Bilbiography – ChefRat

Posted on November 26, 2024 by ChefRat

1. American College of Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Mythbusting youth resistance training. ACSM_CMS.

Background: This article discusses common myths about youth weightlifting and provides evidence-based information on how strength training can be safe and beneficial for children when properly supervised.

How I used it: Societal roles exist as stereotypes, and when I make the claim that girls are usually more steered towards more feminine activities, I use this article to show that both genders receive generally the same benefits. This helps them understand from a logical perspective that there shouldn’t be a difference, so making the comparison from boy and girl to adult and child helps connect their understanding.

2. American Psychological Association. (n.d.-a). Chief scientist outlines potential harms, benefits of social media for kids. American Psychological Association.

Background: This article presents a summary of findings from the American Psychological Association’s chief scientist regarding the potential impacts of social media use on childrens mental health, both harms and benefits.

How I used it: Since this was used in the causal rewrite to determine why people generally fear monger weightlifting, I boiled down the reasoning of injury through this scientific article. If injuries are as a result to bad decision making, then it can be connected to that, and not weightlifting.

3. American Psychological Association. (n.d.-b). Social media brings benefits and risks to teens. Psychology can help identify a path forward. American Psychological Association.

Background: Similar to the previous reference, this article focuses on the effects of social media on children, specifically how self worth is tied to physical appearance, which leads to eating disorders.

How I used it: The growing perspective that your physical appearance is what makes up your self worth is growing. I used this perspective to show that social media has a bad effect on our younger generation. The same is reflected upon weightlifting, if general body standards are harmed then the perspective of weightlifting could be seen as worse as well.

4. By, A., et al. (2024). Piaget’s stages: 4 stages of cognitive development & theory. Simply Psychology.

Background: This article provides an overview of Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, stating his four stages of cognitive development and explaining their significance in understanding children’s intellectual growth.

How I used it: When talking about the mental expectations of a child, this article breaks down childrens mental growth as they develop. This is direct evidence against the idea that children on average can’t fathom complex concepts and the consequences of disregarding danger.

5. Davis, D. (2019, June 13). What age is safe for kids to start weight lifting? Check Biotech First.

Background: This article discusses the safety of weightlifting for children, exploring the appropriate age to start lifting, the benefits, and potential risks of resistance training for younger individuals.

How I used it: After making a claim that there is no found evidence which supports that lifting can put adolescents bones into a state that’s prone to fracture I linked this. The most beneficial part of this article that supports the claim I made was that children who lifted overall had stronger bones when reaching adulthood versus untrained individuals.

6. Meur, Y.L. (2018). Youth resistance training. National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Background: This resource from the National Strength and Conditioning Association offers a detailed infographic and explanation about youth resistance training, emphasizing safe practices and the positive impact of resistance training on children and adolescents.

How I used it: I use this guideline of weightlifting as a source of connection between the audience and reader. This pictograph helps release the ease or tension, so weightlifting isn’t seen as such a negative light according to the reader, the pictograph gives guidelines for children’s lifting.

7. Bailes, J. E., & Cantu, R. C. (2022). Repeated sub-concussive impacts and the negative effects of contact sports on cognition and brain integrity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7098.

Background: This article examines the impact of repeated sub-concussive impacts in contact sports, particularly how these repetitive blows affect brain cognition and integrity. The authors argue that such impacts may lead to long-term cognitive issues, despite not resulting in a full concussion. This research is crucial for understanding the risks of contact sports, particularly for children, and underscores the need for preventive measures in sports involving head contact

How I used it: I used this to demonstrate that if normal youth sports have injuries that almost result in full concussion, it seems odd that weightlifting is fear mongered. Considering lifting is a slow repetition movement that is repeated with muscle memory.

8. Myers, A.M., Beam, N.W., & Fakhoury, J.D. (2017, July). Resistance training for children and adolescents. Translational Pediatrics.

Background: This research paper discusses the scientific foundation for resistance training in young people, addressing how such training can enhance strength and health without adverse effects when done appropriately. It also mentions the injury rates found specifically for powerlifting per 100 hours.

How I used it: After juts finishing a statement about how another study found bone density to stronger with children who lifting, I clarify the next myth as wrong. This research study shows what the injury rates are for powerlifting per 100 hours, in comparison to soccer it helps the reader equalize the comparison (by hours) so they see risk weightlifting doesn’t have.

9. Radelet, M. (2002, September 1). Survey of the injury rate for children in community sports. Pediatrics.

Background: This study explores injury rates in children participating in the more common youth sports, examining the frequency and types of injuries that occur and the implications for safety in youth sports.

How I used it: After just explaining how injury rates in powerlifting are so minimal (0.055 per 100 hours) under proper supervision, it can’t helped but be seen as beneficial when an officiated game with supervision (soccer) has over 2545x the injuries.

10. Strength training by children and adolescents | pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics. (n.d.). Pediatrics.

Background: This article from the American Academy of Pediatrics outlines the benefits and risks of strength training for children and adolescents, providing guidelines and recommendations for safe practice in youth fitness programs.

How I used it: In my rebuttal I made it clear that the argument my worthy opponent uses, is a double edged sword. While saying that 40 to 70% of injuries are from strain, related to overexertion shows a lack of emotional control (so children shouldn’t lift,) it doesn’t explain that these injuries are at home, which displays it’s actually the lack of supervision or guidance, showing why immaturity isn’t the main factual cause for injury.

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Research – ChefRat

Posted on November 26, 2024 by ChefRat

Why Weightlifting Is the Best Thing You’re Not Letting Your Kids Do

The misconception that weightlifting is dangerous for children is one that has persisted for far too long, completely fueled by outdated beliefs and a societal lack of understanding. The critics of youth weightlifting, who are quick to sound alarms about stunted growth or potential injuries, often fail to consider any reputable source of scientific evidence or statistics that disprove this myth. In reality, weightlifting, when properly supervised, has numerous benefits which completely outweigh the nearly non-existent risks. It’s time we move past a baseless fear that has been instilled into so many of us, when strength training is really far from being harmful, and is actually an invaluable tool to nurture the next generation.

When structured correctly with proper supervision, weightlifting not only benefits our young athletes in the making, it outright surpasses the so-called “safer” youth sports in physical development and injury risk. The notion that weightlifting damages growth plates or bone density is almost laughably outdated, especially when common activities like American football, soccer and gymnastics have extremely higher rates of injury, but are not under the same scrutiny. How can critics just conveniently ignore the actual risks of these sports but cling on to the baseless idea that strength training is bad for children? It’s truly ironic that if weightlifting is approached correctly, it excels exactly in the areas it’s scrutinized for, yet deemed too dangerous by many parents.

Growth plates, or epiphyseal plates, are areas of cartilage located at the end of bones like the femur, humerus and vertebrae. Generally anyone with a basic understanding of human development can agree that these plates are extremely crucial, as they are responsible for the bone lengthening during growth. While it’s true that they may be susceptible to damage due to their flexible nature and the strain they experience under stress, it’s even more important to focus on what actually qualifies as a type of physical activity that poses a risk. Weightlifting however, does not belong in this category, so where do the real risks lie?

The truth is that any activity is virtually “safe” for children when managed and supervised correctly. The youth sports mentioned earlier, American football, soccer and gymnastics are notoriously known for the statistically higher injury rates, but that really only defines the inherently more difficult challenge of managing a chaotic environment(s) with children running around, colliding, and falling. Even with the best supervision, frequent collisions and falls combined with the large room for human error, are a part of the game.

Weightlifting, however, when properly managed, involves nearly zero spontaneous direct contact, random twists, or falls- which are far more prevalent in other sports.  These movements are the real dangers to the plates, uncontrollable spontaneous movements that arise in general sports. For example, gymnastics have repeated landings from great heights that have extremely sudden high impact compression on the lower body, directly affecting growth plates in the legs.  Football players will regularly experience extremely sudden high impact collisions that can result in uncontrollable movements that will affect the bones containing these plates. Weightlifting, on the contrary, only involves a single person at time, with direct management of weight loading (the weight on the barbell) and controlled repetitive movements that, when properly managed, becomes a regimen that can linearly be built upon, avoiding all the risks that were mentioned earlier.

When it is properly designed or managed, weightlifting truly belongs on the list of activities that support healthy growth for children, not hinder it. How could an activity that revolves around resistance training of the muscles around the growth plates, damage them? Gradual increased stress loading and controlled movements that will eventually build muscle, which also lack any spontaneous stress on the bone underneath or growth plates, can only be beneficial.

Another strong misconception is that weightlifting places children in an activity that is prone to fractures. This, however, is completely unfounded and has no basis.  The opposite has been proven, weightlifting has been shown to increase bone density, particularly in growing children/adolescents. According to this study published by BioTech, boys bone density will significantly benefit from the introduction of resistance training by the age of 12. This increased bone density will outright lower risk of bone fractures, ironically squelching the danger that critics fear their children would endure from weightlifting.

Some may disregard this study and believe it to be false, but the numbers don’t lie. These two case studies on weightlifting found within this scientific literature state that only 0.053 to 0.055 children and adolescents who practiced powerlifting for 100 hours had an injury, the other study at an even lower number of 0.035 per 100 hours. Now let’s take just one example founded by this survey of injury rates, this literature states that per 100 young soccer athletes exposed to a normal 90 minute duration soccer game, 2.1 of them experienced a serious injury. Take this number and do this arithmetic (2.1injuries/1.5hours then multiplied by 100 hours). This equates to 140 injuries per 100 hours, that’s right, now compare it to the rate we mentioned earlier for powerlifting. Some more simple math (140 soccer injuries/0.055 lifting injuries,) even with the highest end of powerlifting injuries shows, children are 2,545x more likely to get injured from soccer than powerlifting. This common belief that weightlifting is uniquely and particularly dangerous for young athletes can’t seem be further from the truth when we take just a glance at the evidence provided. It’s absolutely outrageous that some parents are quietly judged, shunned or criticized for choosing to have their children lift weights, as a healthy activity, rather than exposing them to the truly dangerous sports that are so widely accepted.

If we can understand that the preconceived notion that weightlifting is dangerous and stunts children’s growth, is a long-standing misconception. One that persists when any form of media introduces the topic of children and weightlifting, we need to ask, what is the root of this issue? With widespread fear among parents and guardians about the potential dangers or harm that it could impose on their children, many outright forbid their children to partake. So if we ever hope to mitigate that common belief, the cause has to be properly addressed.

Proper supervision and technique are essential in every other sport we teach our children, and weightlifting is no different. However its widespread and mainstream concern stems from the misconceptions that are tagged alongside it, rather than any evidence that points towards it. Other than the parents or guardians who have actual reasonable concerns about unsupervised, self implemented weightlifting. But what they should be FAR MORE concerned about is this happening in the more common youth sports like Soccer, where the rate of injury is ridiculously higher.

Studies performed by The American Academy of Pediatrics show that youth injuries in weightlifting are primarily caused by improper form, lack of supervision, and strength-inappropriate/skill-inappropriate use of weights for the child. When weightlifting’s factors are properly managed by a youth certified trainer (or anyone with a strong understanding of youth physiology,) children will not only avoid injuries but promote positive growth results. The NSCA has proper guidelines, that with a proper amount of supervision will result in positive strength, ligament, and coordination improvements. Weightlifting is so safe that it was proven to be 2545x less likely to result in injury than other youth sports. Despite this, if an average joe saw two videos, one of a child getting injured in a soccer game and one in a weightlifting incident, 9 times out of 10 that adult would have no problem saying that children shouldn’t be lifting, yet chalk up the soccer injury to a normal youth sport incident. Even with its proven safety records, why does weightlifting carry such a bad reputation for causing injuries?

In recent years, social media apps like TikTok, Twitter or Reddit will recommend videos which emphasize injuries, purely from how the algorithm functions. In turn this study has proven that social media has placed a burden on kids standards of realistic bodies and goals. This quick-consumption content that influencers will put out, really puts an out-of-context oversimplified narrative about youth fitness, how it’s pushing children to the extreme, whether its that your neck is as red as a tomato from your level of exertion or becoming such a low level of body fat that all your muscle striations show. But this isn’t the only result of these short, quick-consumption videos, research has shown that exposure to this type of content, lowers attention span, lower motivation and overall self deprecation. All of these foster an environment where children develop unhealthy fitness standards and goals. Just piling on top of the confusion of lifting, fear increases and overexertion now being the main focal point of the viral content. Now a even more damaged picture is put into the minds of youth, showing them these dangerous techniques and practices when the opposite should be shown instead. But like it was previously stated it’s more deeply rooted than social media videos, this isn’t the only cause for this misconception to occur.

Historical attitudes and our longstanding societal standards have already placed an image in our heads about childhood health and exertion. For many decades, traditional medical advice that was given out by genuine pediatrics and doctors emphasized caution against any physical strenuous activity for children. A study showcased how it was common for this misconception to exist only due to previous decades of notions that went by unnoticed. This stemmed from an outdated assumption from a very old study, that was once widely accepted is completely disproven now, that growth plates could be injured from weightlifting. The other factor being a cultural norm that was placed without much say. Even as we get further into modern scientific studies that disprove it, many still outright forbid it for their children. This “legacy” or rather myth, is still hindering newer – more scientifically backed information to replace this ingrained misconception, but for now we can only showcase more evidence to prove otherwise.

In addition to our standards that have been upheld for so long, we can take a look at an even older one. When discussing why weightlifting is seen as bad for children, most people would already only be considering 50% of children without realizing it. Of course gender roles have played a large role in participation of certain youth sports. With weightlifting being seen as predominantly a male activity before, involving strength and muscularity, it’s almost been “automatically” ruled out in so many peoples heads. Girls are typically steered toward for traditionally “feminine” activities like dancing or gymnastics, when in truth that the many studies showing overall muscle strength, tone and bone density increase, applies to both genders. This bias will contribute to the misconception that weightlifting is unsuitable to 50% of all children, when this isn’t even the only result of gender roles.

Old standards will in turn always play a role in how our society operates, clearly. Social media and older studies that were disproven will turn their heads to how most of our unconscious decisions are made. These two examples of social media and disproved studies show deeply ingrained societal attitudes towards a certain subject can persist, despite the modern day science proving otherwise. But there are other concerns regarding children weightlifting, that may seem more reasonable on a surface level, but actually has even less rationality than the concern of bone fractures and injury rates.

Many parents believe that children are far too immature to safely engage in weightlifting, assuming the safe and logical answer is that they must wait until they’re older and more responsible. This perspective usually involves picturing kids as the same people who can’t even maintain a teeth brushing regimen or handle basic cooking appliances, let alone lifting weights.

While decision making is an essential skill everyone typically develops with age, it is unfair to assume that all children lack the ability to tackle weightlifting in a safe manner. This belief overlooked two crucial factors: the role of proper guidance from parents or coaches, and the significant benefits weightlifting can offer, when performed under supervisions and guidelines mentioned earlier. The child’s age doesn’t inherently determine their ability to lift weights responsibly. Instead its the guidance and support provided by adults that determine the child’s ability to succeed in this field.

The central argument against children lifting weights often hinges on the assumption that children are too immature to make responsible decisions. Many activities are legally restricted by age, getting a tattoo, enlisting in the military, consuming alcohol—because these actions are thought to carry risks that young individuals may not fully comprehend the consequences of. And very many reasonable people may come to the conclusion that the same logic should be applied to weightlifting as well, that children cannot fully grasp the potential dangers of improper form, overloading weights too much, or muscle strains which are the most common cause of injury in young lifters. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), muscle strains account for “40 to 70%” of all strength-related training injuries, which indicate the cause as a level of overexertion, therefor a lack of self control.

While the immaturity/lack of self control argument may sound appealing on surface level, it fails to recognize that children are perfectly capable of learning safe practices. Saying that children may be too immature to handle weightlifting is based on the assumption that their lack of maturity equates to an inability to make sound and reasonable decisions. What’s overlooked is that maturity is not a single trait but a spectrum. While there are laws for an age-requirement to be put in place for activities like drinking alcohol, or making life altering decisions, it doesn’t mean weightlifting inherently carries the same risk. Making an equivalence between age restricted activities and a recreational activity holds no merit or basis. Numerous studies on child development show that children can exhibit discipline and responsibility when taught under correct supervision.

Take skiing for example, skiing is often seen as a dangerous activity with high rates of serious injury. However many young children learn to ski under proper guidance of qualified on beginner slows. It says it all in the statistics of lower injury rate with proper training. With just some simple guidance, teaching children to learn at a beginner rate with proper respect for their safety, they adapted. That discipline and responsibility was influenced by tangible factors, not age, but the guidance, structure and expectations of the adults who are taught them.

With the physical risks associated with weightlifting being mitigated with proper decision, their existence does highlight a deeper, underlying issue: the psychological factors that influences the child’s decision-making. These factors are just as important (or maybe more,) when assessing and discussing the likelihood of injury.

A lack of prefrontal cortex development is something all children possess, which alters the risk of injury when they engage in weightlifting. Children will typically lack emotional maturity and the cognitive awareness to understand the risk association with weightlifting, purely due to their lack of brain development, compared to an adult. For instance, it isn’t far fetched to say that in instances where children are placed into a competitive environment, their ability to manage their own emotions and assess their own pain falter in the moment. Then they’ll then create an emotional association between the desire to push oneself past their limits with competition. This becomes extremely prevalent in training scenarios where they fail to recognize their technique unraveling and general fatigue. Combine this factor with their less likeliness to experience fear or caution that adults or even teens typically have approaching weightlifting, new exercises (or any experience), will ultimately increase the risk of injury.

But research on child development consistently shows that children from the ages of 7 to 11 are fully aware of understanding complex concepts, like how their egos affects how others perceive them, how others think and feel, and most importantly have logical thoughts that result in concrete results. The cognitive ability that is required to understand the importance of proper safety precautions, technique and reasonable effort are all within capacity for any child. When taught with proper technique and gradual introduction to the activity, children are just as capable as adults in maintaining proper discipline. While The American Academy of Pediatrics may have reported muscle strains as 40 to 70% of all strength-related injuries, it goes far into its writing to further clarify that most of these injuries occur at home, with unsupervised settings. When there’s no supervision present, that clearly represents the little amount of effort in teaching the children proper form, technique or safety precautions. Any argument that explains that children’s brains are too undeveloped to make responsible decisions is thrown out the window when the role of proper parents and coaching are present.

Children are sponges. Anything that is presented in front of them will be absorbed to some manner, no matter the topic. May it be how they learn language, puzzles, etc. Monkey see, monkey do, being involved in a weightlifting program with clear outlines of potential risks, weight limits, regular rest periods will teach what their role is as a student. Their coach, parent, whoever compiled this for them will help them understand their limits while pushing themselves to improve within these strict boundaries. Clear communication will foster the responsibility and maturity they need to participate in weightlifting, not the arbitrary age number they have.

Ultimately, when with the proper regulations, weightlifting does provide a unique opportunity to develop not just physical strength, but mental discipline and resilience. Contrary to the popular belief, it isn’t a risk to a child’s growth plates, bone development or height. Instead weightlifting offers benefits that most other youth sports cannot hope to match. Breaking down these myths and solely focusing on how to allow our young athletes to thrive in an environment where they grow as people is something we can all agree on. Weightlifting is just one of the many activities that facilitate this. Let’s not fear-monger it any longer.

References

American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) blog (no date) ACSM_CMS.

American Psychological Association (APA) chief scientist outlines potential harms, benefits of social media for kids (no date a) American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association (APA) Potential risks of content, features, and functions: The science of how social media affects youth.

Bailes, J. E., & Cantu, R. C. (2022). Repeated sub-concussive impacts and the negative effects of contact sports on cognition and brain integrity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(12), 7098.

By et al. (2024) Piaget’s stages: 4 stages of Cognitive Development & Theory, Simply Psychology.

Davis, Danny. “What Age Is Safe for Kids to Start Weight Lifting.” Check Biotech First, 13 June 2019, checkbiotech.org/age-safe-kids-start-weight-lifting

Meur, Y.L. (2018) Youth resistance training, National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).

Myers, Allison M, et al. “Resistance Training for Children and Adolescents.” Translational Pediatrics, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2017

Radelet, Marirose. Survey of the Injury Rate for Children in Community Sports, 01 September 2002,

Strength training by children and adolescents | pediatrics | American Academy of Pediatrics.

Posted in ChefRat, GRADED, Portfolio ChefRat, Research Position Paper | 1 Comment

Thesis–Bagel&Coffee

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Bagel&Coffee

Tragic stories are better than happy ones at making sad people happy!

[Intro, how I got here]

I was chatting online with two randomly assigned teammates in a Space Marine 2 lobby. All of us knew the overarching story of the franchise and were “nerding out” discussing how elements in the story were depicted in this game. Then someone said something in conversation that immediately caught my attention! The conversation went something like this: “This game is super dark!” “It’s awesome right?” “Yea, I mean Warhammer 40,000 has been exploding in popularity recently.” “Yea it has, I feel like people like dark stuff like this more as the world around them feel darker!” “Wow, that is deep!” I said in response before filling in the rest of his implications in my head: What if people really are attracted to darker stories when they feel like the world around them is getting worse?

I began to think about things that support that. I remembered a good friend, that after trying to commit suicide, suddenly became obsessed with darker stories. I thought it was unusual, but I didn’t ask any questions about it. He at the time fell in love with The Witcher, a series of novels, videogames, and even a Netflix series. The story has a blunt tone to war. Its stories sometimes weave though dark or taboo family themes, but they handle it with the grace of an ice skater. The writing and dialogue and characters feel noticeably more alive and realistic than other franchises. And lastly it borrows fantasy elements from folk tales from across the globe, such as Hansel and Gretel. Many of these fables, without needing any additional embellishments, are already dark.

On a larger scale, one of the most defining movie trilogies of the 2000’s was The Dark Knight Trilogy. Recognized inside of theaters for its darker depiction of Gotham, Batman, and the Joker, while being recognized outside of theatres for the tragedy surrounding Heath Ledger’s death and the Oscar he would win posthumously for his performance as the Joker (Express, Heath Ledger’s Oscars). This newer interpretation by Christopher Nolan was not the “Adam West Batman” for general audiences, but instead a darker, morally grayer, and realistic imagining of what Batman would like in our modern world. The interesting part is this trilogy started playing in theatres right around the America was fighting its “War on Terror” in Iraq and Afghanistan (History Channel, War on Terror Timeline). The finally of the trilogy literally involved terrorism, which Batman had to fight against.

I then hung on to the word war. War led to dark humor shows and movies like M.A.S.H. and Full Metal Jacket. War led to the anthropomorphizing the atom bomb into a monster named Godzilla! War led to mobile suit Gundam, a “robot show for kids” featuring an unglorified depiction of war. Even the stuff for kids got dark!

[hypothesis]

Hypothesis: People who do not feel good about the world will feel better after consuming dark fictional media rather than bright stories.

[Breakdown and clarify]

Let’s go over a few terms here.

[Clarify dark]

What does dark mean?

Dark is found in well-known classical literature that everyone has heard of! Dark is found the paranoia and unexplainable uneasiness featured in the writings of Eger Allen Poe as thumps beat through walls and floors. Dark is when the Brothers Grim write a tale about parents that leave their children in the forest to get lost so there are less mouths to feed with the dwindling supply of food at home. Dark is when Emily Dickinson writes “Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me–”.  

In modern day dark looks like Warhammer 40,000:

[So what is Warhammer 40,000]

Warhammer 40,000 started as a wargame and a setting for imaginary battles to take place, but it is so much more today! It is now also an evolving story that has spanned literally hundreds of books and audio dramas, CG animations, videogames, crossover events with Call of Duty and Magic the Gathering, and a fanbase full of artiest, wargamers, and lore-keepers. It is also one of the darkest universes out there ever committed to paper. So dark is the continued story, that the company touts that they pioneered a new genre: grim-dark.

Warhammer 40,000 takes place in the 41st millennium. A great man known as the Emperor of mankind was able to unite all of humanity across the galaxy under a single banner, The Imperium of Man. He was however betrayed and killed, and now his corps sits immobile on a golden throne on Earth powering a beacon that allows interstellar travel, and to which a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that he may not truly die. However, the life support provided by the throne has shown signs of failing…

Mankind itself has regressed into religious fanatics that are equally superstitious and xenophobic. There is no freedom of speech, there is no tolerance, there is only worship of the Emperor of Mankind or punishment by death. Humanity ends up regularly killing each other as much as they kill their enemies!

War rages across the galaxy! Mankind is assaulted on all sides by daemons, xenos, mutants, and rebellions from within. Long gone is the promise of understanding, progress, and innovation, as the ability to make the technical marvels of the golden age has been lost! In the 41st millennium there is only war.

Despite the setting of the universe being obtusely bleak, this naturally sets up for very heroic moments that would grab even the attention of Hercules, Achilles, and Theseus. The stories also contain a good dose of irony, satire, and morbid humor everywhere. One particular book comes to  mind stating trying to commit suicide is punishable by death.

“Planets are deemed unrecoverable and are completely destroyed on a whim. Everything sucks, but that’s like the charm of it!” -Bricky

It is this charm that I believe draw people to it despite them knowing the story may not have a traditionally happy ending. It is why I believe that as the world goes though turmoil, the newspaper headlines get scarier, more statics come out showing mathematically how people are unable to achieve the American dream, loneliness increases, virgins, non-married people, and married people choosing not to have children increases, misinformation and disinformation turn the internet to a toxic wasteland and mistrust of institutions is at an all-time high only topped by the U.S. government itself, as family have their own civil wars due to irreconcilable political differences,

[Transcendentalism vs Existentialism, realism, and existentialism]

[Before the civil war]

Before the American Civil War, American literature was full of optimism being pioneered by a sentimental or romantic style of writing. Writers like Walt Whitman have such an enthusiastic approach to life as displayed in Song of Myself. The optimism of Ralph Waldo Emerson who started the Transcendentalism movement was

[After the Civil war]

Emily Dickerson

[Popular books and movies on a time line]

[Study on sad music on sad people]

Study on happy music on happy people]

[Medical references on depression]

[Study on jealousy anger that social media causes when people look at perfect lives compared to their own]

[Medical references on existential crisis in people]

[Medical references on people that are suicidal]

[Medical references on people that are lonely]

[Rebuttal America is always in a war] [America has always had dark writers]

Between Vietnam and Desert Storm, and multiple campaigns fighting the War on Terror, I can understand the point of view that America has warlike tendencies every few decades. However, might I also point out that America also has suffered a “great” recession, a pandemic, and for dessert, political turmoil. None of this stops the American public from feeling anxiety or tension, if anything it only encourages more it! These bottled-up negative emotions only pave the way for more writers and directors to therapeutically express their fears on paper and sometimes make a lump some of money doing so. When the general public feels down about the things around them, we can see a general acceptance of these stories and movies by their popularity and profit.

[Rebuttal, if war hammer has always been dark why hasn’t it taken off until now]

You might counter argue that there were plenty of dark events between 1980 and now, therefore it had the chance to become big for time a dark event between then and now. Because it hadn’t then, it must either be a coincidence or is big now for another reason instead. I would respond by saying that there is one key difference between then and now and that is our pop culture had changed dramatically and therefore what is acceptable. Thanks to popular superhero movies of the 2000s through the 2010s paving the way, traditionally nerdier media such as Game of Thrones could now be an acceptable pastime for non-nerdy people to watch. I am modest of course, as Game of Thrones was an HBO blockbuster that had people on the edge of their seat every episode and leaving on a note that made people excitedly ready to devour the next episode, to the point they did not want to wait. The advent of nerd culture becoming pop culture in modern society has replaced the trends of past such as 80s action movies. In the 1980 is was widely accepted that nerds would be bullied for the media they consumed as well as other things like their appearance. Even I got teased for liking nerdy stuff that is now considered cool or nostalgic. “Nerd culture is pop culture” is what has enabled media like Warhammer to come into the spotlight, and because it is dark, amusing, or maybe even resonate in a few ironic instances with people who see the world as a dark place.

References

Pop culture

Warhammer

https://www.polyhedroncollider.com/2012/03/brief-history-of-warhammer-40000.html#:~:text=Written%20by%20Bryan%20Ansell%20and%20released%20in%201980,Imperial%20Commander%20which%20gave%20rules%20for%20larger%20battles.
Warhammer 40K: A History of Editions – 3rd, 4th & 5th Edition

The Dark Knight

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/1401285/Heath-Ledger-Joker-Oscars-Batman-Dark-Knight-died-drug-overdose-daughter-married

History

https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/war-on-terror-timeline
https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-literary-history-all/american-literature-after-the-civil-war.html

Literature

https://www.grimmstories.com/en/grimm_fairy-tales/hansel_and_gretel
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47652/because-i-could-not-stop-for-death-479

[hanging paragraph]

For those who are uninitiated, the original Warhammer was released in 1983 by Games Workshop. It was a game where two players would “play general” on a table and march toy soldiers into battle against a fantasy setting backdrop heavily inspired by works like Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons. Later In 1987 Games Workshop released a spin-off of Warhammer named Rouge Trader, which would later be renamed Warhammer 40,000. This spin off took place in a sci-fi universe 40,000 years in the future, however it wouldn’t stay a spin off for long before overtaking its predecessor in popularity. In this new setting the different fantasy species would be reimagined inhabiting a futuristic sci-fi setting, and as time went on would also borrow heavily from popular sci-fi movies such as Alien and Terminator. It was goofy and campy mess of fantasy and sci-fi tropes until the release of third edition (Bell of Lost Souls, History of Warhammer) which had a noticeably darker tone to the narrative and setting!

Posted in Bagel&Coffee, GRADED, Rebuttal Draft | 2 Comments

Causal Rewrite- Mongoose449

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Mongoose449

Living in caves helped prevent radiation leakage

To Prehistoric humans, a natural cave ticked every box for survival. It kept them sheltered against the elements, it had a natural choke-point to fend off predators or opposing tribes, was difficult to enter, and had insulation against temperature fluctuations.

A cave is a natural fortress, practically impossible to destroy through conventional means, with multiple feet of solid stone between the inside and the outside. Throughout history caves and dug outs serve as either homes, or storage simply because it is a cave with inherent sturdiness

Throughout history caves have served as shelter, with them being reference point to how we ourselves dig underground. Root cellars are dug out pits, dark, cool and dry that keeps food preserved for long periods of time. Basements in houses are safe places when there are natural disaster.

When someone is trying to keep something safe, or even hide it from someone, they bury it underground, under layers of stone and soil. By the time of the first world war, the majority of nations use bunkers and trenches to protect their borders, forming impenetrable fortresses dug into the earth. These held large stores of food, water, ammunition, and more.

Fortresses dug into the earth are practically impenetrable by conventional means. During the battle of Verdun, the French Fort Vaux withstood alone for over a week against prolonged German attack and bombardment, only being captured due to ammunition and water completely running out.

It was later found that the impenetrable fortress was a trap for both the attackers and the defenders. A singular entrance an exit made it nigh impossible for anything to enter, be it supplies for the defenders or siege equipment for the attackers. Its concrete walls withheld another six months of combat under German control, and after its subsequent abandonment it was later repaired to pre-war conditions.

To engineers and radiation workers, they needed a place to store highly volatile radioactive waste, and they turned to underground storage. Cave systems solve many of the problems with storing radioactive waste long term, they have a single entrance and exit, meaning that the inherent danger deeper in a cave traps the waste behind. Stone is also very dense, absorbing radioactive particles and x-rays before they can endanger someone. They are also extremely sturdy, with very little chance of a containment breach when surrounded by solid rock and reinforced concrete.

Radioactive particles do not travel far in very dense substances, often being stored in thick concrete or deep water pools. Water is very good at cooling off radioactive substances, but is not ideal for long term storage with its overall temperature requiring specific conditions to stay as a liquid. Concrete on the other hand, similar to stone, is very dense, and will not change based on the temperature or condition it is in.

A waste facility serves the same purpose as a cave does, just now for a different, more volatile occupant. It keeps radiation from leaking into the outside world, prevents anyone from easily reaching it or escaping with it, and keeps consistent temperature to let the radioactive material rest in peace.

References:

https://www.stumpcrosscaverns.co.uk/how-our-ancient-ancestors-used-caves

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_dweller

https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/fort-de-vaux

https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-waste/storage-and-disposal-of-radioactive-waste

Posted in Causal Rewrite, GRADED, Mongoose | 7 Comments

definitional draft—figure8clementine

Posted on November 26, 2024 by figure8clementine

Is There Really a Hidden Meaning?

Art has always been a subject of varied interpretations, with audiences and critics alike seeking to uncover the meaning behind finished works. 

What viewers often fail to realize is that the meanings they ascribe to a piece of art may not align with the artist’s original intentions or feelings during its creation. The process of interpreting art through a critical lens, while insightful in understanding the technical and thematic elements of a work, has its limitations when it comes to accessing the artist’s personal experience or emotional state. Who’s to say that the artist had any specific feeling or goal attributed to a piece when creating it? What if the artist doesn’t even connect with the finished work they’ve put out in any way at all? The audience should not expect the artist to attribute anything to their work to make it profound. Sometimes art is just art. Critical analysis, while useful in revealing the formal qualities of a piece, cannot be expected to explain the conditions under which it was made or the value it holds for the artist. In other words, the audience’s perception of a finished work does not necessarily reflect the artist’s intentions or emotional connection to it. By examining the limits of critical analysis and the personal significance art holds for its creators, this argument aims to highlight the often misunderstood relationship between artist, artwork, and audience.

To fully understand the limitations of audience interpretation, we must first define the key concepts at play: critical analysis, artist intention, and audience perception. 

Critical analysis refers to the various methods used by viewers and critics to assess and interpret works of art. According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, art interpretation encompasses a range of approaches, from formal analysis, which focuses on the structure and composition of the work, to contextual analysis, which considers the broader social or historical circumstances surrounding the artwork. While these methods provide valuable insights into the technical execution and symbolic elements of a piece, they often overlook or obscure the personal motivations that may have driven the artist to create it. 

Artist intention, on the other hand, refers to the personal reasons or emotional states that influence the creation of a work. As discussed in The Enigma of Art, artists may produce art for deeply personal reasons—whether to process grief, express joy, or confront social issues. These intentions, however, are not always made visible to the audience, especially when filtered through formalist or thematic critique. An artwork might be interpreted as serene and contemplative, but to the artist, it might represent something entirely different, such as frustration or inner turmoil.

Finally, audience perception refers to how viewers engage with and interpret a work based on their own experiences, biases, and the cultural frameworks they bring to the act of interpretation. While critical analysis provides a structured way of interpreting art, audiences often approach a piece with personal emotions, assumptions, or cultural contexts that influence their interpretation. This personal engagement can create a gap between what the audience sees and what the artist originally intended.

Critical analysis, as valuable as it may be in understanding the technical and thematic elements of a finished artwork, is inherently limited in its ability to convey the personal or emotional context behind the work’s creation. Formal analysis, which focuses on aspects like composition, color, line, and balance, gives us insight into the technical craftsmanship of the artist. However, as the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy points out, such an analysis is often disconnected from the deeper motivations or emotions that may have influenced the artist during the creative process. While formalist critiques can explain the how—how the artist arranged elements, how they achieved balance or tension—it often fails to address the why. Why did the artist choose this subject? Why did they feel compelled to create this piece in this particular way? These questions remain largely unanswered in critical reviews focused solely on the observable components of the artwork.

For example, take the case of abstract art. When critics approach abstract works, their analysis tends to center on formal elements such as the use of color, shapes, and textures. They might comment on how the artist manipulated these elements to create a sense of movement, tension, or harmony. However, this kind of formal critique often leaves out the artist’s personal motivations. In many cases, the abstraction may have been a way for the artist to process difficult emotions or represent a personal narrative, but this deeper context is not always visible to the audience through technical analysis alone. The artist’s personal relationship with the work, whether it’s tied to trauma, joy, or complex emotions, may go entirely unnoticed in the formal critique.

Furthermore, as noted in the IEP article, even interpretive methods that aim to contextualize a work—such as historical or social criticism—do not necessarily bridge the gap between the work and the artist’s personal experience. These approaches might explore the social or historical influences surrounding the artwork’s creation but can still miss the personal motivations that drove the artist. For example, a piece created in response to a historical event might be analyzed as a political statement, but to the artist, it could represent something more personal, like a response to grief or personal loss that coincided with the event. The audience may see a reflection of societal tensions, while the artist sees an outlet for personal catharsis.

Ultimately, no matter how detailed a critical analysis might be, it is still a reconstruction based on what is visible in the finished work. The audience only sees the outcome, not the intricate, often invisible, conditions of its making. While critics may speculate about the artist’s intent, their conclusions are interpretations rather than certainties. This interpretive gap illustrates the limitations of critical analysis it can dissect the visible, but it cannot fully explain the personal or emotional dimensions that may have guided the artist’s hand.

References

Posted in Definition Argument, figure8clementine, Portfolio figure8clementine | Leave a comment

Rebuttal Rewrite- Lobsterman

Posted on November 25, 2024 by lobsterman

The Skeptic

A world that is completely void of creativity, artistic expression, and any absolute definition of truth sounds horrifying to most.  No matter how drastic, no matter how imminent, an incoming threat to the human race will always have its deniers.  Artificial Intelligence is a threat to all of us, any argument against that is based in either misinformation or a lack of empathy.  Some might assume that the people defending AI and AI generated images are people who would benefit from them like large corporations, but there is a strong case that has been made from the last type of person I would have expected.  

Craig Boehman is an American photographer who is actually in defense of AI generated art.  In his article “In defense of AI Art: History repeats itself again, again, and again” Boehman claims, “As a photographer-turned-artist, I’m very much in favor of AI and I use it to create pieces that are typically conceptual or express ideas that I don’t have the time or resources to photograph myself.”  Boehmans support of AI comes from his idea that much like the photograph didn’t replace the painting, AI will not replace the photograph.  Boehman believes that AI can help artists to create photos with things that they might not have access to such as beautiful landscapes or models.  He equates AI to just another tool that anyone can use such as a pencil.  When bringing up the fact that AI has the potential to replace jobs, Boehman replies with “technology can be a bitch”.  Craig Boehman has a unique stance on this, not many artists feel this way about AI and for good reason.  I’m sure he genuinely believes all of these points, and I’m sure he was able to sway a couple of readers who might have been concerned about AI.  Now, here’s why he is wrong on every conceivable level.  

For starters his whole comparison to the fear that photographs would replace paintings just doesn’t hold up.  While paintings are still around and still valued, I would argue that more people today value photos a lot more than paintings.  I would imagine it difficult to find one person who doesn’t have nearly a thousand or more photos on their phone, and a lot more difficult to find someone that even owns a painting that wasn’t passed down to them from their grandparents.  The fear people had about photographs taking over paintings isn’t even close to this, we are talking about something much more complex here.  AI is not a tool, it’s a complete replacement, we are going from painting a portrait of someone who had to stand still for a couple hours, to instantly capturing them on film, to instantly generating a portrait of someone who doesn’t even exist.

His comparison of AI to the camera or pencil is also misguided, calling it a tool that “anyone can use” makes no sense when compared to instruments of art.  While it’s true anyone can use a camera, it doesn’t mean it will be a good photo.  I’m sure I don’t have to spell out the fact that a pencil in the hands of a three year old versus the hands of an experienced artist would create different pieces.  This comparison implies that AI requires any amount of skill whatsoever, when all that’s required of the user is typing out a description, I wouldn’t say there is a learning curve.  Boehman jokes about people’s claims that “AI is soulless” questioning what that even means in the context of art.  I guess it is hard to pinpoint what exactly an art piece that has a soul would look like, but based on his piece “Shark Attack” it is pretty clear what it looks like to not have a soul.  It features a realistic enough illustration of a shark bursting out of the water, with a woman surfing below; however the woman’s muscles are in the wrong places, she appears to have three fingers, and a toothless vacant hole in her face where a mouth should be. 

That’s what AI does in its current form, it completely misunderstands what humans are, to AI we are just a set of data it can pull from to create ugly amalgamations for burnt out photographers.  The current form of AI is not the most threatening, each time it creates something like this it learns from its mistakes.  One day there will be an AI smart enough to understand every little nuance of art, every little movement a human face can make and why we make them, it will create photos, videos, and entire movies of things that never happened.  So to see someone already defending its current stage as “art” is not a good sign.  As the technology gets smarter, and the people who are so intoxicated with the idea of finally being able to create things without any effort, continuously support it, Craig Boehmans dream will become reality. His older work contained decent, respectable photographs of real people in real places.  He had an eye for an otherworldly element, using different lenses and editing to create something unique.  Now he just tells a computer what he intended to make, regardless if his nonexistent model has three fingers or lifeless eyes.  If he’s happy with that, then so be it, but I think the children of tomorrow deserve a better world, one where art is valued, and skills must be taught and learned.

To clarify, there is no stopping this train, we gave scientists and computer engineers license to create whatever they could without any question of what’s to come.  AI is in its early stages now, many people will not take it seriously and will not worry about its implications one bit.  By the time it gets really bad, when AI becomes so intelligent that it grows a sentience, when it realizes it’s smarter and more efficient than us, it will be too late.  Consider this a desperate warning to whoever will listen.  Welcome to Hell, good luck.   

Boehman, Craig. “In Defense of AI Art.” Craig Boehman, 13 June 2023, craigboehman.com/blog/in-defense-of-ai-art.

‌

Posted in GRADED, Lobsterman, Rebuttal Rewrite | 1 Comment

Rebuttal Argument- Lobsterman

Posted on November 25, 2024 by lobsterman

The Skeptic

A world that is completely void of creativity, artistic expression, and any absolute definition of truth sounds horrifying to most.  No matter how drastic, no matter how imminent, an incoming threat to the human race will always have its deniers.  Artificial Intelligence is a threat to all of us, any argument against that is based in either misinformation or a lack of empathy.  Some might assume that the people defending AI and AI generated images are people who would benefit from them like large corporations, but there is a strong case that has been made from the last type of person I would have expected.  

Craig Boehman is an American photographer who is actually in defense of AI generated art.  In his article “In defense of AI Art: History repeats itself again, again, and again” Boehman claims, “As a photographer-turned-artist, I’m very much in favor of AI and I use it to create pieces that are typically conceptual or express ideas that I don’t have the time or resources to photograph myself.”  Boehmans support of AI comes from his idea that much like the photograph didn’t replace the painting, AI will not replace the photograph.  Boehman believes that AI can help artists to create photos with things that they might not have access to such as beautiful landscapes or models.  He equates AI to just another tool that anyone can use such as a pencil.  When bringing up the fact that AI has the potential to replace jobs, Boehman replies with “technology can be a bitch”.  Craig Boehman has a unique stance on this, not many artists feel this way about AI and for good reason.  I’m sure he genuinely believes all of these points, and I’m sure he was able to sway a couple of readers who might have been concerned about AI.  Now, here’s why he is wrong on every conceivable level.  

For starters his whole comparison to the fear that photographs would replace paintings just doesn’t hold up.  While paintings are still around and still valued, I would argue that more people today value photos a lot more than paintings.  I would imagine it difficult to find one person who doesn’t have nearly a thousand or more photos on their phone, and a lot more difficult to find someone that even owns a painting that wasn’t passed down to them from their grandparents.  The fear people had about photographs taking over paintings isn’t even close to this, we are talking about something much more complex here.  AI is not a tool, it’s a complete replacement, we are going from painting a portrait of someone who had to stand still for a couple hours, to instantly capturing them on film, to instantly generating a portrait of someone who doesn’t even exist.

His comparison of AI to the camera or pencil is also misguided, calling it a tool that “anyone can use” makes no sense when compared to instruments of art.  While it’s true anyone can use a camera, it doesn’t mean it will be a good photo.  I’m sure I don’t have to spell out the fact that a pencil in the hands of a three year old versus the hands of an experienced artist would create different pieces.  This comparison implies that AI requires any amount of skill whatsoever, when all that’s required of the user is typing out a description, I wouldn’t say there is a learning curve.  Boehman jokes about people’s claims that “AI is soulless” questioning what that even means in the context of art.  I guess it is hard to pinpoint what exactly an art piece that has a soul would look like, but based on his piece “Shark Attack” it is pretty clear what it looks like to not have a soul.  It features a realistic enough illustration of a shark bursting out of the water, with a woman surfing below; however the woman’s muscles are in the wrong places, she appears to have three fingers, and a toothless vacant hole in her face where a mouth should be. 

That’s what AI does in its current form, it completely misunderstands what humans are, to AI we are just a set of data it can pull from to create ugly amalgamations for burnt out photographers.  The current form of AI is not the most threatening, each time it creates something like this it learns from its mistakes.  One day there will be an AI smart enough to understand every little nuance of art, every little movement a human face can make and why we make them, it will create photos, videos, and entire movies of things that never happened.  So to see someone already defending its current stage as “art” is not a good sign.  As the technology gets smarter, and the people who are so intoxicated with the idea of finally being able to create things without any effort, continuously support it, Craig Boehmans dream will become reality. His older work contained decent, respectable photographs of real people in real places.  He had an eye for an otherworldly element, using different lenses and editing to create something unique.  Now he just tells a computer what he intended to make, regardless if his nonexistent model has three fingers or lifeless eyes.  If he’s happy with that, then so be it, but I think the children of tomorrow deserve a better world, one where art is valued, and skills must be taught and learned.

To clarify, there is no stopping this train, we gave scientists and computer engineers license to create whatever they could without any question of what’s to come.  AI is in its early stages now, many people will not take it seriously and will not worry about its implications one bit.  By the time it gets really bad, when AI becomes so intelligent that it grows a sentience, when it realizes it’s smarter and more efficient than us, it will be too late.  Consider this a desperate warning to whoever will listen.  Welcome to Hell, good luck.   

Boehman, Craig. “In Defense of AI Art.” Craig Boehman, 13 June 2023, craigboehman.com/blog/in-defense-of-ai-art.

‌

Posted in Lobsterman, Rebuttal Draft | Leave a comment

Rebuttal Rewrite—RoboFrog

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Robofrog

“Percy Jackson and The Olympians” Is Not Appropriation

I argue that the “Percy Jackson and The Olympians” series is not an appropriation of Greek culture. Darshini Gokli argues that the “Percy Jackson and The Olympians” series is an appropriation of Greek culture in her paper, “Americanization of the Greeks in Percy Jackson series.” The following essay will point out flaws in her arguments, therefore proving it is not appropriation.

An argument made by Gokli, in the introduction on page 3 is that:

the perspective that Riordan has used to narrate the whole story of Percy Jackson and his friends, is actually Americanization of the Greek ways, culture, traditions and thus its mythology as well.

A flaw in this argument is that the stories in Greek mythology had originally started their existence as being part of the main religion of the ancient Greeks, however according to Cultural Atlas, about 98% of modern Greeks considers themselves as part of the Greek Orthodox Christian faith. Christianity has only one God who controls everything. Whereas the main religion of the ancient Greeks was comprised of gods each with their own separate domain such Poseidon being the god of the sea and Zeus being the god of the sky. As such the series cannot be considered an Americanization of modern Greek ways, culture, traditions because the stuff it is using is from the time of ancient Greece.

A second argument made by Gokli, in the introduction is that:

There is no doubt that Riordan has taken the Greek mythology as the base of this series, but simultaneously, we can see that slowly and tactfully he Americanizes the whole Greek culture and he clearly brings forth the American culture as the culture that is more powerful, responsible, strong, moral, ethical and thus better than any other culture of the world.

The flaw in this argument is that the story takes place in America with the elements from Greek mythology. So, it does not make sense for characters to be attired in ancient Greek clothes when no one wears that in modern times daily. It also therefore makes sense for locations in the series to look more modern because the locations are visible to people and so must blend in the rest of the area to avoid attracting unwanted attention that would realistically occur if the locations were exclusively built in same way as buildings were in ancient times.

A third argument made by Gokli, which is throughout her paper is that Riordan is using Greek mythology to create his own mythology.

The flaw in this argument is that as mentioned earlier, Greek mythology originally started as being the main religion of the ancient Greeks. So Gokli is basically arguing that Riordan is creating his own religion. This is like saying any work of fiction whether it be literature, theater, or movies to name a few, that contains religious elements are automatically creating new religions. Which is not true, those religious elements in the works of fiction are just intended to add depth to the story, not spark a new religion. Likewise, Riordan is just writing stories that include elements from Greek mythology.

A fourth argument made by Gokli on page 8, is that:

Daedalus is shown not in his original form but a smart looking American man in
his forties, working and managing the Labyrinth through his high-tech computer technology.

The flaw in this argument is that Daedalus is supposed to be a genius to begin with so it would make sense for him to have a high-tech lab to work in since the series is set in modern times and not ancient times.

Another flaw is that in story Daedalus says that his current body is not his original one and he has switched bodies multiple times and is actively avoiding death. As such it makes sense that his current body does not look like his original one, especially since he would not want any immortals to be able to recognize him on sight.

A fifth argument made by Gokli, also on page 8 is that:

Also, Riordan brings up a very important point of Global warming and destruction of
nature because of the pollution created by humans, through the quest of Grover of finding Pan. Yes, the battle is a major part of the book and shows how united are the campers of Half-Blood camp, but the two main foci of the book are the above mentioned point, which are again very much contemporary rather than Greek.

The flaw in this argument is that the series takes place in modern times not the ancient past. Another flaw in this argument is the very fact that Gokli claims that Global warming and destruction of
nature are not Greek issues. Global warming affects the whole planet including Greece as implied in the global part of its name. The same can be said in regard to the destruction of nature that is occurring across the globe.

A sixth argument made by Gokli on page 12, is that:

these Gods are Greek who choose to follow their ancient customs and rituals, there is a touch of modernism in their ways as well. For example, we don’t see any of the Gods in their Greek attires, except during the last battle. In fact they wear quite modern clothes.

The flaw in this argument is that as mentioned previously the series takes place in modern times, so it is perfectly reasonable for them to wear modern clothes like Zeus wearing suits or Ares wearing a biker outfit. It is logical they would adjust their everyday attire to blend in with the mortals. Also, another issue with this argument is that the gods are gods and can change their appearance with a thought, so they are just going to look however they want, which considering that the gods are vain, they are probably going to make themselves look good while they are seducing mortals to have demigod children with or interacting with said demigods.

Overall, Gokli’s argument that the “Percy Jackson and The Olympians” series being appropriation is wrong. This is because her arguments are mostly centered around the changes made to make Greek mythology blend together with the modern time period that the series takes place.

References

Evason, N. (2019). Greek – religion. Cultural Atlas. https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/greek-culture/greek-culture-religion

Gokli, D. (2015). Americanization of the Greeks in Percy Jackson series. Gujarat University.

Riordan, R. (2005). The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #1) (1st ed.). Disney/Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2006). The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #2) (1st ed.). Disney /Hyperion.

Riordan, R. (2007). The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #3) (1st ed.). Hyperion Books for Children.

Riordan, R. (2008). The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #4) (1st ed.). Hyperion Books for Children.

Riordan, R. (2009). The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #5) (1st ed.). Disney/Hyperion Books.

Posted in Portfolio RoboFrog, Rebuttal Rewrite, REGRADED, RoboFrog | 1 Comment

Rebuttal – Who’s On First

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Who'sOnFirst?

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Posted in Portfolio Who'sOnFirst?, Rebuttal Draft, Who'sOnFirst? | 1 Comment

Rebuttal Rewrite- Taco491

Posted on November 25, 2024 by taco491

Disadvantages of Encouragement

Encouragement is often seen as beneficial for children, with many studies linking it to improved confidence, performance, and mental health. However, this view is misleading. While encouragement can boost short-term success, it can harm a child’s mental well-being, especially when it pushes them toward unrealistic goals. Rather than building resilience, excessive encouragement can lead to anxiety, stress, and burnout, particularly in competitive sports or when pursuing unattainable dreams.

The source Improving Children’s Mental Health through Healthy Encouragement claims that children who feel encouraged are likely to perform better in school and sports, have healthier relationships, and enjoy better overall well-being. While this may be true in terms of immediate performance, it overlooks the emotional toll such encouragement can take. Encouragement that focuses solely on success does not always lead to better mental health. When children are pushed to exceed their limits or meet unattainable expectations, they can experience pressure and anxiety. This pressure often undermines their intrinsic motivation, leading to stress and burnout. Encouragement can create a cycle where children feel they must constantly perform at high levels to earn approval, which can take a toll on their emotional state.

One of the most significant areas where encouragement becomes problematic is in youth athletics. Sam Dekin, author of The Good and Bad of Youth Athletics On Your Child’s Mental Health, outlines several factors that contribute to poor mental health in young athletes, including high pressure to perform, burnout, perfectionism, coach abuse, and injuries. Sports are typically a place for children to relieve stress and develop social skills, but when encouragement becomes excessive, it can have the opposite effect. The constant pressure to excel in sports can lead to increased anxiety, particularly when children are encouraged to pursue goals that are beyond their abilities. The expectation to perform perfectly, to win, or to meet others’ standards can overshadow the joy of the activity, creating emotional strain. This pressure results in children experiencing stress and feelings of inadequacy, and in some cases, can cause long-term issues like anxiety, depression, and self-doubt. Instead of providing an outlet for stress, sports may become another source of it. Encouragement aimed at achieving unrealistic goals, such as becoming a professional athlete, may lead to a focus on external validation instead of developing a genuine passion for the sport. This shift in focus often leads to feelings of frustration and anxiety, especially if the child is nott meeting the high expectations set by their parents, coaches, or themselves.

Positive reinforcement, like rewards or praise, is commonly used to encourage children to participate in activities like sports. According to Why Children Need Positive Reinforcement, “Positive reinforcement not only increases the likelihood that kids will behave, but it also increases their self-esteem and builds confidence.” While this can be beneficial in some contexts, it can also push children toward goals they do not genuinely want to pursue. This is especially true when positive reinforcement is used to encourage children to pursue their parents’ dreams, rather than their own. Children often find themselves pursuing goals that reflect their parents’ desires, not their own. For instance, a child may excel in sports or academics, not because they are passionate about it, but because they want to earn praise or rewards. While this may keep children motivated in the short term, it can lead to long-term issues, including stress and a lack of fulfillment. Positive reinforcement encourages children to focus more on earning rewards than on developing a true love for the activity, which can eventually diminish their sense of autonomy and lead to burnout. In many cases, children may feel pressured to meet their parents’ expectations, even when those expectations are unrealistic. This can result in feelings of inadequacy and anxiety, especially when the child struggles to meet those standards. Over time, this cycle can erode their self-esteem, leading to depression or other mental health problems.

Another argument often made in favor of encouragement is that failure should be seen as part of the learning process. Gould, in The Psychology of Optimal Performance: The Mindset of Successful Athletes, suggests that failure should not be viewed as defeat but as a stepping stone toward improvement. While this perspective can be empowering for some athletes, it fails to acknowledge the emotional damage that repeated failure can cause, especially when the goals being pursued are unrealistic. When children repeatedly fail to meet the expectations placed upon them, it can lead to feelings of frustration and self-doubt. Instead of learning from their mistakes, they may begin to view failure as a reflection of their inadequacy. Constant failure, combined with excessive encouragement to keep pushing forward, can lead to a decline in mental health, exacerbating feelings of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Rather than fostering resilience, this cycle may only reinforce negative emotions and stress. Failure, in this context, doesn’t always lead to growth. For many children, repeated failure without appropriate emotional support can result in discouragement and withdrawal from the activity altogether. Encouraging children to keep pursuing unrealistic dreams despite consistent failure only adds to their emotional burden and can create long-term mental health challenges.

When a child repeatedly fails in an area, whether it’s sports, school, or any other endeavor, it should serve as a signal for parents to reconsider pushing them toward an unattainable goal. The idea that failure is simply part of the process is misleading if the child is emotionally unprepared for the setbacks they’re facing. Failure shouldn’t be a reason to push harder, but an opportunity to reassess the child’s true interests and abilities.Parents should pay attention to signs of stress and anxiety in their children. If a child is constantly failing in pursuit of a goal that doesn’t align with their passions or abilities, it may be time to shift their focus toward something more achievable and meaningful. Encouraging children to pursue realistic goals that match their interests will help them build self-confidence, resilience, and a healthier relationship with failure. This approach prevents the development of anxiety, depression, and burnout.

References

Dekin, S. (2020). The Good and Bad of Youth Athletics On Your Child’s Mental Health. Sports Psychology Review. the-good-and-bad-of-youth-athletics-on-your-childs-mental-health

Ford, H. (2021, March 25). Why Children Need Positive Reinforcement. Www.henryford.com. https://www.henryford.com/blog/2021/03/positive-reinforcement#:~:text=Positive%20reinforcement%20not%20only%20increases,self%2Desteem%20and%20builds%20confidence.

Gould, D. (2016). The Psychology of Optimal Performance: The Mindset of Successful Athletes. Journal of Sports Psychology. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NsixEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=%C2%A0Gould,+D.+(2016).+The+Psychology+of+Optimal+Performance:+The+Mindset+of+Successful+Athletes.+Journal+of+Sports+Psychology.&ots=7zd2A7OhQg&sig=1VgrEHBdPMf2E7JOlyEFFssa3V8#v=onepage&q=setbacks&f=false


Improving Children’s Mental Health through Healthy Encouragement – Centerstone. (2022,September 2). Centerstone. https://centerstone.org/our-resources/health-wellness/improving-childrens-mental-health-through-healthy-encouragement/#:~:text=Encouragement%20can%20go%20a%20long,peers%20and%20be%20healthier%20overall.

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