In writing, rhetorical techniques are commonly used to convey a meaning to the reader with the intention of persuading him or her to consider the subject under consideration from a different viewpoint. In the article, “Innovative Minds Don’t Think Alike,” the writer, Janet Rae-Dupree has successfully employed these devices to convey her unique message to her readers. She aims to convince her readers that as people become more knowledgeable and experienced, their creativity and ability to come up with new things tend to weaken.
After introducing her essay, Janet gives anecdotal evidence in which she narrates the results of an experiment done by a psychologist known as Elizabeth Newton. This technique immediately makes the article to appear formal and non-biased. The anecdote assists to illustrate her position as well as capture the attention of the readers.
Shortly, after capturing the attention of her readers, Janet then adopts the use of argumentation with the intention of convincing her readers through reasoning to accept her perspective about the “curse of knowledge” (Rae-Dupree, para. 2). To achieve this, she quotes various renowned writers and the experience of various people. Towards the conclusion of the essay, Janet uses lines of dialogue to bring life to the essay and make the readers to reflect more on the main idea of the article.
Knowing the information that Janet is passing across is important because it helps in developing ways of getting rid of the tendency of people to loose innovative skills once their knowledge and experience increases. In addition, the article makes the readers to guard against ideologies that can make them taper off with their creativity.
Assessment of “You’re Bored, but Your Brain Is Tuned In” by Benedict Carey
Benedict Carey’s article “You’re Bored, but Your Brain Is Tuned In” addresses the issue of boredom and its influence in the lives of people. To convey his views about this issue, Benedict uses a number of rhetorical techniques. To begin with, he uses antithesis as an interesting and convenient tool for reinforcing his views about the topic.
For example, researchers have concluded that boredom should “be recognized as a legitimate human emotion that can be central to learning and creativity” (Carey, para. 4). Benedict’s use of antithesis in this instance is aimed at provoking the thoughts of the readers so as to capture their interest in the essay. Perhaps, the essence of the issue at hand could have been overlooked if he did not use this interesting technique.
Second, the author uses contrast in several places in the article. For example, he says, “Yet boredom is more than a mere flagging of interest or a precursor to mischief” (Carey, para. 3). The use of contrast is intended to illustrate the common anti-boredom attitudes that people have, and in doing so, makes it obvious that boredom is also constructive in our daily lives.
Lastly, to support his point of view, Benedict uses facts and research findings that have been discovered by others on the issue. Knowing this kind of information is very important. This is because the author of the article goes contrary to the popular opinion that boredom is not beneficial by illustrating that it assists in the development of brain processes that can be both productive and creative to the individual.
Works Cited
Carey, Benedict. “Boredom may have a purpose.” Chicago Tribune, 2008. Web.
Rae-Dupree, Janet. “Innovative Minds Don’t Think Alike.” The New York Times, 2007. Web.