How is ethos used in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking?

Ethos involves convincing the audience of the authority or credibility of the person making an argument. Gladwell uses a great number of authorities to buttress his arguments. For example, in the "Introduction," he writes about the psychologist Timothy D. Wilson, author of the book Strangers to Ourselves. Gladwell uses Wilson as an authority about how much information the mind collects in the unconscious, which is one of the premises of Gladwell's book. Gladwell cites...

Ethos involves convincing the audience of the authority or credibility of the person making an argument. Gladwell uses a great number of authorities to buttress his arguments. For example, in the "Introduction," he writes about the psychologist Timothy D. Wilson, author of the book Strangers to Ourselves. Gladwell uses Wilson as an authority about how much information the mind collects in the unconscious, which is one of the premises of Gladwell's book. Gladwell cites Wilson's training as a psychologist and the title of Wilson's book to make Wilson more credible and to appeal to the reader's sense of ethos. In Chapter One, Gladwell cites the research of John Gottman, a psychologist at the University of Washington, to again build a sense of credibility--in this case, about the ability of researchers to understand a marriage by looking at a short videotape of the married couple interacting. Throughout his book, Gladwell cites authorities in different fields to buttress his argument.

How did telephone technology change lives?

Telephone technology was very important.  First, outside of diplomatic cables and overseas communication, it made telegraph operators obsolete.  Soon, the telephone would replace even this.  The telephone allowed for instantaneous communication, and it created jobs for people who could install phones and run switchboards.  People could soon call in an order—this sped up business transactions.  Companies soon realized that they could sell to consumers directly by providing their phone number and dedicating a person at...

Telephone technology was very important.  First, outside of diplomatic cables and overseas communication, it made telegraph operators obsolete.  Soon, the telephone would replace even this.  The telephone allowed for instantaneous communication, and it created jobs for people who could install phones and run switchboards.  People could soon call in an order—this sped up business transactions.  Companies soon realized that they could sell to consumers directly by providing their phone number and dedicating a person at the company to taking customer orders.  This was a boon to the mail-order industry as people could see the catalog and then call in an order.  Instant communication also helped with emergency services, as people could get fire and police help faster.  Police soon realized that they could tap phones of potential suspects; this would lead to legal questions about what constituted illegal searches.  

How did industrialization effect the Indian cotton handicrafts?

Cotton was an important crop in India.  This cotton was turned into spun thread and woven by hand.  The cloth created by woven Indian cotton was cool and lightweight.  This made it especially popular in England.  Often it was dyed beautiful colors.  

In India, all of the harvesting, spinning of the thread, weaving of the cloth, and dying of the finished product was done meticulously by hand.  The workers who did these processes were...

Cotton was an important crop in India.  This cotton was turned into spun thread and woven by hand.  The cloth created by woven Indian cotton was cool and lightweight.  This made it especially popular in England.  Often it was dyed beautiful colors.  

In India, all of the harvesting, spinning of the thread, weaving of the cloth, and dying of the finished product was done meticulously by hand.  The workers who did these processes were skilled.  With the arrival Industrial Revolution, it became cheaper to make cotton cloth using large factory machinery instead of by hand.  This had a negative impact on the people who wove cotton cloth by hand in India.  On top of this, the United States had already become the main center for cotton production in the world.  England had already begun purchasing cotton from the United States instead of India.

Before cotton could even be produced into cloth and other goods, the seeds needed to be removed.  With the invention of the cotton gin, speeds could be removed by machine.  This strengthened the cotton trade in North America.  The Indian cotton industry operated locally, rather than on a larger, more organized scale.  This caused further decline and had a negative impact on the Indian cotton handicraft industry.

In lord of the flies, what does ralph keep trying to persuade the boys of?

Ralph is the elected leader of the boys and a proponent of civilization throughout the novel. His main concerns revolve around making an effort to be rescued from the uninhabited island. Ralph continually attempts to persuade the boys to build and maintain a signal fire at all times on top of the mountain.Initially, the boys follow Ralph's instructions and cheerfully participate in building a signal fire. It is also agreed that the hunters are...

Ralph is the elected leader of the boys and a proponent of civilization throughout the novel. His main concerns revolve around making an effort to be rescued from the uninhabited island. Ralph continually attempts to persuade the boys to build and maintain a signal fire at all times on top of the mountain. Initially, the boys follow Ralph's instructions and cheerfully participate in building a signal fire. It is also agreed that the hunters are in charge of maintaining the signal fire. However, Jack influences his hunters to leave the signal fire, and the boys miss out on an opportunity to be rescued by a passing ship. As the novel progresses, Jack begins to challenge Ralph's authority and neglects the need to maintain a signal fire. Jack is more than happy living on the island and acting like a savage. His main concerns are hunting and having fun. In contrast, Ralph is continually reminding Jack and the boys about the importance of having a signal fire. During an assembly meeting in Chapter 5, Ralph says the following:

"The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?" (Golding, 113).

Why does Caesar want Calpurnia to stand in Antony's way in Julius Caesar?

Caesar wants Antony to run by Calpurnia so that she will be given fertility.

During the Feast of Lupercal, Antony is taking part in a ritual in which he will run naked through the streets.  He is able to do this because he is very fit, and a solider.  He is also considered an example of fertility. (Antony had many children). 

CAESAR

Stand you directly in Antonius' way,
When he doth run his course. Antonius!

ANTONY

Caesar, my lord?

CAESAR

Forget not, in your speed, Antonius,
To touch Calpurnia; for our elders say,
The barren, touched in this holy chase,
Shake off their sterile curse. (Act 1, Scene 2)

Caesar is hoping that some of Antony’s fertility will run off on Calpurnia, his wife, because Caesar and Calpurnia have never had a child. (Caesar had a daughter from a former marriage).  It is a Roman superstition that the men who participate in the race can grant fertility to any woman they hit with their leather strap.  Antony would have been expected to hit many women along the course.

The race is part of an overall celebration that Caesar has co-opted.  Even though it is a religious holiday, he is using it as part of his victory route.  Brutus and Cassius do not like this, and the general excitement the crowd has shown for Caesar, so they do not participate.  Brutus also tells Cassius why he is not running the race.

BRUTUS

I am not gamesome: I do lack some part
Of that quick spirit that is in Antony.
Let me not hinder, Cassius, your desires;
I'll leave you. (Act 1, Scene 2)

Brutus is essentially saying he is not athletic.  Shakespeare takes this opportunity to contrast Brutus and Antony.  Antony is strong, athletic, and fertile.  Brutus, on the other hand, is lacking in pretty much all of these areas.  It foreshadows Antony’s later domination of him.  The Roman people preferred shows of strength.  By running the race, Antony is also ingratiating himself to the people of Rome.

The incident at the race also highlights aspects of both Caesar and Antony’s characters.  Caesar is domineering and authoritative.  He has no qualms about calling attention to what appears to be his wife’s infertility.  In fact, he has to.  Since they have no children and he has to put on a show as a virile man, the fault has to be hers.  Antony, for his part, is immediately obedient and says, “When Caesar says 'do this,' it is perform'd.”  It is indicative of their relationship, and also demonstrates how Antony wants to tie himself to Caesar—and his popularity with the people.

How is Mr. Mead's house different from the other houses in the city in "The Pedestrian"?

In Ray Bradbury's "The Pedestrian," Mr. Mead's house differs from the other houses in the city because it is well illuminated, there is no television set in it, and it is unoccupied.

Leaving the lights on in his home during the evening, Mr. Mead walks the empty sidewalks of his town for hours, not returning to his own house until midnight. While he is outside walking, he passes houses in which 

only the faintest glimmers...

In Ray Bradbury's "The Pedestrian," Mr. Mead's house differs from the other houses in the city because it is well illuminated, there is no television set in it, and it is unoccupied.

Leaving the lights on in his home during the evening, Mr. Mead walks the empty sidewalks of his town for hours, not returning to his own house until midnight. While he is outside walking, he passes houses in which 

only the faintest glimmers of firefly light appeared in flickers behind the windows.

These flickers of light come from television sets before which the occupants of the houses sit in the dark in order to better view what is on the small and dim screens. (In its early days, television was broadcast in only black and white and light was minimal in the first sets.) 

For ten years, Mr. Mead has walked "for air and to see," covering thousands of miles. Yet in all this distance and time, he has never met one person outside who is also walking on the sidewalks that now are vanishing under flowers and grass. In fact, in the year 2052, Mr. Mead's walking is not normal, and he is stopped by a mechanized patrol car that forces him to get into the vehicle. He will be taken to the Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies.

What could the books burning symbolize in Fahrenheit 451? (use quotes from the book as examples please)

According to Beatty, burning books is a way to eliminate the possibility of strife, conflict, or unpleasant feelings. In his explanation to Montag and Mildred, he says that if any book causes any person or group some unpleasant feelings, then that book should be burned. Beatty reasons that if all books are burned, then there is no possibility that anyone will be offended by a book. Also, as a result, with people reading less, they...

According to Beatty, burning books is a way to eliminate the possibility of strife, conflict, or unpleasant feelings. In his explanation to Montag and Mildred, he says that if any book causes any person or group some unpleasant feelings, then that book should be burned. Beatty reasons that if all books are burned, then there is no possibility that anyone will be offended by a book. Also, as a result, with people reading less, they think less. This might decrease debates and arguments but it comes at the cost of knowledge and variety of opinions. Beatty explains how he thinks burning books establishes peace: 

Coloured people don't like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don't feel good about Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it. Someone's written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Bum the book. Serenity, Montag. Peace, Montag. 

That is Beatty's warped position. The general lesson of this novel is that the burning of books symbolizes censorship, the loss of freedom, and the suppression of ideas. Burning books also symbolizes the destruction of creativity. Faber says "Those who don't build must burn." In this novel, the firemen burn books and effectively destroy creative work. Building is associated with creation. It is a contrast of creation versus destruction. 

In terms of imagery, the books resemble birds. "The books leapt and danced like roasted birds, their wings ablaze with red and yellow feathers." Destroying a book is like destroying a bird's ability to fly. If books are burnt, the ideas are snuffed out. Those ideas are less likely to be communicated to many people in many areas. They can not be passed on, shared, and so on. In a very real sense, ideas from books are less likely to travel. Their wings are clipped or "burnt."