Military Robots and the Future of War

P.W. Singer in his Ted Talk discussed robotics in warfare and the repercussions that robotics could have on warfare and the perception of war. He presents his reasoning for what he says and it’s either based in history, like his point of there being no permanent first maneuver advantage or it being based in what is presently going on in the field of military robotics, like several projects handling aspects of fully autonomous weapon systems. He also keeps the audience interested with the occasional joke such as the a certain actor that was a governor showing up at your door. He is a military analyst and as such is an expert on how various things impact warfare. He speaks somewhat informally and uses hand gestures to highlight some of his important points. He makes heavy use of visual aids to really show that some of this stuff is real and currently in use. Overall he warns of the dangers that this leap in technology could bring, such as a decrease in the consequences of war. He also discusses how rapidly drones may advance due to advances in computer sciences. He also talks about how other countries are developing drones and how non-state aggressors can also gain access to drones. He does a good job of discussing a complex and constantly changing topic.

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Wiener Stampede

In this Heinz condiments commercial, aired during the Super Bowl this past year, a group of dachshunds are shown in hot dog costumes running towards humans in Heinz ketchup and mustard costumes who end up catching the dogs as they leap into the humans’ arms and lick their faces. This commercial is a specific appeal to pathos as the dogs are dressed up and are meant to be cute. The phrase at the end of the commercial is “it’s hard to resist great taste” and this is stated while the dogs are licking the humans implying that the dogs like Heinz and that humans should buy it as well because the cute dogs in costumes did.

Marilyn Monroe's Shampoo

While browsing on Google I found an old advertisement. The ad was for Lustre-Crème Shampoo. It featured Marilyn Monroe, known for her beauteous looks and her parts in different movies. One of her movies was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Lustre-Crème was attempting to sell their shampoo through the use of fallacies. By saying that Marilyn Monroe that tells you nothing about the actual product: it simply attracts you to the pretty face in the picture. Using this as an argument of why someone should buy your product is quite illogical. Just because Marilyn Monroe uses it doesn’t provide assurance of its abilities. They attempt using snob appeal by trying to make the audience believe that they could be like Marilyn Monroe if they use the same product as her. They use appeal to illegitimate authority by using Marilyn Monroe to promote their product. Although she herself is a customer, this is still rather irrelevant. She herself has no type of expertise in hair products and knows nothing t...

Lift Off: Harvard Graduation Speech

Donovan Livingston graduated from Harvard University in 2016. He was asked to speak at the graduation so he did. Donovan wrote a poem called “Lift Off”. In it he spoke of his life. His ancestors and slavery. He spoke of a new hope. A hope that kids can have to reach for the stars and to be up with them. He spoke of how each and every person has the ability to succeed and to exceed any expectations set for them. In his closing line, Livingston said “They say that the sky's the limit, but it is only the beginning. Lift off.” His speech was one of power and he used many rhetorical devices. Livingston was a Harvard graduate and to establish himself more as a speaker he talked about how he had given a similar type of speech at his high school graduation. He used pathos when talking about his life. About what he was like in school and how his teacher used his energy to make him a great speaker. The logos used was that he was one of the top members in his class and so he knew what he ...

Cultural Rhetoric

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