Getting Personal, a rhetorical analysis on “The Biology of Risk” By John Coates Jasmine Arechiga Department of Literature, Science and the Arts, University of Michigan ENGLISH 125 050 Melissa Valerie March 06, 2023 Getting Personal (VERY ROUGH DRAFT) We humans have taken many risks over the course of history, from the past’s “what animal do I hunt to survive” to “what stocks do I invest in to make money” today. We take risks in love, risks in career, risks financially, or even risks in choosing our outfits for the day. But risks aren’t just a rational choice, risks aren’t purely intellectual, they’re biological too. John Coates, a neuroscientist studying the biology of risk, provides a compelling argument for the importance of understanding …show more content…
For instance, "We do not process information as a computer does, dispassionately; we react to it physically" (Coates, 2014, para. 8). This analogy distinguishes human thought and computer processing to illustrate the idea that humans respond to information in a more emotional and biological way. He also provides clarity for biological concepts by saying, "As such, most stress is not, well, stressful. For example, when you walk to the coffee room at work, your muscles need fuel, so the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol recruit glucose from your liver and muscles; you need oxygen to burn this fuel, so your breathing increases ever so slightly; and you need to deliver this fuel and oxygen to cells throughout your body, so your heart gently speeds up and blood pressure increases" (Coates, 2014, para. 7). This compares biological stress response to fueling a car, something most if not all people have understanding of. This analogy emphasizes that stress response, like fueling a car, is a necessary process that provides energy for movement. These analogies help the reader visualize the concepts being discussed and create a more relatable and engaging reading experience. Coates' use of analogies helps to bridge the gap between the scientific ideas, …show more content…
By drawing on his expertise, using relatable analogies, and repeating key ideas, Coates is able to make a compelling case for the importance of understanding the biological responses to risk-taking. I feel the piece is very accessible and doesn’t hold any constraints, it allows for the average person to comprehend the text thanks to the use of analogies and allows those who are well versed in the topic to enjoy the argument with Coates’ use of technical terminology. Analogies allow reader understanding which in turn allows for data to have more impact on the argument. If the reader were confused, the data would only add to confusion. The combination of all three of these rhetorical devices were what compelled me to agree in Coates' argument; I was coaxed with his credibility, breakdown of concepts and emphasis on biological terms in his article. The article serves as a model for how to use rhetorical devices to create a persuasive and impactful
“That day changed me forever and now I fight for sharks’ rights. I have always been an active animal and environmental advocate” (paragraph 5.) The risk the young boy on the beach took affected the rest of his life positively and if he never took a chance such as that, he may never have become the type of person he is. When the narrator decided to take a risk, he had no idea what the outcome might’ve been. He affected the fisherman’s way of thinking.
Unit 2 Assignment: Diagnostic Writer’s Response Whether it is a little or a lot, everyone experiences stress at some point. Stress does not always have a negative effect, most of the time the effects can be positive. On the other hand stress is associated with the development of most major mental health problems such as depression, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and pathological aging (Marin, 2011). It has also been linked to all leading physical causes of death such as heart disease, cancer and stroke (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, & Miller, 2007).
What drives us to preform actions even though we are aware that they may have a negative effects on us? Sarah Stewart Johnson, the writer of the essay “O-Rings”, challenges the reasoning as to why people do the things that they do even though they are cognizant of its harmful nature, how. In the essay O-Rings, Sarah speaks on her travels to Antarctica and Castle Rock (a distant volcanic outcrop jutting through a glacier) and the great tragedies and chilling demise of the Challenger explosion and the five men who traveled to the South Pole, but died on the return journey. Sarah was at the time, twenty-six years old and in the middle of her graduate work as a planetary scientist and went to Antarctica to probe for traces of life beneath the snow.
Carr noticed that theories have stated that human’s brains stop adapting at a certain point (31). The brain is not trapped; it never stops adapting to new experiences. This scientific notion is important to Carr’s philosophy because our brains are constantly changing. Using neuroplasticity as an example gives him the opportunity to show that life is about having a deep effect, not on our brains, but the way we think. Carr adds, “neuroplasticity provides an escape from genetic determinism, a loophole for free thought and free will, it also imposes its own form of determinism on our behavior.
Worried Sick Reflection As I watched the “Worried Sick” video, I found many pieces of the research to be really interesting. By taking blood samples and testing it for the stress hormones, I think the scientists were able to get a great sense of what the different animals and people were truly feeling; all of the data collected was very reliable. As a whole, three concepts stuck out to me including the study conducted about the primate vs. the antelope, the effects stress has on the body, and the high impact of personalities on dealing with stress.
The appeals are used to persuade the reader to see the students stress from her point of view. Robbins uses an extensive amount of logos to overload the reader with statistical evidence proving her argument. Logistical evidence backing her claims can be shown when explaining the stress on students has created “16.5
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck displays what happens when vulnerability controls us. So you are on that roller coaster. It jolts and you start cranking up that first hill. Crank rack-Crank. There is a feeling inside you.
According to the texts “Space Shuttle Challenger”, “A Night To Remember”, and “The Vanishing Island”, risk-taking has its pros and cons to it such as affecting your future, impacting the world, and the knowledge that you gain from these experiences. To begin
However, it helps the reader understand the power emotions have on the locus of control when faced with a high stress scenerio. Amir’s fight or flight instincts came into effect and he chose the latter. He was at an emotional high after witnessing such an appaling event and let this fully guide his choices. He learned that even when no action is taken, there still may be consequences. There’s only what you do, and what you don’t do, the middle ground is undefined.
Specific purpose: To inform my audience the physical, mental, and emotional effects of stress. Central Idea: Stress effects people physically, mentally, and emotionally. Introduction I. Imagine being so stressed that it affected you emotionally, physically, and mentally. II.
Ultimately, he chooses to go skydiving amid the inherent risks. This is a prime example of society’s influence and what it can do to people. It motivates people to do what they usually would not do. Without coincidence, it
In the story, the narrator goes up to the fisherman and tells him about how sharks are important to the ecosystem. The fisherman is convinced by the narrator to release the shark back into the water. The narrator had to take the risk of talking to the fisherman in order to save the shark. In these stories, risks had to be taken in order to save
Although the author revealed his unsatisfaction toward mechanistic interpretation, he approaches his argument in a scientific way to counter his audience, who may still disagree with him based on the scientific fact of superiority in intelligent of humans over the animals.
For instance, (Volz & Gigerenzer, 2012) provided some evidence that cognitive processes for decisions in a world of risk are not the same as in a world of uncertainty. They asserted that “The neural correlations of the cognitive processes such as heuristic
3. Review of literature 3.1 Stress and its types: Stress is an essential mediator of human behaviour. Immediate physiological response to any type of stressor facilitates survival of the species at its maximum. Despite of normal homeostatic regulatory mechanism, the stress responses can become maladaptive. Chronic stress, for example immobilization, exposure to noise, irradiations, psychological stress can leads to a host of adverse health consequences, including cardiovascular diseases, neurodegeneration, obesity, depression and early ageing (McEwen et al, 2004).