Blog Post #1 - Five Arguments

1.             I recently noticed that the computer that I use to simply type for my blog could be an argument. With that being said, Carr makes the point that everything has the potential to be an argument, but why my computer? I believe that my computer could potentially argue that HP computers are better or decent computers to use for everyday mundane tasks that involve a computer. That could be arguing that a Dell, Toshiba, Acer all are worse in the sense of hardware or that they do not perform well enough for their given brand and price. And that leads to an argument to convince; it gets the name out there, but maybe someone won’t buy it. It’s interesting to think about.
2.           When I was thirsty today, I grabbed a bottle of water (Clover Valley brand) and began to drink out of it. Is this an argument? Not only is the brand an argument of persuasion for me because I bought it, but having a bottle of water in the plastic manufactured container can go against people that do not support the waste it produces, the way it is acquired, or for the fact that tap water is just as easily available for you to consume. There have been people to boycott bottles of water and me drinking this one is an argument waiting to happen. Perhaps one of a convincing nature?
3.            One internal argument I have had to deal with many times daily would be the argument to make decisions. One prime example I am currently dealing with is to add another minor and have it be German. I have very limited knowledge of the German language and culture, but the decision stands in my mind of whether or not I would enjoy learning it and expanding my language pool from simply English. To grasp the power of communication in another language is a unique and fascinating path that would open many doors, but I would have to delve deeper into the thought before choosing if it’s right for me.
4.            Something I have thought about as an argument, but I never cared much for is my clothing. It is a compilation of multiple arguments. It can be to convince, persuade or inform. Articles of clothing may have writings on them and that could be a biblical quote, a brand name, or a smiley face. Each one is unique and for example my University of Kentucky hoodie has the UK symbol and the word “WILDCATS” in big white font on the front. That is an advertisement for the school, an argument that I would have school pride, or it could be to inform to someone that the Wildcats are the school mascot.
5.             Another argument and a shallow one at that would be statuses on Facebook. This one is intriguing to me, because who’s to say that anything you post or feel the need to post is important, unique, or worth my time? By posting anything, you are asking for it to be read, judged, and hopefully understood (while there are many questionable statuses out that of whether or not that can be understood for a purpose or not.) This is an argument to convince people to read the status, but to persuade when they finish it entirely. I thought that was an interesting observation to the power of persuasion.