TOW #7: Teach Kids to Daydream

            There have been multiple times in a classroom setting where teachers would yell at students, "Snap out of it!" to regain their attention, or randomly call on a student, off guard, to send the message that they need to start paying attention. With this reaction from teachers, most would think daydreaming is a horrible activity for the mind to engage in. Actually, it is the opposite.
           Parents want their children to get the most beneficial amount of hours of sleep each night. Sleep deprivation has been linked to many things such as stunt physical growth, encourage illegal substance use, increase moodiness and irritability, show symptoms of ADD, dramatically increase the chance of car accidents among teens, and a decrease in academic skill. Though getting a good amount of sleep each night is important, daydreaming is equally important as a mental downtime.
          What teachers and parents do not know, is that daydreaming is an extremely productive activity for the mind. In this article the author, Jessica Lahey, talks about all the benefits in the context of a world that is obsessed with health. She specifically targets parents and advises them to teach their children how to daydream and gain all the benefits it poses. Using outside sources such as cognitive psychologists, Lahey appeals to ethos by using specific evidence from these scientists. She recalls psychologist Jerome L. Singer's book, Daydreaming: An Introduction to the Experimental Study of Inner Experience. In his book, he writes that daydreaming is our default mental state. The brain has two networks: working memory and daydreaming. Once one is on, the other is shut off. So if the brain is in working memory, it cannot daydream. That is why Lahey advises the parents to take their children out on a walk with no technology, no anything, and just look up to the sky and daydream.
          The purpose of writing this article is to inform and advise the parents and teachers of the world that daydreaming is very beneficial. Lahey wants adults to think twice before snapping their kid out of deep thought. She also advocates for parents to try daydreaming, and to open their minds of creativity after a stress-filled day. Daydreaming may not seem productive, but it is equally important as getting those solid hours of sleep.
       
       

TOW #6: Anorexia Awareness Ad (Visual Text)

         We live in a world where society puts so much pressure on people to look perfect, especially in the fashion world. Because of this pressure, 24 million people are suffering from an eating disorder in the United States. This ad, with one glance, automatically encapsulates the dangers of having an eating disorder, specifically anorexia. As the brain reads from left to right, the first thing looked at is the pretty sketch. As the brain continues to scan the ad, it reaches a malnourished, frightening, underweight woman looking and dressing the same as the pretty sketch. The text boldly states "you are not a sketch. Say no to anorexia." The position of the two images allows the brain to connect and contrast them, realizing that the image on the right is completely unhealthy. The purpose is clear after reading the text, that anorexia is unhealthy and humans cannot be like unrealistic figures. Because this is a real issue that many people are fighting with today, it appeals to pathos and is easy to connect to. People in society need to fight to be happy with their own image, and try not to duplicate fantasy figures and become unhealthy. Targeting teen girls to young adult women, it is quite logical for them to say no to anorexia because of the unhealthy risks it poses. The small text in the upper left hand corner "star models" is the modeling agency sponsoring this ad, making it credible. The juxtaposition portrayed in this ad emphasizes that human body cannot be an unrealistic figure. People suffering from image issues need to fight to say no to anorexia, and be happy with their body. I think this ad definitely achieved its purpose. The woman to the right grabs the viewer's attention automatically and shows what anorexia can do to the body.

TOW #5: Where does aid money really go -- and what is it spent on? By Charles Lwanga Ntale

   There are thousands of organizations throughout multiple countries that exist for the purpose of aiding other countries. This aid can accommodate things like food and commodities, advice and training, and debt relief. But the questions have been posed: Does all this money actual go to the recipient country? Is this cash actually spent in places of need? Surprisingly, much of this money is lost and only about 30% of rich countries' aid goes to other nations in need.
    In a world where multiple countries are tied to each other in need of assistance, the article opens up with irrefutable data of recent aid, along with color coated data pictures to support the claims made. Appealing to logos, this article establishes its credibility right off the bat with unarguable data. The text, along with a picture, actually states that the author is director for Africa for Development Initiatives. Being director of this non-profit organization that supports development activities of communities establishes his credibility on this topic of aiding development of countries. Targeting the general public, he appeals to pathos by introducing data about the poorest people around, like countries in sub-Sahara, and the money they are not receiving from this so-called "aid."This also ties back into appealing to logos, because the data used is not falsified, the people have no choice but to feel upset about this topic.
   Appealing to pathos is crucial in this text because in the end the author calls the people to action. His purpose in writing this article was to inform the public about the unjust actions going on, and asks for their help. With a better understanding, the people can help change the policies happening now with international aid. They can help assist making decisions that will spend the money more efficiently, having almost every dollar go to the aid of the people. If all of this is done, the people most in need will receive the amazing benefits of international aid and get to live a wonderful life.
 

TOW #4: Mirroring People by Marco Iacoboni (Part 1)

         I think it is quite safe to assume that most of us at one point in our lives have watched an emotional movie and found ourselves choking up a bit. Or heard a sad story, perhaps dealing with sickness or death, and you felt terribly upset, even if you never met the people who it affected. It is normal to say, "of course someone should feel this way, we are human." After all, that is true. But has the question ever been asked, "why do we feel this way?"  

         The direct answer to that question is mirror neurons. There are actual neurons in our brains just for the purpose of empathizing and connecting with others. After this discovery, the author writes this book to share with the public the amazing breakthrough in neuroscience. Marco Iacoboni, a neurologist and neuroscientist now working at Geffen School of Medicine in UCLA, takes the reader through an easy read about the studies of mirror neurons. Targeted for any interested young adults to elders, this book is broken down for any dummies of the public, an easy read for anyone. To break this down, he mostly introduces a question of the mind, then goes into an experiment done about, the results, and then the conclusions. For example, he inputs an anecdote about cooking dinner while his daughter is doing her homework. Her study materials are blocking his view from seeing what she is doing, but he can still immediately understand her movements even though he cannot see them clearly. How is that possible? He then elaborates on the experiment done with monkeys, and the results. All of this is in easy, dummy terms, not hard to understand science ones. 

       Iacoboni writes this to share with the public the intricate and extremely competent aspects of the brain. In doing this, he appeals to logos by giving examples of everyday use of mirror neurons so the reader can understand more easily. He also uses anecdotes to portray an everyday sense of these neurons with his own experience. I believe he achieves his purpose in sharing this discovery, making it interesting and coherent for the public. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in psychology and neuroscience. In a 279 page book, Iacoboni definitely keeps the world of science entertaining and intriguing.