• Did you know that prior to becoming the film commissioner of Belize, Nigel Miguel spent seven years as the body double for Michael Jordan?

The article on Nigel Miguel cites the Michael Jordan Body Double fact from Businessweek.com, which contains a profile of Miguel for his presidency at Topline Urbanworks LLC. The cite gives a small blurb on Miguel’s history, including a short stint in the NBA and an eventual turn to acting, where he was a stand in actor for Michael Jordan in movies like Space Jam. Other sources in the article include the Star Tribune, the LA Times, and the Belize Film Commission website (nichbelize.com). I feel most if not all of the sources used are reputable locations of fact, and combined with Wikipedia’s rules on “Biographies of Living Persons”, that every statement should have a factual source to avoid removal, leads me to believe that the evidence presented is trustworthy.

            Nigel Miguel WAS drafted in the third round of the 1985 NBA draft by the LA Lakers, as the page, the source, and a second outside source (http://nbahoopsonline.com/History/Leagues/NBA/drafts/1985.html) showcases. As well as Miguel’s bio information, cross-referencing different sources saying the same general facts.

            The article avoids opinionated sources on Miguel, while keeping facts from the source without slight changes.

10/14 post

Lazere's terms within the Corbett/Eberly article:

To start, Lazere's definition of a primary certitude is reminiscent of the  forensics team example from the Corbett/Eberly writing. When relying too much on personal opinion, a point can be muddled and not deliver on a subject wholeheartedly. Both of their articles make a case that there are aspects of rhetoric that harm the proper examination of a subject. Both of these articles believe reasoned responses are the benefactor to a developed argument and biases are the disruption. Both articles also reference diversions of reasoning, like straw man and false dilemma. Lazere's introduction to the Rogerian Argument is a concept Corbett and Eberly would support also, considering it is an unbiased attempt to understand an opponent while influencing and improving a response to the opponent. Bouie's article, "White People are Fine with Laws that Harm Blacks" may come on strong with a scare tactic esque title, the content very much relates to the idea of an unbiased reasoned response. Bouie is making a case that from the point of view of the people's opinion he is trying to influence, the use of statistics isnt working, in fact its counterproductive. Without diverting the actual content of the article, Bouie introduces a change he would like to see in his own field, but the research he showcases is also used as a tool to convince the audience to make change, not just those already trying to make change.

Comparing today and past "citizen criticism":

McDonald's article "I Agree, But..." goes hand and hand with the ideals introduced by Lazere and Corbett and Eberly. Specifically the section of McDonald's piece where he talks about the importance of discussion and understanding the opponents' counterpoints, the commonality of accepting an opponent's ideals to build on a more reasoned response can be inferred from both of today's pieces.

Is Society Dumbing Down?

Back in 2008, the British Library issued a report on the research habits and information literacy of the Google Generation. By noting research sources, times spent on research pages as well as the pages read of the articles on said pages, statistics and deductions influenced the view of how a modern college student studies their subjects.

            The conclusions, though ambiguous, certainly didn’t reflect positively on thorough research: “60 percent of e-journal users view no more than three pages [of a given text]” and “up to 65 percent never return” to their source. Combined with “power-browsing”, the skimming of titles and table of contents, the cherry picking of sentences from a text containing the ideal supportive point may leave out or even just blatantly ignore factual evidence that could help a thesis, or possibly refute it, leaving the given information possibly lacking or unusable.

            The transition from book based learning to Internet research that some, like Steven Johnson, writer for the Guardian, may suggest as progress (here) can actually play into a “shallow, horizontal… behavior in digital libraries”.

            This leaves an interesting conflict: Can young people improve “information literacy” with “the widening access to technology”? Will “quick wins” through Internet shortcuts benefit or harm the integrity of a piece, and can the masses understand their informational needs?

            If the Internet is used for proper research, it can be an immensely helpful tool. However, most don’t use this to their advantage, searching databases for hotlinks and quick citations.

Source:

Bauerlein, Mark. “‘Society is Dumbing Down’.” Brainstorm. The Chronicle of Higher      Education (13 Feb 2008): Weblog.            http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/society-is-dumbing-down/5698.