Looking for facts

We are just finishing up News Literacy Week, and, no, I don't know why THIS particular week was chosen. 

And I wouldn't argue with the view that we should all be focused on news literacy all year long. But it's nice to have some smart people talking about the need to better understand the firehose of information (and outright lies) that we confront every day.

I blame social media and cable news for much of this, but each individual person has to claim some responsibility for not being very informed consumers of information. I know it's a joke to say, "I saw it on the Internet, so it must be true," but many people seem to not be in on the sarcasm of that statement.

In our academic life, we must either accept certain truths or facts that apply to our studies and our eventual careers, or at least engage in organized research to discover the facts. 

The same applies to our lives as citizens. We need to be skeptical about pretty much everything that appears on our screens, but that does not mean we need to be cynical. Being skeptical is simply part of what being a college student means.

Our approach should always be: "SHOW ME some evidence, please." 

BTW: that is at the very heart of this writing course. Claims without evidence are always suspect. 

Playing the percentages

As Bob Dylan once sang: “You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows.” 

But we love to get weather news, thinking that having a heads up on the coming precipitation, temperatures, etc., will make our lives easier and safer. Or at least we will wear the appropriate coat.

What you may not be surprised by is how often the forecast isn’t correct. I saw in today’s paper that there is a 70 percent chance that February will be way above average in terms of snow, since it follows a way below average snow January. This affects my life in no way at all, however. 

But I spent a few minutes reading about possibilities that are at least 30 percent likely to NOT happen. 

Bonus reason not to care: where would I be going in February this year, where snow might disrupt my plans?

Isn't there an easier way?

 Jan. 26, 2021

We are so spoiled as Americans. Even two-day delivery is not quick enough, so Amazon offers two HOUR delivery when possible. I get annoyed that my cheapo version of Hulu includes commercials. The vaccine rollout is WAY too slow. 

There is clearly a danger in too much “convenience.” It can twist our expectations and our sense of progress and quality and improvement.

Education is something that doesn’t fit the “get it quick” model, I must note. We will spend an entire semester analyzing writing and arguments, practicing, editing, experimenting… but deep down we know that just scratches the surface.

Heck, I’ve been involved with writing and teaching writing for over 60 years and I learn new strategies and techniques every week. There are no shortcuts. There is simply “more writing.”

So much competing for our attention

 Jan. 27, 2021

No one can possibly watch all the shows available on TV right now, which is why I appreciate attempts to curate the content. Whether it’s the streaming service itself or critics or editors or amateur bloggers, those efforts can help us sort through all the options and waste just a bit less time.

Here’s my contribution: if you have access to Apple TV, consider spending a few hours binging “Ted Lasso,” my pick for best comedy of 2020. No time for a full review, but I will say it’s idealistic and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny and touching… and all without being cheesy. 

In some ways, it’s “Major League” but with soccer as the sport.

Getting it right

 Jan. 25, 2021

I saw a story in today’s Colorado Sun (an online-only newspaper) and was interested in a piece on the Colorado state budget and how it is put together (and how it affects most people in the state). 

It was full of insights and broken into multiple sections to help me follow along. 

But as I read, I encountered this sentence: “Every four months, state and legislative economists release quarterly revenue forecasts that tell lawmakers how much money the state expects to collect in taxes based on current and future economic conditions.”

Something is not right here. You could issue a report every four months, or you can issue a report quarterly, but those are not the same.

Here’s a question for us, as writers: Is this bad writing or bad editing or bad math (journalists are famously troubled by math), or something else?

All the words are spelled correctly and the grammar and sentence structure are fine.

But I keep repeating, “Writing is thinking made visible,” and the error here equals bad writing. Should an editor have caught the error? Should the author have known better? Yes to both those questions, but neither happened. 

Just a silly little error? Well, we might begin wondering what other “silly little errors” we might encounter in the publication. 

Enough doubt about the journalism and you might start wondering what is true. And I think we all know where THAT can lead us.

History matters

Jan. 22, 2021  (Friday)

The lead, or opening, from this morning’s Denver Post of a story on local reactions to our new vice president: 

Cleo Parker Robinson recalls the conversations around the kitchen table when she was a young Black girl in Denver during the Jim Crow era.

They talked about all kinds of things, like homework and bullying in school, and “heavy topics” like cross burnings, cops following her Black father around, how her family could buy a house in Denver only if her white mother purchased it.

Early on, she was trained in nonviolence. And at the age of 10, she almost died because a segregated hospital in Dallas wouldn’t admit her for treatment for a kidney condition.

“I’ve seen so much change. I see transformation all the time,” the 72-year-old founder of the 50-year-old Cleo Parker Robinson Dance studio said. “And every time I see transformation, I celebrate it, and I make it loud and clear that I’ve seen an experience that is possible.”

A couple things: 

1. The start of a piece of writing is so important to successful communication. Readers make up their minds in mere seconds about whether they will continue reading or not, and if they choose “not” there is nothing we can do later in the piece to win them back, get them to respond, or simply to understand. I recommend spending extra time getting those first few sentences or paragraphs right.

I have lived through a fair amount of history. It is good to be reminded of all the times, just in my lifetime, where the country seemed in shambles, when it didn’t seem we could get along. 

Rioting and near-constant protests (not the same thing) are jarring, but only 50 years ago (or so), I saw an old building on the University of Iowa campus burned down as part of a protest. I saw (and smelled) tear gas on the campus. I watched as coffins were brought back to America from far away, every night on the news. 

2. Not trying to minimize anything, but studying history can sometimes allow us to breathe a bit and see larger trends.

 

Hurry up and wait

Jan. 21, 2021

I would never want to be a whiner, but virus vaccine distribution in Colorado (and probably most places) is chaotic. I’m sure part of the problem is that there simply is not enough of the vaccine (either one) to meet demand.

I am 70, and therefore -- in theory -- NOW eligible for the first shot. But there doesn’t seem to be any sort of centralized system which leaves us where people often believe they are: on their own.

So my wife and I have signed up with two entities -- Kaiser and UC Health -- and have been notified by our personal doctor’s office that SOMEONE will call or email us. Don’t call them.

That means we are on three lists and our strategy is simply to take whichever provider contacts us. That is logical but clearly inefficient and, based on reports I have seen, inconsistent. 

I have a brother 17 years my junior who lives in a tiny town in north central Washington state, and he got his first shot yesterday. Good for him, of course, but he is not in any high-risk group. I have former students who are not front-line workers who have had their shots. Again, good for them.

I am a patient guy -- hey, I was in the Air Force and completely understand “hurry up and wait” -- but being assured by the state that I should have my vaccinations by the end of February isn’t very comforting. 

Oh, wait. I guess I AM being a whiner.

A young poet gets national attention

 Jan. 20, 2021

I had no idea that our country even had a National Youth Poet Laureate, but Amanda Gorman, age 22, was clearly a great choice for the gig and to speak at the inauguration.

The inauguration ceremonies felt more like a giant church service than anything else, including a youth pastor (Amanda) sharing some ideas and inspiration.

My writing classes do not normally include poetry but they certainly focus on clear ideas and effective rhetoric. If you missed Ms. Gorman’s recitation of her poem, you can easily find it online. Lady Gaga supplied a muscular rendition of the national anthem, JLo was terrific, and Garth Brooks shared a heartfelt “Amazing Grace.” Lots of good stuff.

Oh, and President Biden emphasized unity and truth and patriotism and civility. Those are tough qualities to argue with, though I am certain Americans will give it a shot.

New semester and new hopes

Jan. 19, 2021 

The world can seem overwhelming, and not in a good way. 

I last traveled in early March of 2020, to Vegas, of all places. There were rumors of the virus but no one really knew anything. We did notice that our flight home was only half-full, and that never happened PP (pre-pandemic). 

Since then we are mostly at home. Takeout Tuesday has become a true highlight for us and an excuse for me to drive somewhere to pick up our order. Takeout food and Netflix (plus Disney+, Prime, Apple TV and more) just doesn’t seem to bring enough joy. 

 

How about you? 

But this morning I got a Snapchat from our elder daughter of HER 8th grade daughter in a carefully chosen outfit and smiling the biggest smile I have ever seen. TODAY she went to school for the first time since last March. It’s just two days a week with the rest online, but our granddaughter has hope and is excited (and nervous). Her emotions helped me face the day, the first of a new college semester. Tomorrow at 10 a.m. (our time) there will be another new beginning. 

Maybe life isn’t so terrible, after all. 

Jack This is the start of an experiment with daily writing, shared on Google Drive, which is easy to access for all in my Metro Composing Arguments class (I hope). To become a better writer, a first step is to WRITE. We can all work on our technique as we go along.