Imagine you’ve just seen the following on Twitter or Facebook:
Red Nation Rising @RedNationRising
Pope Francis shocks world, endorses Donald Trump for president, releases statement
#RedNationRising endingthefed.com/pope-francis-sh…
9:36 PM – Oct 13, 2016
(For accessibility purposes I’ve typed this tweet rather than using a screenshot.)
Do you accept it as true? Does the fact that you like Trump make you more likely to accept it as true? Or does that fact that you don’t like Trump make you less likely to accept is as true?
To determine if it were true, where would you look? What would you read? How would you investigate?
To get extra credit, please describe the steps you would take to determine if this post was true or not.
For a maximum of 10 points, write a minimum 250-word mini-essay discussing what you would do to help you decide if the post is true.
As always, you should use MLA format, meaning Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, appropriate heading, with care taken in proofreading, spelling, paragraphing, word usage, etc.
You must provide a complete works cited page including links to all the sources you consult.
One of the numerous podcasts I listen to regularly is Skeptoid. It’s done by a guy named Brian Dunning, who has an interesting and rational way of thinking through popular topics in about 10-15 minutes. I don’t always agree with him, but I seem frequently to look at things in a different way after listening.
If you want five points of extra credit, you can earn some through this assignment. Go to the Skeptoid.com website and listen to an episode. It has to be a “regular” episode on a single topic. Not one of the “Questions from Listeners” or “Things I Got Wrong” episodes. Then write a minimum 250 word response to the episode. Don’t retell the story. I will already know it. Just tell me what about the episode you thought was good or bad, right or wrong, and why.
You can only do this once. I can’t have folks ending up getting 1,500 points of extra credit by responding to every episode!
While the podcast doesn’t in most cases deal directly with topics related to government, it seems to me that government is, or should be, about critically thinking through issues calmly and rationally, and avoiding jumping to conclusions based on emotion or prejudice. That’s the best way to make decisions that affect us all.
I hope you find it interesting.
What Students Are Saying About Us
.......... Customer ID: 12*** | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Honestly, I was afraid to send my paper to you, but splendidwritings.com proved they are a trustworthy service. My essay was done in less than a day, and I received a brilliant piece. I didn’t even believe it was my essay at first 🙂 Great job, thank you!"
.......... Customer ID: 14***| Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The company has some nice prices and good content. I ordered a term paper here and got a very good one. I'll keep ordering from this website."
