A Textbook at last
After multiple days of visiting the campus bookstore just for this one book that was never in stock, I've finally got my hands on a copy of Composition at Virginia Tech: A Rhetoric and Reader for Good Writing. Anyway, now that I have this textbook, I can write that response assignment that's technically weeks overdue. My response will be to the article "The Loneliness of the Interconnected" by Charles Seife.
In this article, Seife writes about the influence that the Internet exerts upon the opinions and beliefs that people have, as well as the effects this influences causes. He does this through several real world examples, such as the formation of an alien-worshiping cult and the spread of a fabricated illness. In each example, he delivers a brief synopsis of what happened, why, and how the outcome is relevant to his overarching subject. This repeating sequence of example, analysis, and argument gives his overall article an excellent structure, one that is varied and entertaining to read through, yet still cohesive, with each segment connecting to the next. His first segment on the alien cult, while not involving the Internet, is his way to point out that having other people believing the same thing you do helps to protect that belief from any contrary arguments or evidence. From here, Seife can lead into his proposition that the Internet, with its world-encompassing network, allows people to spread their beliefs across the masses, creating new supporters. Seife then is able to relate the Internet, a bastion of free speech, to Speaker's Corner, a physically present forum of free speech in London. From here he is able to transition to the importance of an audience,and from that, back to how the Internet provides one of millions of people. Seife's arguments flow naturally into each other, and make his article an entertaining and logical read. All in all, I feel that "The Loneliness of the Interconnected" was an educating read, one that I actually thoroughly enjoyed despite having to read it for class.
In this article, Seife writes about the influence that the Internet exerts upon the opinions and beliefs that people have, as well as the effects this influences causes. He does this through several real world examples, such as the formation of an alien-worshiping cult and the spread of a fabricated illness. In each example, he delivers a brief synopsis of what happened, why, and how the outcome is relevant to his overarching subject. This repeating sequence of example, analysis, and argument gives his overall article an excellent structure, one that is varied and entertaining to read through, yet still cohesive, with each segment connecting to the next. His first segment on the alien cult, while not involving the Internet, is his way to point out that having other people believing the same thing you do helps to protect that belief from any contrary arguments or evidence. From here, Seife can lead into his proposition that the Internet, with its world-encompassing network, allows people to spread their beliefs across the masses, creating new supporters. Seife then is able to relate the Internet, a bastion of free speech, to Speaker's Corner, a physically present forum of free speech in London. From here he is able to transition to the importance of an audience,and from that, back to how the Internet provides one of millions of people. Seife's arguments flow naturally into each other, and make his article an entertaining and logical read. All in all, I feel that "The Loneliness of the Interconnected" was an educating read, one that I actually thoroughly enjoyed despite having to read it for class.
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