Writing Prompt
After mulling over a problem, write a thesis-driven argument of at least pages (1800
words) in which you respond to the following:
Having analyzed how a specific technological development has resulted in a
particular problem, what do you propose we should do about this situation?
In constructing your analysis and argument, you should specifically use the concepts
(and perhaps the terminology) that Robert Merton introduces in his discussion of
unanticipated consequences. These ideas will give you a framework for formulating
your own argument. In addition, you might focus your thinking on how values and
beliefs—ideologies and worldviews—have, perhaps, prevented solutions to the
problem.
Although there may be a range of answers to this main question, please do not create
a thesis around the following “solutions”: lack of money or resources, lack of
education, biased media, insufficient public interest, and so on. Rather than relying on
the “most convenient narrative” or the “closest cliché” or the worn-out language of
politics, you should find creative ways of approaching the problem you have chosen
Conceptual Overview
Sometimes in our admirable efforts to develop technologies that better our lives, we
create new problems. These unanticipated and unintended consequences in turn
demand commitments of time, manpower, money, and other resources. For example:
the overuse of antibiotics in treating illness has led to new drug-resistant superbugs;
cutting sulfur pollution from trans-Atlantic shipping has resulted in increased
warming of the oceans; the ballpoint pen eventually led to the demise of cursive
writing, leaving most historical documents unreadable to whole generations of
students. In each case, great or small, innovators failed to foresee the new problems
created by their work, often because of ideological blind spots or misguided
predictions. For this assignment you will identify an unfortunate cause-and-
consequence situation resulting from a specific technological development. You will
then propose an enlightened way of dealing with the problem you have identified.
Remember that rhetoric deals with matters of uncertainty and disagreement, with
issues for which there is generally no determinate solution. Given the range and
complexity of human life, we would be foolish to expect that any single individual
might propose a universally acceptable solution to a significant techno-social
problem. However, this condition is not an invitation to helplessness but an
opportunity for creative engagement with multiple perspectives and proposals.
OBJECTIVES
By this point in the course we have dealt with matters of invention, development, and
logical presentation. This assignment asks you to adopt a “critical attitude” of
analysis and argumentation, in which you make unique and original observations
about your topic. You are now well on the way to mastering the fundamentals of
college writing. Nonetheless, we need to add one additional element: effective
scholarly research. For this assignment, you will need to engage in substantial outside
reading in order to develop supporting material, and you will need to cite at least
eight scholarly sources, including one book, in your essay (using MLA style).
Audience
Policy-makers or expert readers
OTHER NOTES
i want to talk about the pitch clock in baseball so please make sure to atleast use 8 sources that are scholary , below are the readings attatched to this assignment.
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE THIRD READING
https://newrepublic.com/article/179432/age-cultural-stagnation
