Ow...Brain Exploding

Wow. That was a lot to take in. “Why Write” is just crammed full of information (including the list of under-appreciated majors. I actually know a guy in one of those). I liked the Monte Python. The persuasive essays were interesting. The analogy almost made me wish I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I don't know. It was really cool. Logical fallacies are always fun to point out (unless, of course they happen to be yours). I liked the 5 types of arguments, and it was nice to get a review on kairos (that is a funky word). I must admit, though, what exactly would happen if a bunch of people protested just for the sake of protesting? Would they call it the “protesting club”, the “club of activists without any real cause”, or the Democratic Party (sorry, couldn't resist)? 

Anyway, I think that, beyond the review, the main things I learned were the 5 types of arguments and the names of the logical fallacies. Definitions try to prove that the item in question is also another item that is proven to be either bad or good (for example, drugs are poison, and since poison is bad, you shouldn't use drugs). Cause/Consequence tries to prove that the action in question causes something that is known to be either good or bad (for example, reading leads to literacy, which helps you in life. Therefore, we should encourage reading). Analogy/Resemblance compares the item or action in question to a similar item or action that is obviously good or bad (for example, cheating is like lying, and since lying is generally considered bad behavior, cheating must be bad). Evaluation tries to say that the item in question is a good or bad ______ (whatever it is that it is supposed to be) (for example, completely destroying our nuclear arsenal is not a good plan, because it allows us to be blackmailed by any country that has nukes without any chance at retaliation). Lastly, a Proposal is an argument that tries to say that we should or should not do something, for whatever reason (for example, we should serve others, because it helps us to meet new people and we will be likely to get help when we need it if more people are trying to help). Anyway, I hope that helped. Personally, I'm going to go lie down and wiat for my head to stop exploding.