Author John M. Barry, in The Great Influenza, claims that scientists must embrace uncertainty and doubt their ideas in order to be successful in their research. To support his claim, he first states that “uncertainty creates weakness”, then lists the traits required by scientists (including curiosity and creativity), and finally explains that experiments must be made to work by the investigator. The purpose of this is to further support his claim in order to encourage readers to embrace uncertainty because certainty creates something to lean on, while uncertainty forces one to manipulate experiments to produce answers. Barry adopts a formal tone to appeal to a worldwide audience, specifically those interested in scientific research, by using
John M. Barry addresses his feelings about scientists and their research through the piece from, “The Great Influenza,” an account of the 1918 flu epidemic. He adopts a speculative tone and utilizes rhetorical strategies such as fallacies, metaphors, and word choice to characterize scientists research. Barry describes the positive mind set and the requirements to be a scientists.
In the passage from John M. Barry’s The Great Influenza, Barry makes us of an extended metaphor of scientific research as an unexplored wilderness, a motif of uncertainty, a comprehensible diction and admiring tone, and bookended explanatory paragraphs to characterize scientific research as a courageous pursuit to bring order from chaos. Throughout the piece, Barry develops the metaphor in a fashion which closely parallels the steps of the scientific method, giving the reader a better understanding of the work of scientists. In an effort to promote scientific research to the general public, he focuses on its positive aspects and the character traits of scientists.
The sticker that the influenza vaccine campaign uses " The Flu Stops with U" is an effectiveness advertisement, because it appeals to all ages. The advertisement 's try to explain their purpose, they like to target certain audience, and the persuasive techniques should be clear.
In John M. Barry’s “The Great Influenza” scientific research is made out to be a process based off gaining knowledge in fields that have little base knowledge and then cooperating with other researchers in order to either further develop from that point or to further validate the current idea. Barry supports this ideal through his extended metaphor, parallelism, and the exemplification.
In the passage from The Great Influenza, John M. Barry uses rhetorical strategies like: antithetical ideas, extended metaphors, and diction to characterize scientific research.
In a passage from The Great Influenza, author John M. Barry writes about what it is like to be a scientist. He describes scientists as pioneers and uses that to get across his idea. The author states that being a scientist is brave and uses metaphor, the motif of an explorer, and logos to prove his point.
One of the largest debates known to modern man is that between creationists and evolutionists. Is human existence evidence of a divine power? Did humankind reach its current state on the reliance of genetic mistakes? Is it of any concern to know one way or another? In his insightful essay, “Do we care what’s true? Does it matter?,” Carl Sagan beautifully and respectfully asserts the importance of favoring science over pseudoscience, and makes clear his argument as to why not the other way around. Sagan believes in the rhetorical connection between author and audience, which is why he maintains understanding throughout the essay. Sagan’s compassionate tone informs his polite authority, which in turn
Describe a problem you 've solved or a problem you 'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
In “The Belief Engine”, Alcock (1951) highlighted the necessity of skepticism by revealing the malfunction of brain activities when making judgments. He indicated that people automatically generate false beliefs and neglect the truthfulness of the issue. In “Occult Beliefs”, Singer and Benassi (1981) suggested that occult beliefs are indestructible; people tend to invent an explanation to satisfy their own beliefs, which relates to Alcock’s proposal of our brains acting as a “belief engine” (Alcock, 1995). The authors in both articles attempted to explain how people invent these “magical thinking” (Alcock, 1995), and why those beliefs outweigh scientific explanations.
In this except from John M. Barry’s book The Great Influenza, the author discusses the challenges of science and the significance of certainty. In the field of science, certainty is important and it is necessary in order to advance. Being uncertain about something when it comes to science can cause a scientist to potentially miss out on an important discovery or fail to accomplish something. John M. Barry illustrates the importance of certainty with syntax, diction, and allegories.
The fervent ideal-searching that entails scientific research is an endeavor that encompasses not only intellectual bounds but also the mental and emotional fixtures present in the mind of a scientific pioneer. Mere thoughts and notions become materialized tools and obstacles, and the journey that takes place within becomes the foundation by which scientific theory is ascertained. Wielding thoughts as stepping stones is crucial to the duty of the scientist, and even a degree of uncertainty must be harnessed for success and improvement. In this excerpt from The Great Influenza, John M. Barry pieces together a passionate study on the character of scientific research through the artful use of rhetorical strategies including syntax, hypothetical
When the Spanish Flu appeared in Chicago, peaking at 2000 deaths a day, health commissioner John Dill Robertson decided to make some drastic decisions. First, all large gatherings were banned, sporting events; political meetings and banquets were all cancelled. Schools were shut down and parks were closed. Theaters and cabarets were closed as well. Weddings were postponed and funerals were cancelled. Churches were kept open because they were considered essential for morale, but pastors were to keep their services shorter. People who were going to work were suggested to walk to work instead of taking cramped public transportation. Public spitting was outlawed and citizens were asked to wear gauze facemasks when they were in public. By Oct. 21, Chicago received 100,000 flu vaccines. Over the next weeks, flu deaths dropped rapidly and the illness was
From the passage taken from, The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry, Barry frequently uses the appeal to logic and the appeal to credibility to characterize the scientific research as courageous and “moving deep into the wilderness”.
In the US, up to 64 million people are infected with influenza every year with 51 thousand cases resulting in death. (Treanor) The fever, runny nose, and body aches keep Americans curled up in their bed, miserable, all week. You try to do everything you can to isolate yourself from the virus, but somehow it always finds a way to get you sick. It seems like it is the same routine every year of taking days off work or completing make up work for school. Records of influenza symptoms date back thousands of years, with many massive outbreaks such as the 1918 Spanish flu and the 2009 Swine flu pandemic along the way. Scientists have been searching for a cure for years, but even through modern medicine, the fight against influenza continues. The structure, replication process, and limitations on modern medicine are just a few factors that keep influenza spreading across the world every year.