Michael Jordan

[PROMPT] SuperCorp recently moved its headquarters to Corporateville. The recent surge in the number of homeowners in Corporateville proves that Corporateville is a superior place to live than Middlesburg, the home of SuperCorp's current headquarters. Moreover, Middleburg is a predominately urban area and according to an employee survey, SuperCorp has determined that its workers prefer to live in an area that is not urban. Finally, Corporateville has lower taxes than Middlesburg, making it not only a safer place to work but also a cheaper one. Therefore, Supercorp clearly made the best decision. Write a response in which you examine the stated and/or unstated assumptions of the argument. Be sure to explain how the argument depends on the assumptions and what the implications are if the assumptions prove unwarranted. [RESPONSE] The argument that Supercorp has made the best decision of moving its headquarters from Middlesburg to Corporateville is open to debate. There are many assumptions that the author makes. The most glaring assumption is that lower taxes and a less urban setting directly qualifies Corporateville as the best destination for setting up Supercorp's new headquarters. The author mentions that due to the fact that Corporateville is a less urban area, it is a much safer place than Middlesburg. This may not be true as Corporateville may have an unusually higher crime rate than its counterparts. We just cannot say. Also the lower taxes may be a policy of the government to bring in more investment and after a few years the government may be tempted to raise the taxes, bringing the expenses at a comparable level to what the company had in Middlesburg. Another statement that invokes suspicion is the claim from the survey that the employees prefer t live in non urban areas. The authenticity of the survey may be called into question as it was not done by an independent outside organisation. Even after considering the survey authentic, the results may have been incorrectly interpreted. It may be the case that the employees at the lower spectrum of work who were, not surprisingly, in greater numbers preferred non urban areas while the top management which was fewer in numbers were greatly opposed to living in non urban areas. The surge in number of homeowners is in no way an indication of the superiority of Corporateville as compared to Middlesburg. This may have been a result of government subsidy on taxes which ultimately pulled a large number of people to invest in property here. Corporateville may as well have been a city lagging behind others and in an attempt to make it more attractive to industry and the general population certain policies and tax sops may have been introduced by the government and the duration up to which they will last is hard to say.

[PROMPT] Technology, while apparently aimed to simplify our lives, only makes our lives more complicated. 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] Technology, instead of simplifying our lives, has made it even more complicated. Technology is a great enabler. It has simplified our lives more than the complications that have arisen due to it. Today, it offers a plethora of solutions for everyday problems ranging from ordering food from a nearby restaurant to ride hailing services. It is not surprising that many a people cannot think of a world without the ever watchful eyes of technology. There is hardly any convenience related service that is not addressed by the technology existing in our times. The invention of telephone by Graham Bell was a ground breaking step in the way that man communicates. Sitting at home a prospective student can apply to any number of universities of her choice. This is the power of the internet, a gift from the womb of technology. The security infrastructure has greatly improved with technology with inventions such as the closed circuit television which enable us to monitor any suspicious activity for the safety of the general public. There is even the baby camera for working professionals which allows them to keep track of the baby while still being able to devote time for work. It is perhaps the immense benefits offered by technology, that it could be said that in some ways we have become hugely dependant on it. The amount of social interactions has decreased as people have replaced it with a simple test or voice message. A sense of lethargy is seen in people for tasks which they would otherwise have preferred to do the online way. Also there are cases of hacking by individuals and organisations into personal details of the general public which has been a cause of concern. By carefully measuring between the pros and cons, the cons of technology cannot be counted as a concession to the wide range of benefit that technology offers.