Academic Papers

Paper 4 (Intro to Rhetorical Studies)

I leaned back into the couch as I scrolled through my library on Steam. I chewed on my lip and looked back and forth between OneShot and Fallout 4.

"How about a deal? You tell me where you put my keys, and I'll tell you where you can find Breath of the Wild."

I jumped in surprise and twisted to see my mom leaning against the door to the kitchen. "Do you mean that?"

"I always mean what I say. You know that."

I shrugged. "True. Your keys are in my sock drawer. Now where's my game?"

Mom raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean our game? The case in is my book shelf behind Aunt Ashley's book. The disk is in Horizon Zero Dawn's case."

"Where's the disk for Horizon Zero Dawn?"

Mom shrugged. "In the PS4."

I scoffed as my mom and I went our separate ways to find the items we wanted. I smirked to myself as I popped Breath of the Wild into the Switch.

"You lied. My keys aren't in your sock drawer."

"That's because I don't actually know where they are. It's your fault for assuming I hid them. You probably just forgot where they are."

"True. Sorry for accusing you honey, but you also have to admit you've hid them on me before."

"This is true."

Mom sighed. "I think it's all this technology that's made these little things harder to remember. God help me if I need to remember someone's phone number or birthday."

I looked at my mom suspiciously. "Do you remember mine?"

Mom scoffed. "Of course I remember your birthday. I could never forget the day I spent ten hours in labor."

I turned back to the opening scene. "That's good, but I have to disagree with you Mom. Technology, while it has helped with making little things hard to recall, is probably more helpful than harmful."

"How so?"

"Well, the Daily Mail's Nick McDermott did say that people who thought info was saved on a device were more forgetful. He based that on research done by psychologists Daniel Wegner and Adrian Ward of Harvard University." (1)

"So my point stands."

I paused the game before I stared at Mom. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I don't really see a problem with this because there is so much more information people in today's age need to know. Even the subjects that were taught a hundred years ago are vastly different now. In history alone, there's the Great Depression, World War I and II, Vietnam War, Watergate, the Kennedy assassinations, Princess Diana, women's suffrage, prohibition, civil rights, space exploration, and the war on drugs. Would you like me to continue?"

"No, I see your point."

"Good because that's just stuff being added to a subject that's always been around. What about the subjects that are completely new? Modern technology is a completely new area of knowledge. The Renaissance Man was supposed to be someone who's athletic but also smart with many talents. It's impossible to be that today because there is just so much."

"What about Bo Burnham? He seems athletic, and he is a comedian and a musician. He has some witty jokes about the music industry."

"But being a comedian doesn't mean he's smart. He isn't a mathematician or a scientist, right? It's just like that actress on that show we can't stand. She's a neuroscientist and an actress, but there's no way she's also an athlete."

"Oh!" Mom snapped her fingers. "Damn it. The name escapes me, but you're talking about the girl who plays Amy on Big Bang Theory, right? How anyone likes that is beyond me."

"Right? Anyways, yes. Her. It's also not just about history and science and math and other traditional subjects in school. We also have to start thinking on a global scale. Presidents can't get by on not having some sort of foreign policy when there used to be a time when the U.S. just minded its own business. For example, we love anime right?"

"Tell me something I don't know. Ghost in the Shell and Psycho-Pass are sci-fi masterpieces, and I doubt there is a single person alive that doesn't know of Studio Ghibli."

"Well, Mad House, Bones, and A1 Pictures aren't just thinking of a Japanese audience anymore when they produce shows. They now target a universal audience. Now when people talk about political issues, they don't just talk about what's going on in our own borders, but what's going on in all the other countries in the world. Borders are becoming less and less important as the internet has allowed us to communicate instantly with people on the opposite side of the world. We knew about the Fukushima nuclear explosion within hours of the incident occurring, and we take that for granted. The same happened with the trapped miners in Chile. We can have disasters funded with volunteers on the way in a matter of days. We want African warlords in custody so they can face justice. People of the past couldn't have comprehended the massive amount of communication that goes on today."

"Okay, but that doesn't change that my memory still sucks."

I wave my hand dismissively. "You love video games. Play more of them. They're well-known to help cognitive development, and, if that isn't enough, there are plenty of other options that help with improving brain functionality."

"And that's all great, but sweetie, none of this helps me find my keys in the now."

I sighed. "Seriously? I info dump on you, and that's all you have to say?" I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Did you check the candy dish? You often drop your keys there instead of the key dish thing."

Mom got up to check. I heard a smack and an angry "You've gotta be shitting me". She walked back over to me and kissed my forehead. "Thanks honey. What would I do without you?"

"Force dad to be your guiding light? Tell him I said hi and that I love him. Don't hurry back from your date since I'll probably still be playing, and I don't want to witness anything disgusting again."

"A kiss is not disgusting."

"Says the woman who accidently puts her keys in the candy dish and then doesn't check it."

Mom shot me a glare. "Don't spend all your time gaming. Read a little. See ya later. Love you."

"Love you too."

1) McDermott, Nick. "How Google is Rotting our Memories: Young People Today have 'Worse Memories than Their Parents.'" Daily Mail, 19 Nov. 2013. Accessed 29 Mar. 2017.