Rhetorical Analysis On Ted Talk

“Stop trying to be good people.” It is only human to be biased. However, the problem begins when we allow our bigotry to manifest into an obstacle that hinders us from genuinely getting to know people. Long time diversity lawyer, Verna Myers, in her 2014 Ted Talk, “How to overcome our biases? Walk boldly toward them” discusses the implicit biases we may obtain when it comes to race, specifically black men. Myers purpose is quite like the cliché phrase “Face your fears.” Her goal is to impress upon us that we all have biases (conscious or unconscious). We just have to be aware of them and face them head on, so that problems such as racism, can be resolved. Throughout the Ted Talk, Verna Myers utilizes an admonishing yet entertaining tone in

Mogahed is an Egyptian-American that started her career as an engineer. She’s a Muslim that decided to wear her head covering by the age of seventeen. In the Ted Talk “What Do You Think When You Look At Me?”, Dalia Mogahed discusses the predicaments and accusations Muslims have encountered, including her personal experiences. Through the use of all three rhetorical appeals, pathos being the dominant appeal, Mogahed skillfully conveys her message to the audience that 1.6 billion Muslims shouldn’t be shunned because of the actions of a minority.

Alice Goffman, the speaker in this TED Talk, does a great job reaching out to her audience in a great number of ways. Her purpose in this TED Talk titled, “How We’re Priming Some Kids for College, and Others for Prison,” is to grab the attention of all people, but it is directed towards the younger generations, to show them that they have to work together in order for change to be made. The change would be to work together to help end the problem of mass incarceration; to help completely rebuild the Criminal Justice System. Throughout her talk, Goffman uses examples of logos, ethos, and pathos to reach her audience in an effective way, and to inform them of the problems going on with the United States Criminal Justice System.

Could stress ever become your friend? Stress is something that most people have in their day to day life. In a Ted Talk by Kelly McGonigal she talks about how to make stress your friend. But we are not here to just talk about stress. We are also going to be looking at the rhetorical situation, the rhetorical devices, and the overall effectiveness of this video.

The meaning of a word portrays what it encompasses and if the phrase itself is misunderstood then defining what it’s trying to explain can be a studious task. Addiction has been defined by many and holds different meanings based on the context it’s used in. Addiction can be defined as a condition in which a person undertakes the use of substance, or engages in activities, which in turn brings pleasure, and tends to divert oneself from their day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Addiction is mostly related to drug use but it is also used to describe non-drug entities, such as gambling, and Internet addictions (Avena et al, 2008). Researchers (Herbert, J. D., Forman, E. M., 2010) have been keen on identifying the factors that lead to

Many people believe the misconception that an addiction is a moral problem and not a disease. To better understand the reasons why an additicition is in fact a disease; I will identify several types of addictions, and the problems associated with them. I will examine reasons why certain people are more susceptible for developing an addiction. Also, I will determine why many addicts deny their problems and many recovery methods addicts use to fight their illness. Researching these issues, will help aid my claim that addiction is a disease.

Addiction is everywhere, from celebrity tabloids, to television, and possibly to a family member or close friend. There is alcoholism, drug abuse, and gambling addiction; the effects of such are devastating. For example, the following excerpt is from the harrowing Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant:

Dr. May then goes into a much more in-depth look at the psychological factors of addiction. The text furthers the discussion of self-deception and goes into specific defense mechanisms that we use when we struggle with an addiction. During this portion of the text it elaborates on the understanding of how we will denial to others and more importantly to ourselves that we are increasing the particular behavior that we are addicted to. The book also mentions how we attempt to rationalize the situation to help us continue our addictive behavior. The text then goes into detail about hiding and delaying tactics, such as how we tell ourselves that “we will quit tomorrow.” The book then goes into the understanding of control issues within the addiction, along with how it effects other and how other effect an individual’s addiction. The book then goes into different areas of the psychological factors and discusses the behavioral issues and the understanding of the psychoanalytical aspect of the issue through explaining how addiction uses our unconscious to develop. There is also a

As the disease model argues that there is no cure for addiction, the only treatments available aims to reduce or suppress the urge to use drugs (McNeece & DiNitto, 2012). Firstly, addicts

Moshe Szyf, an epigenist informed us through his Ted Talk, “How life experience is written into DNA,” of our genes and how they are “combined of two components” (15:17). He used rhetorical strategies to engage his audience in understanding the view of DNA through an epigenetics perspective. He provides many examples of experiments performed which show these layers of information. The two layers include the old information from millions of years of evolution and the epigenetic layer which includes the open and dynamic set up of a narrative that is interactive and allows us to control our destiny.

Jackson Katz’ Ted Talk attempts to investigate a solution for violence against women and men through gender equality. This video is created from the mindset of an American educator on gendered violence within workplaces, families, households, and schools. Katz refers to his hypothesis that the human brain’s cognitive structure is programmed to condemn the victim of the violence thus setting back the progression of eliminating gender violence. Katz dissects the fact that we have numerous amounts of technology to develop society’s knowledge of violence and analyzes the significance of brutality as a deeper sociological systemic complication.

Addictions are strongholds and bondages that are more often than not difficult to overcome. The addiction holds a person’s well-being captive which result in unusual behavioral patterns. According to Gabor Maté and Arold Langeveld “addiction means be to a slave” relatively speaking when a person is addicted in reality they are a slave to the stimuli. Furthermore the outcome of addiction will result in behavioral patterns that will satisfy the addiction.

There are several theories of addiction. All of them are imperfect. All are partial explanations. It is for this reason that it is important to be aware of and question addiction theories.

Addiction is all around us. It may be that cup of coffee in the morning for the caffeine stimulation, the cigarette that is smoked for the nicotine, or an alcoholic drink used to relieve a stressful day or situation. For some, the addiction may not be to a substance, but to compulsive behaviors such as gambling, playing video games, or shopping. Consequences to addictions can impact an addict’s physical or mental state. Addiction can also have detrimental impact on the people that surround them. Watching a relationship fall apart because a person has an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or another addictive behavior is a sad thing to happen to anyone. Unfortunately, those with addictions usually won’t admit they even

Over time, we have developed more and more advanced technology from radios to robots, this has impacted us in a way no one would imagine. In Sherry Turkle’s Ted Talk “Connected, but alone?,” Turkle clarifies how technology is redefining human connection. She points out that our cellphones are keeping us away from interacting with society and has a more significant influence on our communication in person than online. In addition, we tend to seek social media as a way of comfort and attention, and the more we are using our phones the more isolated and alone we become. Is technology really redefining human connection?