Earning Mistrust

When creating a sci tech blog, it is very important to be viewed with ethos (or credibility). Unfortunately, some sci tech bloggers exude ethos which they don't deserve. In the case of Jonah Lehrer, he was a well-known and trusted sci tech blogger who was actually plagiarizing the works of himself and others. Despite his gross misuse of the information which he was sharing with the public, Lehrer continued duping audiences into believing what he was writing to be his own original thoughts based on scientific facts.

Ethos is perceived by the reader because Lehrer references others that we have learned to trust, he uses statistics (which usually come across as professional and trustworthy), and he uses scientific jargon that most people don't really understand yet are highly impressed by:

“Consider a study by scientists at WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY.”

“According to a new report from the INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE, chronic pain costs the U.S. more than $600 BILLION every year in medical bills and lost productivity. Back pain alone consumes nearly $90 BILLION in health-care expenses, roughly equivalent to what’s spent on cancer.”

“...Subjects reported a 57% REDUCTION in the “unpleasantness” of their pain ”

“Learning to meditate altered brain activity in the very same regions, such as the INSULA AND ANTERIOR CINGULATE CORTEX...”

“RESEARCHERS AT DUKE UNIVERSITY recently looked at a wide variety of psychological interventions for chronic lower back pain, including cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback and hypnosis.”

Miller and Shepherd believe that a genre functions when a discourse acquires a common name within a community, so they therefore consider blogs to be a genre. Rettberg says that genres can have sub-genres, which have certain limitations, but also have certain expectations. Given that a sci tech blog is a sub-genre of blogging, it has certain expectations. One of those expectations which the readers of a sci tech blog has is that the information which is presented is true, factual, and credited to the rightful creator/owner.

Lehrer betrays his ethos by violating copyright law. He did so by using work which wasn't his own and taking credit for it, or not giving credit where it was due. 

Jonah Lehrer's Blog

Willpower is My Super Power

 

I chose to read David DiSalvo's article "Need a Self-Control Boost? Gargle with Sugar Water!" and Jonah Lehrer's article "Where Do Bad Moods Come From?"  Both of these articles are about willpower, though different aspects of it. They are pretty interesting articles that apply science to everyday life and both include helpful information to make life a little but easier.

In DiSalvo's article, he discusses a solution to an exigence which most of us are familiar with:  loosing self-control.  We've all had to do those tedious tasks which we are quick to give up, but researchers from the University of Georgia have an answer:  gurgle with sugar water (or lemonade).  Their studies show that real sugar only has to touch the taste buds in your tongue to have a positive affect.  One of the constraints laid out for us in this article is that it has to be real sugar in order for the boost to occur - Splenda just won't do.  DiSalvo cites Leonard Martin, co-author of the study, and gives us the basis of the experiment in his article, making use of intertext.

  "Since glucose is the brain's primary energy source, it makes sense that a quick shot of sugar would crank up attention. But according to the researchers, this study suggests that the sugar is providing more than a simple energy boost.  'It doesn't just crank up your energy, but it cranks up your personal investment in what you are doing. Clicking into the things that are important to you makes those self-related goals salient,' said Martin."

In Lehrer's article, he teaches us all why we are prone to those pesky, out-of-the-blue bad moods.  According to Roy Baumeister and Mark Muraven who pioneered the idea in the 1990s, ego depletion is what happens when your self-control and willpower have been completely drained.  Once you're down to a minimum or non-existent supply, your mood turns sour.  In his article, Lehrer not only mentions the work done by Baumeister and Muraven, but also David Gal and Wendy Liu who did another related study more recently.  These intertexts are not cited directly but are paraphrased to make them easier to be understood by the layman. 

 "When we push our mind too hard, asking it to refrain from carbs and cigarettes, we struggle to avoid the negative thoughts and emotions that lead to sour moods."

Both of these articles give the average person solutions to some everyday problems.  They were both easy to read and understand, even for someone - like me - who would prefer not to touch science with a 10-foot pole. Reading these articles just goes to show that everyday tasks, from the tedious to the laborious, are only a matter of will.

#The Rhetorical Situation #Exigence #Audience #Constraints #Intertext #Why Should I Care? #HopefullyThisWillBeACleverClosingStatement

DiSalvo, David. "Need a Self-Control Boost? Gargle with Sugar Water!" Web log post. David DiSalvo. N.p., 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.

Lehrer, Jonah. "Where Do Bad Moods Come From?" Web log post. Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.