students, who are potential applicants to Deloitte services.
Third: Winners of the National Tax Case Study Competition. Top students in one of the best ranked accounting programs in the US, they have taken days out of their studies to travel to and compete in the competition.

Question

WATCO a Marriot School graduate applying to Deloitte?
Structure

The advertisement consists of a full page with the following: a picture of four students, text congratulating the winners of the competition, the Deloitte logo with some technical small print.

Ethos

Deloitte is one of the prestigious "Big 5" accounting firms.

The ad establishes a personal relationship by naming the winners individually, as well as stating that “The people of Deloitte” are the source of the ad.

Deloitte also places itself on the same page as two winning teams: the implication is that Deloitte is also a winning team.

Pathos

Deloitte is gives the winners individual, campus-wide recognition for their efforts in a discipline with relatively little personal recognition. The winners will like that.

Deloitte does not mention (although it is implied) that Deloitte runs the competition. Rather the competition is referred to as National, rather than Deloitte, thus increasing the prestige of the winners.

The actual competition took place in November. The advertisement is running several months late, presumably to renew the winners’ recognition and remind them about the company.

Logos

None.

Effective?

Good at giving the winners warm fuzzies from recognition. The fine print at the bottom also gives them a chance to show off their knowledge of Deloitte’s organization by explaining it to their classmates.

According to an unverified document at http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/~harmon/recruitingcode.pdf Big Five companies will begin making offers to December graduates on Feb 15. This advertisement is a good way to prepare those graduates for offers.

The ad shows one of the students wearing a beard: a tip off to the BYU audience that the students pictured are models and not the winning team implied by the format of the advertisement. This lessens the personal touch.