Reflective Log Individual Exercise
Reflective Log your favorite nutritional supplement The ads and testimonials for nutritional supplements are among the most effective marketing tools ever, as is supported by the unprecedented growth in the sales of energy drinks, dietary supplements, vitamin beverages, and stimulants. Select for this exercise one of these products you are already purchasing for your own use or any product of this kind that interests you. Use information provided on the product label and from the product’s Web site as needed to respond to these questions in your log: 1. What claims are made about the benefits of the product? 2. What research is cited or what evidence is supplied to support the truth of these claims? 3. Who are the people who have provided testimonials in support of the product? 4. What level of expertise do these individuals have with regard to human nutrition? 5. Were any of these individuals paid to provide their endorsement? 6. What warnings, risks, or potentially harmful side effects are presented? 7. What ingredients does the supplement contain? Individual Exercises What’s wrong here? For each of the following, explain the mistake that makes it untrue. 1. A statement is a tautology if it is true. 2. A statement that is self-contradictory is seldom true. 3. We can tell if a claim is true or false by looking at what it means. 4. If a claim cannot be confirmed by an independent investigation, then it must be false. 5. If an independent investigation produces evidence that is consistent with a given claim, then the claim must be true. 6. Experts have the rightful authority to impose their beliefs on other people. self-contradictory statement is a sentence that is false entirely because of the grammatical construction and the meanings of the words used to form the sentence. tautology is a statement that is necessarily true because of the meanings of the words. 8. Biologically and nutritionally, what does each ingredient do? In other words, what is its function? 9. Is the supplement “specially formulated” in any way that is purported to enhance its efficacy? 10. Who are the target consumers of the supplement? Who should use it? 11. What have you been told about the supplement by friends, coaches, and salespeople? 12. Who produces/manufactures the supplement? What is that producer’s reputation? 13. Is the supplement approved as “safe and effective” by the federal Food and Drug Administration? 14. In terms of the nutritional benefits and risks, how does the supplement compare to the items on this list: orange juice, milk, coffee, standard multivitamin tab- lets, carrots, apples, broccoli, ordinary yogurt, cottage cheese, peanut butter, tuna fish, baked turkey breast, and wheat bread? 15. Reflect on your answers to questions #2–14 and then evaluate the claims you wrote down in #1. Are they true, plausible, implausible, or untrue, or should you suspend judgment about those claims?
7. Relativism is the highest stage of cognitive development college students can achieve.Individual Exercises What’s wrong here? For each of the following, explain the mistake that makes it untrue. 1. A statement is a tautology if it is true. 2. A statement that is self-contradictory is seldom true. 3. We can tell if a claim is true or false by looking at what it means. 4. If a claim cannot be confirmed by an independent investigation, then it must be false. 5. If an independent investigation produces evidence that is consistent with a given claim, then the claim must be true. 6. Experts have the rightful authority to impose their beliefs on other people. self-contradictory statement is a sentence that is false entirely because of the grammatical construction and the meanings of the words used to form the sentence. tautology is a statement that is necessarily true because of the meanings of the words. 8. Biologically and nutritionally, what does each ingredient do? In other words, what is its function? 9. Is the supplement “specially formulated” in any way that is purported to enhance its efficacy? 10. Who are the target consumers of the supplement? Who should use it? 11. What have you been told about the supplement by friends, coaches, and salespeople? 12. Who produces/manufactures the supplement? What is that producer’s reputation? 13. Is the supplement approved as “safe and effective” by the federal Food and Drug Administration? 14. In terms of the nutritional benefits and risks, how does the supplement compare to the items on this list: orange juice, milk, coffee, standard multivitamin tab- lets, carrots, apples, broccoli, ordinary yogurt, cottage cheese, peanut butter, tuna fish, baked turkey breast, and wheat bread? 15. Reflect on your answers to questions #2–14 and then evaluate the claims you wrote down in #1. Are they true, plausible, implausible, or untrue, or should you suspend judgment about those claims? 7. Relativism is the highest stage of cognitive development college students can achieve. 8. To doubt the truthfulness of a rightful authority means that a person is being disrespectful. 9. If a celebrity endorses a product, you can be sure that the product is of high quality. 10. If we do not believe that a claim is true, then we must believe that the claim is false. 11. No one can evaluate emotionally charged claims. 12. Critical thinking forces people to be cynical. your best and worst commercials: We see or hear dozens of ads and commercials each day on TV, on the radio, on Web pages, in the newspaper, on T-shirts, on billboardsetc. (Have you ever asked yourself why we pay for clothing that sports a logo or promotes a brand name, instead of demanding that the corporation pay us to wear that clothing?) Mark the time. For the next 24 hours, keep track of the ads and commercials you see or hear. Focus on the ones you think are the very best and the ones that are the very worst. Keep two lists and refine the lists by crossing off and adding candidates as you hear or see another that is better or worse. After 24 hours, analyze your top three and your bottom three. What makes them the “best” and the “worst” in your mind? Were they funny, informative, creative, and effective in influencing you to want the product they were promoting? Or were they boring, stupid, confusing, and ineffective? selling risk with the evening news: Watch the national news on CBS, NBC, or ABC. Focus on the commercials and make a list of each one and what it is advertising. In each case, the product can benefit people, and yet each comes with a measure of risk. The job of the commercial is to lead us to desire the product in spite of its inherent risks. When a commercial for a drug or medical device comes on, listen very carefully to the list of side effects and cautions. Write down as many as you can for each drug or medical device that is advertised. When a car commercial comes on, note what the manufacturer is using to sell the car (e.g., sex, power, prestige, popularity, comfort, fuel economy, safety, or resale value). When a banking or investment commercial comes on, record the disclaimers, cautions, and exceptions, like “not a guarantee,” “read the prospectus carefully before investing,” and “rates and conditions subject to change without notice.” After the news broadcast is over, review your lists. Which of the commercials, in your judgment, was the most misleading with regard to the risks associated with the product? Why? Which company provided the least substantive guarantees with regards to the product’s expected benefits in its commercial? Explain your choices. Group Exercises claims cost money and cause pain #1: Occasionally reputable sources present apparently divergent claims. But strong critical thinkers can still sort through the diver- gent claims and assess them by looking for the reasons and evidence upon which they are based. Many reputable in whom do you trust? When you think about it, you have known a great many people now and throughout the years, such as family, friends, teachers, co-workers, and classmates. Identify two people you trust. Then review the list of 12 criteria of a credible and trustworthy source and see how many of them are fulfilled by each of the people on your list. Did either of those people do things or say things that lead you to evaluate them highly on one or more of the 12 criteria? Did either ever do anything that would disqualify them from being trusted by you because they missed on one or another of the 12 items? Next, think of two people you do not trust. Has either done something or said something relating to one or more of the 12 criteria that leads you to regard him or her as untrustworthy? What did he or she do and how did you connect that to being untrustworthy? Do you notice that it takes much effort to build trust and little effort to lose it? pacific northwest tree octopus endangered! “The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis) can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula on the west coast of North America. Their habitat lies on the Eastern side of the Olympic mountain range, adjacent to Hood Canal. These solitary cephalopods reach an aver- age size (measured from arm-tip to mantle-tip,) of 12–13 in. (30–33 cm). Unlike most other cephalopods, tree octopuses are amphibious, spending only their early life and the period of their mating season in their ancestral aquatic environment. Because of the moistness of the rainforests and specialized skin adaptations, they are able to keep from becoming desiccated for prolonged periods of time, but given the chance they would prefer resting in pooled water.” For remarkable pictures and background info onselling risk with the evening news: Watch the national news on CBS, NBC, or ABC. Focus on the commercials and make a list of each one and what it is advertising. In each case, the product can benefit people, and yet each comes with a measure of risk. The job of the commercial is to lead us to desire the product in spite of its inherent risks. When a commercial for a drug or medical device comes on, listen very carefully to the list of side effects and cautions. Write down as many as you can for each drug or medical device that is advertised. When a car commercial comes on, note what the manufacturer is using to sell the car (e.g., sex, power, prestige, popularity, comfort, fuel economy, safety, or resale value). When a banking or investment commercial comes on, record the disclaimers, cautions, and exceptions, like “not a guarantee,” “read the prospectus carefully before investing,” and “rates and conditions subject to change without notice.” After the news broadcast is over, review your lists. Which of the commercials, in your judgment, was the most misleading with regard to the risks associated with the product? Why? Which company provided the least substantive guarantees with regards to the product’s expected benefits in its commercial? Explain your choices. Group Exercises claims cost money and cause pain #1: Occasionally reputable sources present apparently divergent claims. But strong critical thinkers can still sort through the diver- gent claims and assess them by looking for the reasons and evidence upon which they are based. Many reputable in whom do you trust? When you think about it, you have known a great many people now and throughout the years, such as family, friends, teachers, co-workers, and classmates. Identify two people you trust. Then review the list of 12 criteria of a credible and trustworthy source and see how many of them are fulfilled by each of the people on your list. Did either of those people do things or say things that lead you to evaluate them highly on one or more of the 12 criteria? Did either ever do anything that would disqualify them from being trusted by you because they missed on one or another of the 12 items? Next, think of two people you do not trust. Has either done something or said something relating to one or more of the 12 criteria that leads you to regard him or her as untrustworthy? What did he or she do and how did you connect that to being untrustworthy? Do you notice that it takes much effort to build trust and little effort to lose it? pacific northwest tree octopus endangered! “The Pacific Northwest tree octopus (Octopus paxarbolis) can be found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula on the west coast of North America. Their habitat lies on the Eastern side of the Olympic mountain range, adjacent to Hood Canal. These solitary cephalopods reach an aver- age size (measured from arm-tip to mantle-tip,) of 12–13 in. (30–33 cm). Unlike most other cephalopods, tree octopuses are amphibious, spending only their early life and the period of their mating season in their ancestral aquatic environment. Because of the moistness of the rainforests and specialized skin adaptations, they are able to keep from becoming desiccated for prolonged periods of time, but given the chance they would prefer resting in pooled water.” For remarkable pictures and background info on this problem search “Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.” Seriously, why did the tree octopus problem cause such a stir among teachers? investigators have looked into the health claims for the dietary supplement ginkgo biloba. It is said to improve cognitive functioning, assist memory, and help focus attention. Google “Ginkgo biloba health study” and review the research published in respected sources over the past SHARED RESPONSE Two Better Than One?
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