TOW #3

            “In cancer drug battle, both sides appeal to ethics”. An article with a title such as this is innately expected to be full of conflicting viewpoints, double-sided arguments, and scientific appeals. Unbiased CNN contributor Michael Hudson delivers all of these aspects in this piece for CNN.com. The story begins with Andrea Sloan, a 45-year-old attorney from Texas who is terminally ill with ovarian cancer. After trying all normal treatment options, Sloan was presented with an interesting truth. Her best and possibly only chance at survival is a new experimental drug called BMN 673, which is produced by a California Pharmaceutical company called BioMarin. However, the drug is still going through clinical trials and is not yet available for Ms. Sloan’s access. In spite of the FDA endorsement for Ms. Sloan’s use of the drug under cause of “compassionate care” and a specialist doctor’s recommendation, BioMarin refuses to release to Ms. Sloan the only drug that may give her a chance at survival.

            Hudson’s purpose in writing this article was simply to get the word out about a major issue that many people are unaware of in the medical field of America today. Experimental drugs, especially regarding cancer treatment, are very controversial, and the question of whether the possible benefits outweigh the possible risks is one that has been largely left up to the individual patients and companies involved up to this point. It is fair to say that much of the general American public has little or no knowledge of the controversies surrounding the release of experimental drugs, so Hudson targeted the general masses in this article to serve the dual purpose of getting the word out about the situation and possibly garnering support for Sloan’s case.

            To help achieve his purpose of spreading awareness, Hudson provided ample background information on the reasons for controversy surrounding experimental treatment drugs and specifically describing Sloan’s case in which the drug may be her only chance of survival. Although this subject- matter is obviously emotional in nature, Hudson actually appealed more to logos than pathos with his usage of facts, figures, and scientific background. I believe that Hudson was very effective in using logical information, rather than emotional distortions, to make the reader aware of medical conflict that increasingly relevant in American society today.

TOW #2

As I complete the first half of my independent reading book, Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh, I do not hesitate to say is one of the most fascinating and extraordinary books that I’ve ever experienced. Its very nature as a novel written by an original founding member of the Grateful Dead precedes its content in establishing it as a special book. However, the writing of the novel itself is extremely compelling and lives up to the reputation of the author. Within the pages of Searching for the Sound, legendary bass player Phil Lesh describes in unfiltered detail his experiences with the Grateful Dead on and offstage starting from their very inception. As a founding member, Phil Lesh is indisputably one of the most credible sources imaginable to write a piece on the life and times of the Grateful Dead. His legendary musical achievements and devotion to the world of music also qualify him as a prime authority on life as a professional musician. As should be expected in the behind-the-scenes account of a psychedelic band from the 1960’s, there is description of the usage of mind-altering drugs in Mr. Lesh’s accounts. While clearly not safe or sensible in modern-day society, these anecdotes are crucial to the author’s overall message. Phil’s purpose in writing this autobiography was not to encourage or promote the use of psychedelic drugs in any way, though they are an integral part of his story. His purpose was simply to use the creative and intellectually awakening experiences that he had with mind-altering drugs as an example for the reader of the importance of expanding one’s physical and psychological perspective in life. The audience that this novel was written for is primarily Grateful Dead fans. Though any mature audience can easily enjoy it, Grateful Dead fans will likely appreciate it most. The imagery in the piece was particularly effective in appealing to pathos. Phil’s intricate descriptions of the communal love and coming together of people as one during early Dead shows is moving and inspirational. For me personally, the author’s purpose was undoubtedly achieved. After reading of the Grateful Dead’s life-changing musical and spiritual enlightenments, I am motivated to seek out new experiences and broaden my horizons as I go through life. 

TOW #1

“Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?” is an article in the New York Times written by University of California, Berkley graduate school journalism professor Jennifer Khan. This recently published article takes the reader through a very interesting and modern take on social and emotional childhood development. The author presents the reader with information on numerous different experiments in social-emotional learning (S.E.L.) that have taken place within the past five years, and offers a variety of reported opinions on the effectiveness of S.E.L. and its possible correlation to a change in behavior and mental capacity in later life. The purpose of Ms. Khan in writing this piece was to raise awareness in the general American public to this new and possibly groundbreaking form of education-enhancement. With developments in the field of S.E.L. being so recent and widely untested as of yet, making this information known to the masses of America in a mainstream source such as the New York Times is crucial for the possibility of growth. One rhetorical strategy that was used particularly well by Khan in this article was ethos. Almost all of the opinions and studies that she presented came from psychologists, neuroscientists, or professors at reputable universities. Using information from credible sources was a wise decision for the author to make in trying to achieve her purpose. The educational theory that she was presenting in this piece is not yet backed by enough testing to be credible in itself, so the advocacy of prestigious sources that she presents to the reader gives the article an overall sense of credibility at least as a theory if not yet as a proven method. I would definitely say that the author accomplished her purpose in writing this piece. The New York Times is an extremely well-known source, and her overview of social-emotional learning will therefore be read by many. Speaking for myself, my eyes were opened to this new educational innovation for the first time in reading “Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?”, and I’m very interested to see where S.E.L. goes. 

IRB Intro

For the first marking period I have selected Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh as my independent reading material. In this novel, author Phil Lesh autobiographically chronicles his experiences as bass player and founding member of the trailblazing psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead. My interest in reading this autobiography stems from my passion for the Grateful Dead, which I inherited from my dad who is a devoted lifelong “deadhead”. I’ve been listening to the Grateful Dead for as long as I can remember, and knew every lyric to dozens upon dozens of Dead songs by the time I was in elementary school. With the music of this group having been such an integral part of my life to this point, I’m very excited to read the firsthand story of the band written by one of its founding members, and one of the musicians whom I admire most.