Article: "An A.I. Dreamed Up a Bunch of Dungeons & Dragons Spells. They’re Surprisingly Perfect." By Jacob Brogan http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2017/05/09/an_a_i_created_new_dungeons_and_dragons_spells.html This article covers a story about an Artificial Intelligence (AI) constructed its own Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) spells. As a popular board game with a cult following, D&D is always expanding and adopting new strategies, stories, misc. into the base game.
Jacob Brogan is a consistent write for Slate, focusing mainly on technology and culture. His interest in this subject matter was the fact an AI was used in the process. Brogan most likely highlighted the fact it was an AI because of how innovative AI programming has become; some even predict the future! Brogan develops his argument with appeals to logic, emotions, and ethics to develop his strong argument. With flavorful diction and varying syntax structure, Brogan conveys an animated and engaging argument in his article. He cites multiples sources and their testimonials on the subject and connects them to his own logical developments to make sense of how the subject is significant and its deeper meanings. With an added comedic flavor, Brogan appeals to pathos and really makes the reader feel invested into what he is saying. Overall, Brogan is very successful in his utilization of rhetoric for his argument. He offers relevant insight into a fun topic, with a very specific audience he aims to capture.
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Article: "Google’s Legal War With Uber Will Officially Play Out in Court" By Ian Prasad Philbrick http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2017/05/12/the_uber_google_legal_showdown_will_play_out_in_court.html Slate contributor, Ian Prasad Philbrick covers the (apparently long-awaited) announcement of a lawsuit being filed by a branch of Google onto Uber. The allegation is that Uber had copied a navigational technology called lidar from the Google branch that was designed to play a large role in the innovation of self-navigating cars.
Philbrick is a technology buff that covers many other stories on innovation and transportation within the U.S, China, and other international locations. He is an infrequent contributor to Slate, and also works as an intern for the company. In this article, Philbrick uses direct quotes and references to appeal to ethos. He established himself as an unbiased party through his professional tone and diction. He maintains a formal report relying on his evidence to further his argument. He offers strong but scarce argument towards both sides of the battle, but especially emphasizes the problems this will cost Uber. With the evidence provided, Philbrick most likely think that Uber will lose the legal battle. The argument is very strong through its credible information and strong chronological flow of events. Some insight is provided by Philbrick on his own opinion but fails to state how whichever side's win will affect the two corporations. Overall, great article with a relevant focus and strong rhetoric. Article: "Losing Face: If I get a nose job, will my daughter think she’s not beautiful?" By Mallory Ortberg http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2017/05/dear_prudence_i_don_t_want_my_nose_job_to_affect_my_daughter.html Mallory Ortberg is consistent writer for Slate, publishing her weekly bit: "Dear Prudence." She answers respondent's questions and concerns as well as provide valuable insight for ethical dilemmas the respondents share with Ortberg.
In this week's "Dear Prudence," Ortberg reviews an issue an Italian women was having with a choice of whether or not she should get a nose job. However, the real dilemma is not solely whether or not to get a nose job, its if she should get one based on what effect it could have on her daughter and sister's sens of self-confidence. Ortberg responded by saying that the woman would have to judge herself if she was willing to risk the outcome. She also noticed that if her respondent's nose did not bother her until now, then she should wait and see how she would feel later and not rush into the nose job decision. Ortberg conveys her purpose and argument with her own credibility as an ethical writer, as well as appeals to her readers' logical appeals. Overall, Ortberg illustrates a valid argument for her respondent's dilemma. Although the choice will ultimately only be the respondent's to decide, Ortberg supplied sufficient advice to how she should proceed. Article: "Why Is Pop Culture So Obsessed With Nuns All of a Sudden?" By Anna Silman http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/05/11/nuns_are_2017_s_favorite_pop_culture_trope.html A formal but lighthearted analysis of the "Nun Boom" in media, Anna Silman reviews how and why nuns are so prevalent in modern day times. A re-post by Slate from another website called The Cut, a fashion, culture and beauty magazine, Slate adopts the story to appeal to their own audience.
The article provides loads of relevant evidence on how nuns became popular. The article shows that nuns were utilized as a socially safe representation of an independent female that is devoted to a cause but still repressed by a patriarchal authority. Nuns also take place as semi-cultist group utilized in horror movies, and a repressed sensuality appeal for more scandalous media. All throughout the article, Silman references primarily film works from all times to provide evidence of the "Nun Boom." Silman uses the works to appeal to her audience's ethos and build her own credibility. Her tone reflects a formal review and develops her argument well with long, descriptive syntax structures. Silman gains her audience's attention with a unique topic, but proves it to be a viable subject with significant evidence to support her argument. The article is successful in its rhetoric and offers a new, fresh perspective on modern day media. Article: "Trump Also Just Met With Henry Kissinger, aka Richard Nixon’s National Security Adviser" By Ben Mathis-Lille http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/05/10/henry_kissinger_in_oval_office_reporters_say.html Remember Richard Nixon? Arguably the best former president besides Andrew Jackson? If you are not familiar with Mr. Nixon and his administration, it was a disaster. Speaking of disaster administrations, U.S. President Donald Trump recently invited Henry Kissinger, former National Security Adviser during Nixon's administration. The reason for the meeting is unknown as of now, but Slate writer, Ben Mathis-Lille covered the event in this article.
Mathis-Lille covers many White House affairs and other political happenings in "The Slatest" section of the Slate website. "The Slatest" mainly covers headlining news stories that focus on politics. Mathis-Lille is a relatively frequent political writer and takes a shot at the story of Kissinger meeting in the oval office with President Trump. Utilizing a very casual approach, Mathis-Lille reports the article almost as a conversation to his audience. The headline itself also follows this lenient formula of writing. Although this approach is lighthearted and easily opinionated, it falls short in evidence and credibility. Mathis-Lille relies solely on conjecture and inference to develop his ideas. However, a highlight of the article is its rather detailed background on Henry Kissinger provided, sadly, through links to other articles and documents. Article: "West Virginia Supreme Court Rules Anti-Gay Assaults Are Not Hate Crimes" By Mark Joseph Stern http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2017/05/10/west_virginia_supreme_court_rules_anti_gay_assaults_are_not_hate_crimes.html This article covered a recent court decision in West Virginia in ruling, by a 3-2 decision, that assaults based on sexual orientations are not considered hate crimes. Stern chooses to approach the coverage of this ruling using heightened diction, passive voice, and many ethical appeals towards his audience,
Mark Joseph Stern is a writer that mainly covers law-based stories, making him well suited for this article. Citing multiple credible sources, Stern develops his outrage for this law by quoting many sources that related the ruling to the West Virginia v. Butler case which covered an assault by college football player, Steward Butler, on two homosexual men that were kissing on the street. The ruling for Butler's case was determined to be a hate crime, but the court would later come to rule the decision mentioned in this article. Stern uses his heightened diction to approach the argument as neutral and intelligently as possible, but intentionally reveals his opinion on the matter, opposing the ruling. Stern successfully develops his opposition of the ruling and also succeeds in conveying enough evidence to illustrate his argument. Very strong writing with no unnecessary fluff or asides, and connects the news to other current issues. Article: "Steve McQueen Will Direct an Upcoming Tupac Documentary" by David Canfield http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2017/05/09/ _12_years_a_slave_s_steve_mcqueen_to_direct_tupac_documentary.html This article covers the news that 12 Years a Slave director, Steve McQueen, will direct a full-length feature documentary on the life of Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a famous hip-hop artist that had died in 1996 in a drive-by shooting. He was an enormously popular artist at the time and his loss resulted in an amount of widespread grief relative to the hip-hop world as the death of Michael Jackson was on the pop world.
The headline and content aim to draw film and hip-hop enthusiasts alike. Naming both film director and hip-hop star credits surely grabs the attention of any reader that is familiar with either subject. The author, David Canfield, is an intern for the "Brow Beat" section of the Slate website. Canfield's main focus is entertainment, publishing other articles of multimedia including news of upcoming events such as the next season of Scandal. During the simple news of the announcement of the film, Canfield utilized a neutral. informative tone and heavy credibility appeals to develop his article. Due to the sensitive nature of a topic regarding beloved passed hip-hop star, Canfield maintains a neutral, informative tone to remain as unbiased as possible and offers no personal commentary regarding the announcement. I find this to be relatively ineffective because the article is left bare and almost pointless without the author's personal views on the topic. However, Canfield also uses a heavy appeal to ethos by quoting many credible sources like McQueen himself to validate his article's content. Overall, the article was weak because, although informative, lacked any significant impact on the reader. An appeal to pathos would have created a much stronger reverberation from the audience because they would feel as emotionally invested into what Canfield was saying as they do logically. However, I am now rather excited for this film as a film AND hip-hop enthusiast. |