Hello!
I also need a peer reviewer for my argument and issue essays!! I will return the favor if needed
*keep in mind its my first round of practie essays so they are a bit rough. thanks in advance!!*
ISSUE:
As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to think for themselves will surely deteriorate.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
RESPONSE :
As an individual born in the twentieth century, the issue of technological dominance upon my generation as well as the one after my own has become and continues to be very relevant. I personally believe that technology itself has both good and bad aspects in its use: the positive being a convenience in the availability of virtually every piece of information on any topic. However, the way that the human race of my generation and the latter in general is using technology today has more negative effects, such as laziness and less physical interaction in social settings, than any that are positive.
Technology has undoubtedly given us a plethora of useful and innovative tools, easily accessible today. These include applications such as world dictionaries, thesauruses and translators. Another example of how technology has made our lives easier is virtual banking. We now have the ability to complete our banking right at home and never need to step foot in another bank. We also have various media outlets right in our fingertips. For example, on my iPhone today I have access to over 10 different newspaper outlets, including the New York Times and the Economist. This also means less waste of paper and trees in our ecosystem today. The last positive aspect of technology is the connectivity and networking aspect of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Jobs today have access to all applicant and employee profiles and vice versa, further creating the opportunity of building a career through technological advances.
But an “easy” life is not always a productive one considering the state of the world today. Technology has indeed made our lives more convenient, but at the rate in which our population is going, and the way that individuals are using technology, is creating a sure path of deterioration as stated in the prompt. The social media applications such as Facebook that was mentioned before also have had a negative impact on social interactions, for example. Many conversations and altercations today take place behind a screen and within 150+ characters of a hand written message. Although dictionary.com has proved to be useful, it also causes an individual to lack the motivation and willingness to further broaden his vocabulary, due to the fact that he could find the word in less than a second. As a society we have learned to rely on technology to do such tasks for us, rather than use it to make us more productive.
Machines have become more productive than human beings today and this does not spell a good future for mankind. Applications such as GPS, calculators and Twitter may be entertaining; but all of these also contribute to a path of knowledge destruction.
ARGUMENT:
The following appeared as a letter to the editor from a Central Plaza store owner.
"Over the past two years, the number of shoppers in Central Plaza has been steadily decreasing while the popularity of skateboarding has increased dramatically. Many Central Plaza store owners believe that the decrease in their business is due to the number of skateboard users in the plaza. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of litter and vandalism throughout the plaza. Thus, we recommend that the city prohibit skateboarding in Central Plaza. If skateboarding is prohibited here, we predict that business in Central Plaza will return to its previously high levels."
Write a response in which you discuss what questions would need to be answered in order to decide whether the recommendation is likely to have the predicted result. Be sure to explain how the answers to these questions would help to evaluate the recommendation.
RESPONSE :
Store owners in Central Plaza have come up with the conclusion that the increased amount of skateboarders has caused overall business to plummet within the past two years. As we could see this is a cause-and-effect argument made upon a platform of collective human assumption.
Just as in any argument, there are always certain aspects of it to be questioned and considered. The storeowners claim to have observed the decrease in business about the same time that the skateboarding in the plaza became popular. However, one should question whether or not the decrease in business and the increase in skateboarders occured at exactly the same moment, which would in turn provide proof and support for this collective conclusion. Another question that should be discussed in this context is whether or not there are other exterior reasons for the decrease in overall business in the last two years ; some examples being a new plaza that may have opened up near this one that is stealing all the business, or simply that the economy mayalso have deteriorated during the same context, and consumers may just be trying to spend less money. Another important question to be discussed is whether or not these storeowners have valid and physical proof that the skateboarders are the reason that business has gone down. Was there any formal research done on this topic ? One would need to confirm that none of these exterior circumstance are contributing to the decrease in business, before arguing and concluding that the sole culprit for this decrease in business are the skateboarders.
The aspect of an increased amount of vandalism and litter within the plaza is also a subjective argument that requires one to ask questions about who is coming in and out of the center other than the skateboarders. The store owners of the businesses in Central Plaza would need to establish a valid correlation between the rise of littering and the rise of skateboarders in the plaza in order to conclude valid cause and effect for the two events, due to the fact that many more individuals other than skateboarders are entering the area. One example of a valid conclusion for the problem of graffiti is a video camera recording a skateboarder in the act of vandalism. Another aspect to be researched is where the vandalism is occuring. For example, if the vandalism is occuring near the popular spots of skateboarders in the plaza, then there would be probable cause for the issue. If the vandalism is seen farther away, then there would be less of a correlation between the two events. This analysis is the same when regaarding the issue of litter on the premises. There are many possible causes for litter and the store owners would need to inevitably conduct research as to where this litter is occuring and whether or not this is near the area where skateboard users are prevalent.
Answers to the above questions regarding the decrease of business in Central Plaza and the increase of skateboarders in the same center would further ease the process of evaluating this recommendation made by store owners to prohibit skateboarders overall.
