Author: admin

In his article “Why Gun ‘Control’ Is Not Enough,” Jeff
McMahan argues that introducing more guns into the culture will only increase
violence, not diminish it. Describe the reasoning that leads him to this
conclusion and then critically evaluate its soundness.

In their article on guns, Gwen Sharp and Lisa Wade contend
that weapons transform the people using them, taking issue with the NRA slogan,
“Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Why do the authors believe what
they do? Be sure to include the ad for the Bushmaster assault weapon in your
analysis.

In his passionate statement addressing the Sandy Hook shootings,
Joe Scarborough, the host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, states, “But every American
must know—from this day forward—that nothing can ever be the same again.” What
does Scarborough mean by this statement? What are the things that we as a
society must do, and why must we do them?

According to Ken Caldeira in his article “The Great Climate
Experiment,” some of these global warming effects have already started
occurring. “Already we are witnessing the future envisioned by many of these
models take shape. As predicted, there has been more warming over land than
over the oceans, more at the poles than near the equator, more in winter than
in summer and more at night than in the day. Extreme downpours have become more
common. In the Arctic, ice and snow cover less area, and methane-rich
permafrost soils are beginning to melt. Weather is getting weirder, with storms
fueled by the additional heat.” Which of these unusual weather effects, like
Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, have you begun to witness?

In his article “Global Warming: Hoax of the Century,”
Patrick Buchanan argues that global warming is a hoax in the same way that
Piltdown Man, the supposed “missing evolutionary link” between apes and Homo
sapiens, fooled scientists and laypeople for more than fifty years. What
evidence does Buchanan present to support this belief? How do you think
scientists who believe in the reality of global warming would respond to his
evidence?

According to Tyler Hamilton’s article, “Why Media Tell
Climate Story Poorly,” only 57% of Americans believe that solid scientific
evidence exists that the globe is warming, down from 77% in 2007. Why does the
author believe that the media must shoulder much of the responsibility for this
decline? How can they correct it? What are some other factors that account for
the public’s confusion regarding the reality of global warming? Finally, what
criticalthinking skills does the author believe should be used in responding to
the “experts” who reject the threat of global warming?

The author of “Why Do I Hate Twitter?” compares tweeting to
Newspeak, the language being developed by the ruling authority in George Orwell’s
book 1984 for the purpose of influencing and controlling the thoughts of the
citizenry. What specific points of comparison between Newspeak and tweeting
does the author identify? Why does he consider these similar characteristics to
be dangerous? What is your evaluation of the argument he is making?

Some critics contend that Twitter has a corrosive effect on
interpersonal relationships, with electronic communications replacing personal
interactions between people. Do you think that this is a serious concern? Why
or why not?

In the article “The Surprising Truth About How Twitter Has
Changed Your Brain,” Caitlyn Dewey reports that the most current research does
not support the idea that Twitter use negatively “rewires” our brains. Yet,
many people (such as Nicholas Carr in “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”) claim
based on personal experience that frequent use of the Internet has shortened
our attention spans and limited our ability to engage in deep reflection. What
do you think? Have Twitter and Google really had a corrosive effect on our
thinking ability? What type of evidence do you find most compelling? Why?