Evaluation of General Resources

Ezell, Lauren. Timeline: The NFL Concussion crisis. PBS website. 10/08/13. available at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/timeline-the-nfls-concussion-crisis/

Ezell documents the evolution and the case of the concussion dilemma within football in its entirety. This informative piece provide an accurate account of every event and I plan on utilizing this information as evidence and reinforcement of my claims in the project.


Cimini, Rich. In N.Y., two sides to NFL concussions. ESPN website. 05/17/2012. available at: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7939281/two-sides-nfl-concussion-controversy-evident-new-york-waldorf-astoria-hotel

Rich Cimini's piece impartially, a rarity, explains the two biases of the concussion crisis. He achieves this through his accounts of interviews at the New York conference for this matter from years ago and referencing people who are experiencing the effects of CTE. I plan to qualify my argument with this information.

Considering Genre

1. For the Controversy Postmortem project, I plan to present my chosen controversy through The Video Essay. I believe The Video Essay is best adept to present the controversy surrounding concussions in the NFL in past years. I say this because the magnitude and power of the trauma that these players suffer cannot be described in just words, but rather it must be heard and must be seen to experience the true detriment of what the players go through. I also plan to present the neglect the NFL showed and their denial of the science behind the neurological deficit the players were suffering following their careers.

2. During the Production phase, I hope to assemble an efficient and powerful assimilation of visual, auditory, and textual evidence that I believe will best deliver the magnitude and controversy surrounding concussions in the NFL in recent years. I hope to reflect on documentaries and films made, such as Concussion starring Will Smith which released very recently, as well as the sound of the jarring hits when players collide, especially when helmets hit. Similarly, I will hopefully draw on the conventions of font, size, colors, narration, editing, among others when producing the Video Essay for my Controversy Postmortem.

3. I am not entirely sure how I feel about this project, to be completely honest. I am still contemplating various aspects of the assignment as I am figuring out how I will most effectively deliver the project and as well as staying on topic, and not drifting and straying away from the subject at hand. I anticipate some technological problems as I am not the most video-production-savvy individual and finding a way to stay within my discipline on neuroscience.

Cluster of Stakeholders

Every action has consequences, sometime many that involved parties do not even consider. This cluster maps the effects of the controversy and course of action the NFL takes regarding the notorious concussion dilemma, which has cost the league quite literally a billion dollars and portrayed it in a negative light. The neglect of the presence of concussions over NFL history has also cost many families a brother, a father, a child - several current and former NFL players suffer from a chronic and detrimental neurological condition, CTE, that has resulted in severe mental impairment, such as failing to walk down stairs or recognize their own child, and sometimes even death, such as former player Junior Seau's tragic suicide years ago. The involved parties of the league officials, NFL players, and team doctors all hold stakes in what the league decides to do going forward and the cluster represents the consequences of each course of action.

Reddit and What I Found There

Neuroscience is one of the most unexplored, untapped fields of science as many of the modern discoveries were not verified until the early 1990s. The uncertainty in this discipline is what fascinates me, as there are so many varied takes and ideas regarding each discovery. Reddit allows a collaborative forum that I believe no other social media can truly offer, so viewing the hundreds of opinions and the structure of each thread intrigued to me a great extent because of my inquisitive nature.

1. I have never been a Reddit user, but when I logged onto the site I found a very unique and extensive medium to discuss, exchange, retort, discover, and more because of the structure of the site. The way the neuroscience sub-Reddit is organized is that each thread is an interesting question, from inquisitions regarding how to repair your brain after smoking marijuana every day for a 90-day period, how to manipulate certain hormones produced by glands in the brain, and what laboratory scholars in the field acknowledge as the best in the country, among other several questions I would have never though of on my own.

2. The two threads that intrigued me the most were the AMA with a certified neuroscientist and the thread debunking neuroscience myths. Having access to a professional in the field of your interest and having a readily available (casual I might add) medium of inquiring any question is an unbelievable opportunity that Reddit offers. Some users participated and engaged but others were screwed around in the thread but having essentially an interview that in years past may have been a process to even obtain is amazing to me. The other thread I really enjoyed was the educated scholars and neuroscientists debunking common myths Reddit users were proposing, such as that humans only use 10% of their brain, which is completely and utterly false as I learned. Realizing some of my predisposed notions and ideas regarding the field were actually false really fascinated me and it encouraged me really to begin discovering more and more regarding neuroscience.

3. The impression I got from the multiple threads I read through was the amount of discovery that is yet to be made regarding neuroscience because of the uncertainty and complexity of the brain and all concerned subjects. I am very intrigued and my passion has been heightened to develop my understanding of neuroscience. I was not expecting the amount of professionals on the threads and their will to share their knowledge with the average internet user.

Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

Bayer, Tony. "FAST FOOD POLITICS" 07/31/12 via TonyBayerToons. Public Domain Dedication License. 

Our Absurd Tribal Politics

by Max Borders

1. Max Borders' opinion piece in Newsweek is his attempt to expose the falsified nature of American democracy through the means of revealing its primitive tribal characteristics. Borders reinforces his assertion by referencing a scientific psychological experiment (called the Kurzban-Cosmides-Tooby jersey experiment) and extending the metaphor to the relationship between the people, candidates, and overall political infrastructure. His reference, from a neurological perspective, is specifically referring to the human brain's natural circuits to classify people and the political process's consequence of essentially dividing the nation in two teams. The metaphor of the teams is furthered by Borders symbolizing the two teams on election day will participate in tug-of-war but both inevitably end up in the mud. The teams are the politicians, the fans are the voters, and the cheerleaders are the pundits. Furthermore, the brain's chemically-based self-serving bias creates a further divide in the supposed democratic nation because each person declares their own righteousness. All in all, this collectively contributes to the same tribal formations that occurred during the primitive stages of human society. 

2. The most sympathetic character of this story to me is the author himself. I cannot help but agree with his perspective in that the political system is more divisive and confrontational than collaborative and constructive. His appeal to ethos through his scientific references also resonates within me.

3. The least sympathetic characters are the voters and creators of the system he is ridiculing. Although not specific characters and an inevitable result of neurological tendencies, I see many people with what many consider radical ideologies and superiority complexes that result in them demeaning another's view simply because of it being different. I believe these types of people and their falsified self-righteousness hinders rather than progress American politics and growth.

How Junk Food Commercials Seduce The Brain and Aggravate Obesity

by John McQuaid

1. The dilemma in this piece is the causation of obesity in the relatively unhealthy population of the United States of America. John McQuaid of Forbes writes that obesity running amuck noticeably in adolescents can be attributed to advertisements capitalizing on neurological tendencies. McQuaid writes specifically regarding the appeal of the ads adding to the temptations and suppressing dietary will. Also, scientifically, when viewing the ads, the parts of the brain associated with attention, evaluation, craving, pleasure, gratification, taste, and flavor as well as the parts controlling the motor function of the tongue, mouth, and lips all showed significant activity. This neurological activity, as explained by the Dartmouth study, the corporations are attempting (and succeeding) a priming process that short-circuits impulses regarding the food. In conclusion, McQuaid asserts that the heart of the obesity problem lies here and additionally, if subjects can be primed for such a terrible thing, then they can be ideally primed for something good instead. 

2. The youth that are subject to these large corporation's manipulation have my sympathy in that they are still developing and do not know any better. However, I do sympathize with the corporation and the ideology as well in a sense because the party behind this advertising strategy has one sole job: to generate as much possible success (revenue) regardless of consequences. We live in a capitalistic society and using science to generate success is what the evolution of humans has consisted of, although this may be a bad example.

3. I do not sympathize with the people that should be regulating and making a concerted effort towards hindering obesity. The Food and Drug Administration or Health Department of the American government should identify that this is becoming a concern nationwide and regulate corporations; the corporations and people are only doing what they are supposed to in this capitalistic, consumer-based society.

Twitter and What I Found There

Social mediums often create the sense of a small world. Allowing every interest, every person, every happening, to be at the tip of your fingertips. This sense of a personal bubble and falsified feel of everything you need right in front of you has now been proven false to me after expanding my horizons on social media and discovering the intellect, people, and ideas that are just a click or swipe away. 

Redfield, Rosie. "Recommended Twitter accounts for neuroscience grad students to follow" 05/15/15 via RRResearch. Public Domain Dedication License.

1. The theme of every debate, every argument, every exchange of ideas, in this world is the differentiation in how or why a party thinks about something. Social media encompasses this in that is based on one universality - the distribution of ideas. Whether it be favoriting a humorous 140-character composition or sharing an environmentalist account's propaganda video, social media celebrates the exchange of ideas. Neuroscience, a discipline concerning both biological and cognitive facets of the brain, can be described as the holistic study of how we form these ideas, these arguments, these emotions. Several of the accounts and discussions I followed circulate not only the latest scientific studies in the field, but the tendencies displayed on social media from a neurological perspective. For instance, a member of MIT's neurology department who doubles as a Twitter user has developed and shared an algorithm for the probability of a user to share or like a picture based on the assortment and hue of the colors alone. On the other hand, a scholar pursuing his PhD in the field is inquiring for data via Twitter poll for his latest study. Just like the interdisciplinary field that is neuroscience, there are indescribable amounts of undiscovered discussions, data, and ideas to be discovered by tweeters across the web.

2. The most appealing of this exploration of neuroscience on Twitter was not so much the nitty-gritty concrete science or engaging conversations being presented, but rather the personalities tweeting and sharing the information. I noticed across every user a universal sense of passion for discovery and intellect but as well as a personable identity in the compositions. Personally, I find cynicism very intriguing as I am a consistent user of sarcasm in my day-to-day life. That is why I found @drugmonkeyblog's feed particularly interesting and engaging. His will to reply, often sardonically, back to users replying to his tweets in an effort to assert his point in a casual manner while discussing the most serious and most scientific of matters such as that of neurological consequences of Adderall abuse in students engaged me in scientific discussion like never before. The discoveries within neuroscience and the explanation and observation of thinking chemically and in respect to data and trends fascinates me, and that is why an Oregon mother with a Neuro-PhD's feed grabbed my attention. The stories she shares are ones that are appealing to the average Joe because of her succinct, understandable presentation and explanations of them. Some other accounts were verbose and complicated in nature regarding similar topics which drifted my attention away. However, for example, Summer E. Allen's study regarding the innate yearning for every primate to build a sleeping platform is something that may be obvious to everyone but has yet to be purely explained. She adds intriguing snippets of information such as that humans have relatively large brains but sleep significantly less than other animals and provides a link for those looking for an explanation. Adding a voice and personality to bland science really introduced me to a newfound passion for the neuroscience discipline.

3. As discussed just previously, the way some users talked engaged me like never before regarding my major. This is not only because of the fascinating ideas they were talking about, but the relatable and personable voices and tone behind them. The impression I ascertained from this entire process is that science does not have to be boring, especially neuroscience. There is so much to discover, and that is why I chose this relatively unexplored field primarily. There is passion throughout the neuroscience field because you are not just discovering science, you are essentially discovering yourself.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

Diagnoses of Concussions Increase by Nearly a Third Over Last Season

by Ben Shpigel

Ben Shpigel's revealing op-ed in The New York Times regarding the overwhelming concern of players' traumatic head injuries obtained during their tenure with the National Football League. The preceding context of this piece was the 2014 lawsuit filed against the NFL by thousands of past and current players. The overwhelming number of cases of CTE (neurological deterioration) within players that were resulting in brain disorders, including aphasia, loss of recognition as well as speech, and unfortunately even suicide, provoked this necessary course of action. The controversial case resulted in a $1 billion settlement from the NFL and a commitment to enhanced oversight of concussion-related situations on and off the field.

Diana, Peter. "Bengals linebacker Burfict suspended three games for hit on Antonio Brown" 01/11/2016 via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Public Domain Dedication License.

1. This article, moreover the entire NFL-concussion saga, centers around the players as the protagonists. The consistent denial and ignorance displayed by the NFL towards the presence of concussions and their detrimental effects on their employees has portrayed them in a bad light to the public eye, thus characterizing the players as the protagonists. The doctors play a secondary role in this controversial situation in that they are do what they are told but can be influenced badly by either side as players often neglect symptoms to stay in games and the league often asks them to turn a blind eye to keep notable players eligible in order to maintain revenue and entertainment value. 

2. The significant increase in diagnosed concussions, both indicative of NFL's neglect over the years and a conscious effort to improve in the worrying area, occurs on the sidelines and within team facilities of each respective NFL team. The most prevalent area of diagnosis is immediately after a play in which a player is suspected of suffering a concussion where said player is taken through concussion protocol and evaluation by the team's neurotrama consultants. Throughout the following week, players are re-evaluated at team facilities where the team doctor will treat and evaluate until the players' concussion symptoms are cleared to prevent aggravation of the injury. Multiple interviews of NFL executives were also conducted, perhaps at the league office in New York City. 

3. Some objections and debates are construed in the piece in that there are still blemishes in the diagnosis, treatment, and adherence of the process. The specific debate stems from players, such as the situation of Houston Texans quarterback Case Keenum, who conceal their symptoms in order to remain in games and avoid missing any time. Another prevalent controversy is the NFL's failure to acknowledge if more concussions were sustained this past season than past years. The livelihood of the players is on the line and the NFL's integrity, credibility, finances, and overall business is at stake with the concussion dilemma.

New Weapon to Fight Zika: The Mosquito

by Andrew Pollack

Furfur. "Zika virus infections worldwide" 01/21/16 via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain Dedication License.

The Zika virus, the latest epidemic running rampant abroad, is a mosquito-borne virus infamously causing thousands of babies to be born with fatal traits, most notably significantly small heads, in northern South America and Central America. The latest efforts consist of bioengineered mosquitoes released daily into the Brazilian environment to mate with the arachnid couriers of the virus and hopefully eradicate the detrimental species.

1. The individuals, such as doctors, researchers, among others, combatting the virus running amuck particularly in Brazil are the protagonists of the fight against the Zika virus. They are the leading preemptive effort to rid the subjected population of the mosquito-borne virus. The pregnant women worried about the epidemic play a crucial role in that their emotional sentiment and urgency is furthering the effort.

2. This particular proposal and where this proposal was developed at Oxitec, a biotech company. The mosquitoes designed to fight the spread of the virus are released in the southeastern Brazilian city of Piracicaba daily in increments of hundreds of thousands.

3. The singular debate is what exactly will combat this virus. Aside from that, the anti-abortion laws of Brazil are also now subject to debate in that pregnant mothers concerned about the quality of their future child's lives because of the virus should be allowed exception to the rule.

Course Projects

If I investigate how my brain is investigated, aren't I just investigating how I'm investigating how I investigate? This class from an aspiring neurologist's eyes.

Dunn, Katie. "Can you solve these 7 brain teasers?" 10/07/2014 via DailyGenius. Public Domain Dedication License.

1. Although the preceding question may have been confusing, there is nothing within the project assignment sheets that particularly baffle me. The one aspect of the four assignments that I am not entirely sure about would be the kind of text (informative, account, persuasive, argumentative, propaganda, etc.) we should be investigating rhetorically in our discipline. Aside from that, I am nervous regarding the influence and magnitude these projects have on our final grade in the course, but who wouldn't be? 
2. In regard to the four major projects, the common theme that excites me like never before in any other course is the fact we get to (for the first time in college for me, at least) look into, research, evaluate in depth, and gather opinions on the fields we all desire to build a career in for the rest of our lives. Finally learning about something truly of my interest is unique to me. I am also interested to see how I can incorporate each genre advantageously with each topic and how my classmates utilize perhaps different methods and genres for each project. Witnessing the versatility and utility of the genres will be very interesting to see.
3. The first concern for preparation that popped up in my head is what genre to cleverly use with each project assignment. Second, I understand the nature of the four projects truly put time management skills to a test and I hope to stay ahead of the game, so to speak, and comprehend that no project will be successfully completed last minute. This translates to scheduling interviews and preparing drafts advantageously ahead of time. This challenges my previously discussed classification as a Procrastinator and intention to overcome old habits.
4. I attribute much of my preparation and qualities as a writer to my AP Language and Composition class during my junior year of high school. Quite possibly the hardest course I have taken in my academic career, the class challenged me with a rigorous workload and required a diligent work ethic and writing style. I believe the rhetorical devices, grammatical fluency, ability to work 'smart' not hard, and among other things I have acquired over the years will be largely beneficial to me throughout this semester.
5. I do not have any inquiries or questions regarding the project assignments at this time but if I do, I am sure they will be addressed during classes as the semester progresses. I am truly excited to gain a vast knowledge of the field of work I desire to pursue a career in.

P.S. The answer to the riddle: The letter 'e' is not used in the paragraph at all despite it being the most commonly used letter in the English language.

Reflection: Sofia Haserot's and Chase Nicholson's blog posts have really opened my eyes to things I had not been considering before. To be completely honest, I had thought these peer reviews were somewhat busy work, but I am totally and utterly wrong in that assessment. Seeing the ideas and concerns other people have and share with me has opened a new perspective for me. Seeing that many are considering different genres for different projects as opposed to another classmate's preference is enlightening me regarding the versatility and true free will and self-discovery that this course aims for. Going forward following this week's posts and reflections, I aim to really prepare for all aspects of this course intrinsically as well as extrinsically concerning the writing process and the things I need to do for the upcoming project. Additionally, I plan to revamp the design of my blog sometime this week. 

Investigating Genres

The Video Essay

No longer is the time of the five-paragraph researcher or several-paged report. Today is the day and age of a type of essay that is accessible anywhere, understandable to everyone, and efficient in every way.

Agarwal, Amit. "An Inexpensive Wearable Computer" 06/18/2011 via labnol. Public Domain Dedication License.

1. The Video Essay genre is most effective in its use to relay informative or propaganda messages by appealing to the senses through powerful imagery, word choice, among other rhetorical devices. 
2. The audience of this specific genre are usually exposed to this medium through an online resource. Videos can be shared through ads across the web or willingly through social mediums, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Online is where readers view the Video Essay, but they can be referred to or linked to by peers with the same interest or even through the classroom or any party trying to relay an informative message. 
3. The typical audience for this message are typically Internet users. The web is the most efficient  and quickest way to access this type of genre. As a result, the audience for any persuasive narratives or accounts in the form of the Video Essay are normally people of the Internet generation, particularly the youth, students, and other parties frequently involved with online interface.
4. What differentiates this genre from the others is its characteristics of efficiency and comprehension. Many compositions of this genre are relatively time-efficient to the Quick Reference Guide, Podcast Segment, or Standard College Essay. The Video Essay has a visual aspect that no other listed genre possesses. Additionally, in this era, to see is to believe and this genre is evidence of that in that whatever the subject is is quickly understood and communicated. The ability to mold visual, auditory, and textual components all into one is a distinguishing characteristic. Moreover, this genre has the capability to stimulate in every sense. 
5. The Video Essay is a post-Internet genre that assimilates and manipulates visual, auditory, and textual components in order to efficiently and clearly communicate, persuade, or inform. 

Reflection: Following reading my peer's investigations of various genres, I now have a better understanding that no genre is better than the other, but rather better in the respect of what the piece concerns and whom it is intended for. Some genres may be more suitable for a particular subject or audience more than others. For instance, the Video Essay may be more appealing to propagandists whereas the Quick Reference Guide may be a better tool for informational purposes. I am interested to see the versatility and how myself can utilize these genres as the semester proceeds.

I commented on Ryan Wolfe's and Noelle Young's 'Investigating Genres' pieces.

My Writing Process

Procrastination Nation

Nothing to see here. Just another college student complaining about his procrastination problems.

• Although attempting time and time again to be a part of at least one of the classified types of writers, I cannot deny I am of the procrastinating breed of composers. From a role model report in Ms. Heinrich's fifth-grade class to an argumentative piece on the ethics of animal experimentation in Professor Laura Howard's section of Moral Thinking at the University of Arizona, I have consistently found myself foolishly trying to complete the writing process in one sit-down session the night before the assignment's due. I will not attempt to justify this flawed habit. I will not say I tend to work better under pressure. What I will say, however, is that within the strained amount of time that I can only blame myself for, I believe I do exhibit various characteristics of the different writing archetypes, mostly of the Sequential Composer.

Owlsen, Gavin. "Procrastination" 01/04/2011 via Flickr. Public Domain Dedication License.

• Although unfortunately falling into the procrastinator category, I do attempt to utilize the promising habits of each type of writer to whatever extent. In the constrained allotted time I foolishly give myself repeatedly, I usually have a methodical plan heading into the process. Although not necessarily Heavy Planning, I consistently have a set idea for not only the content but structure of the to-be-composed piece. Similarly, partially due to the lack of time, it is a rare occasion for me to submit a composition without extensive proofreading and review from myself as well as a peer. Consequentially, I have not earned the label of being a Sequential Composer because of my procrastination habits but would consider myself just that if I translated my habits during the stressed time to a more comprehensive, comfortable timetable.

• If interpreted with respect to academia and grades, I would consider my writing process somewhat successful. If interpreted with respect to true evolution as not only a writer but a person, I would consider my history as a composer a failure. Procrastinating has a renowned bad reputation, but there is a reason a very overwhelming percentage of students are practicing the art of procrastinating. In spite of procrastinating and eliminating the effectiveness of the writing process, waiting until the last minute allows me to experience a sometimes much-needed leisure time as well as provide me time for my other 13 units of coursework. The glaring weaknesses are evident in that no effective process is used to most efficiently and powerfully relay my purpose in the piece, considering the lack of revision and planning. Although I am sure the work will weighing heavy on my head at times throughout this semester, I am actually very glad BS will not suffice in this class and that the writing process is not recommended but rather mandatory. I hope this will aid and propel my progression as a writer as this type of structure is something I have lacked throughout my academic career.

• In addition to time management, I think it would be largely beneficial for me to make a concerted effort to make a habit out of utilizing the Heavy Revising style. A character flaw of mine is that I often think what I do, whether it be on or off paper, is correct. Regardless of what archetype of writing I choose to classify with, I will always maintain the habit of having a clear plan concerning the content and structure of the composition. To combat my self-righteousness and the lack of time to revise and revamp my work, I want to attempt to move towards the Heavy Revising archetype of the writing process. Not only would this hopefully eliminate my procrastination habits, but also help me discover new potential of my writing that I had never thought I possessed beforehand.