THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 8

What can a poem about World War II trench warfare teach us about effective argumentation?

Subject:  Argument, Rebuttals - “Dulce et Decorum Est”

Event:  Wilfred Owen composes a war poem, 1917

On this day in 1917, Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), an English soldier recovering from shell shock, composed the first draft of the poem “Dulce et Decorum Est.”  The poem is one of the most vivid, realistic depictions of the horrors of trench warfare in World War I and is one of the most powerful rebuttals ever made to the argument that it is valorous to die for one’s country.

Owen joined the army in 1915, and after he was wounded in combat in France in 1917, he was evacuated to a military hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland.  It is there that he penned the first draft of his poem and sent it to his mother with a note: “Here is a gas poem done yesterday, (which is not private, but not final)” (1).

Image by Łukasz Dyłka from Pixabay

The poem begins with an image of the exhausting drudgery of life on the front lines.  Soon, however, drudgery turns to nightmare as Owen describes a gas attack and the living nightmare of watching one of his comrades in arms die before his eyes:

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!–An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling

And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,–

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie: ‘Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.’  (2) 

The words that end the poem, as well as the words in the poem’s title, are Latin, written by the Roman poet Horace.  The first four words, which also serve as the poem’s title, translate: “It is sweet and glorious.”  The final three words of the poem that complete the exhortation translate: “to die for one’s country.”

The words from Horace that Owen calls “The old Lie” would have been familiar to his readers since they were often quoted during the frenzy of recruiting at the beginning of World War I.  These Latin words are also inscribed on the wall of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Berkshire, England.  In the United States, the words are etched in stone above the rear entrance to the Memorial Amphitheater, near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Arlington National Cemetery.

After his recovery, Owen rejoined his regiment and returned to the trenches of France.  He was killed in battle on November 4, 1918, one week before the war ended on November 11, Armistice Day.

Owen’s poem is a rebuttal — the presentation of contradictory evidence — to an ancient expression of conventional wisdom, as seen in Horace’s Latin exhortation (here translated into English):  How sweet and honorable it is to die for one’s country.

To make his rebuttal, Owen structures his poem inductively, with details that move from the specific to the general.  Instead of stating his point at the beginning of the poem in a deductive structure, he, instead, begins with detailed imagery to show rather than tell.  Owen’s use of such powerful figurative language and sensory imagery create such a horrific picture that Owen hardly needs to state his point. The vivid details allow readers to infer the point for themselves; even a reader who does not know Latin would be able to make a logical inference regarding the “old Lie.”

The practice of questioning conventional wisdom is a tradition that dates back to Socrates.  It’s an excellent way to discover ways in which common sense is not always perfectly logical and to explore counterintuitive insights.  It’s also an excellent way to avoid poor decisions.  In 1962, for example, executives at the Decca Recording Company rejected The Beatles because conventional wisdom led them to conclude that guitar music was on the way out. 

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is a rebuttal?  What was the claim that Owen was rebutting, and how did he rebut it?

Challenge - Write Your Rebuttal:  What are some examples of conventional wisdom (widely accepted truisms) that you have encountered, and how might you challenge conventional wisdom with a detailed, evidence-based rebuttal?  Write a rebuttal in either prose or poetry of a single statement of conventional wisdom, such as, “If you work hard, you will succeed” or “Pride goeth before the fall.”  Organize your writing inductively, using specific imagery and figurative language to show your point rather than tell it.  If you are successful, you may not even need to state the central claim of your rebuttal at the end.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

October 8, 1945:  Serendipity often plays a role in discovery and invention, such as when Percey Spencer realized that emissions from the radar equipment he was working with had melted a chocolate bar in his pocket.  For Spencer, serendipity led to a patent filed on this day for the Radarange -- what we now know as the microwave oven.

Sources:  

1-Poets.org. “Wilfred Owen.”.

2- Owen, Wilfred. Dulce et Decorum Est. 1921. Poetry Foundation.org. Public Domain..

THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 7

How is an icy windshield a great metaphor for thinking in writing?

Subject:  Thinking in Writing - Zinsser’s Windshield

Event:  Birthday of William Zinsser, 1922

Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard. -David McCullough

Writer, journalist, and teacher William Zinsser was born on October 7, 1922.  In 1976, he wrote On Writing Well, a book that generations of writers have turned to for instruction on the craft of writing and thinking well.  For Zinsser, the key to good writing is clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity.  Above all he encouraged writers to avoid clutter and to embrace clear thinking:  

Clear thinking becomes clear writing: one can't exist without the other. It is impossible for a muddy thinker to write good English. He may get away with it for a paragraph or two, but soon the reader will be lost, and there is no sin so grave, for he will not easily be lured back.

Like George Orwell in his classic essay “Politics and the English Language,” Zinsser argued that effective writing must be a conscious act where the writer continually interrogates himself or herself on behalf of the reader to make sure that every word is clear and every sentence is concise.  Also like Orwell, Zinsser emphasizes that writing is hard work, but the payoff is that it helps you to clarify your own thinking.  In a classic analogy, Zinnser compares writing to clearing the ice off a car’s windshield:

Writing enables us to find out what we know-- and what we don’t know -- about whatever we’re trying to learn.  Putting an idea into written words is like defrosting the windshield:  the idea, so vague out there in the murk, slowly begins to gather itself into shape.

Image by uknowgayle from Pixabay

No one enjoys being out in the elements on a cold winter morning, scraping ice off the windshield.  However, if you want to get from point A to point B safely, you must commit to making sure you can see the road ahead.  Furthermore, you might have some passengers -- or readers -- along for the ride who also would appreciate safe passage.

A similar analogy for thinking and writing is put forth by Dennis Sparks, executive director of the National Staff Development Council:

Writing is a way of freezing our thinking, of slowing down the thoughts that pass through our consciousness at lightning speed, so that we can examine our views and alter them if appropriate.  Writing enables us to note inconsistencies, logical flaws, and areas that would benefit from additional clarity. 

Writing then is about communicating your thoughts with an audience, but, just as important, it is about putting your thoughts on paper so that you can think about your own thinking.  In short, it is one of the best methods we have to learn something.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: How do the metaphors of freezing and defrosting relate to thinking and writing?

Challenge - Frozen Thoughts on Writing:  Do some research on quotations about the importance of writing.  Find one you like, and explain why you think it reflects important insights about thinking.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

October 7, 1849:  American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe died.  Beginning in 1949, an anonymous admirer visited Poe's cenotaph -- a monument erected at the site of Poe's original grave at Westminster Burial Ground in Baltimore, Maryland.  To commemorate Poe’s birthday each January 19th, this mysterious individual -- known as the Poe Toaster” -- left three roses and a bottle of French cognac, and occasionally a note.  The clandestine visits ended in 2009, the bicentennial of Poe’s birth (2). See Thinker’s Almanac - November 14.

October 7, 1885:  On this day the Nobel Prize winning physicist Niel Bohr was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.  For an anecdote about him and magical thinking, see THINKER’S ALMANAC - January 4.

Sources:

1-Zinsser, William. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.

2- Judkis, Maura.  “Edgar Allan Poe ‘toaster’ tradition is no more”  Washington Post 19 Jan. 2012.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 6

How can a Xerox machine help us better understand human thinking?

Subject:  Because Justification - Xerox Study

Event:  Electrophotography patented, 1942

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. -Galileo Galilei

On this day in 1942, Chester F. Carlson (1906-1968) received a patent for his invention, electrophotography.  His discovery was a giant leap in the history of publishing.  For centuries making a copy of a single document was arduous and time-consuming.  Electrophotography, or xerography as it came to be called, is fast and easy.

Unlike previous wet copy processes, Carlson’s process was “dry.” First, an electrostatic image of the original document was created on a rotating metal drum; then, with the help of toner – powdered ink – a copy was transferred to a piece of paper and the print was sealed in place by heat (1).

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

To differentiate the name of his invention – electrophotography –  from print photography, Carlson searched for a new term. He settled first on the word xerography from the Greek xeros (meaning “dry”) and graphein (meaning “writing”). Xerography later became Xerox because of Carlson’s admiration for the name Kodak, the iconic American photography company. Carlson especially liked the fact that the name Kodak was nearly a palindrome (a word that is spelled the same frontwards and backward).  Adding an “x” at the end of his invention’s name, Carlson reasoned, would give it the same memorable ring.  Thus, Xerox, the word that would become synonymous with duplication, was born (2).

  

More than thirty years after the invention of Xerox, in the 1970s, Harvard psychologist Elle Langer used a copy machine to do more than just make copies; she used it to better understand human thinking. 

Langer conducted her research in a library where people lined up to make photocopies.  She began by attempting to cut in line, asking the person in front, ‘Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?’ She found that this approach resulted in success approximately 60% of the time.

Next, Langer again approached the first person in line, but this time she added a reason to her request, asking, “Excuse me. I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I’m in a rush?’ This approach yielded success 94% of the time.

The most surprising result of Langer’s study, however, came with her third approach.  This time she presented the first person in line with a nonsensical reason:  ‘Excuse me. I have five pages. May I go before you, because I have to make some copies?’ Even though she presented a pretext that made her no different from everyone else waiting to make copies, she achieved success in an astonishing 93% of cases.  As Langer’s Xerox study showed, people crave reasons -- even unreasonable ones.  One word --“because” -- can make a big difference (3).

The name of the concept behind Langer’s study is called the because justification, which means, “I think; therefore, I need reasons.”

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: What is the Because Justification, and how did the contrasting words used in the Xerox study reveal the power of reasoning?

Challenge - Ten Reasons in the Tenth Month:  The because justification reveals the fact that people want reasons to believe.  Think of a claim that you believe in strongly enough that you could support it with at least 10 reasons.  State your claim and support it by listing your reasons.  “Ten reasons that Halloween should always be on a Saturday” or “Ten reasons that we should/or should not celebrate Columbus Day.”

Sources:

1-Thompson, Clive. “How the Photocopier Changed the Way We Worked — and Played.” Smithsonian Magazine March 2015.

2- Owen, David. Copies in Seconds:  How a Lone Inventor and an Unknown Company Created the Biggest Communication Breakthrough Since Gutenberg.  New York:  Simon and Schuster, 2008:  146.

3-Weinschenk, Susan. “The Power of the Word ‘Because’ to Get People to Do Stuff.” www.psychologytoday.com 15 October 2013.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - October 5

Why are the words “we’re going to have a pop quiz today” counterintuitively the best seven words a student can hear?

Subject:  Desirable Difficulty - Sans Forgetica Font

Event:  Sans Forgetica font released, 2018

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity. -Calvin Coolidge

On October 5, 2018, researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, released a new font called Sans Forgetica, a font specifically designed to boost information retention by readers.  What makes the font different is that each letter is designed with intentional, intermittent gaps that require the reader to fill in the gaps.  Sans Forgetica was created based on a theory by cognitive psychologist Robert Bjork called desirable difficulty:  this oxymoron describes learning strategies that increase the effectiveness of learning by making it more challenging.  According to one of the designers, Stephen Banham, the font was created to present a challenge to the reader, but not too much challenge:   “It should be difficult to read but not too difficult,” Banham said. “In demanding this additional act, memory is more likely to be triggered” (1).

Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay

Instinctively, students like learning to be easy; likewise, teachers would like to help their students acquire knowledge in an effortless manner.  The reality of learning, however, is counterintuitive.  Effortful learning makes for learning that sticks.  Despite the fact that these strategies feel harder when applied, research shows that they result in more efficient learning.

Spaced Repetition is one such strategy that works.  Although students have a tendency to cram for tests, the best way to transfer knowledge from short-term memory to long-term memory is to space learning out over time and to revisit and retrieve learnings in spaced intervals.  This kind of retrieval requires effort, and the act of remembering and retrieving is not always easy; however, the benefit is that it provides the learner with instant feedback and reinforces and strengthens the memory.

Another strategy is called interleaving.  In this strategy, students switch between topics instead of the usual “drill and kill” strategy of focusing on a single skill or topic.  The brain likes variety, so instead of spending an hour studying math,  students would be better served by breaking up a study session:  20 minutes on math, 20 on geography, and 20 on French. For more on interleaving, see THINKER’S ALMANAC - September 6.

Tests seem to be almost universally hated by students.  However, counterintuitively, they present the kind of desirable difficulty that improves memory and reinforces learning, a phenomenon that experts call the testing effect.  Smart students create questions for themselves and do self-testing.  Furthermore, they focus just as much on the questions they get wrong as the questions they get right.  An incorrect answer is an opportunity to clarify misunderstandings and reinforce learning.  The challenge for students is to adjust their mindset, seeing errors as inevitable obstacles that in the long run become opportunities to solidify learning (2).

While difficulty is desirable in the learning process, one place it is not desirable is when you are communicating in writing to a reader.  Some students believe that if they sprinkle their writing with needlessly long words, they will impress their readers.  The reality, however, is the complete opposite.

A 2006 study by cognitive psychologist Daniel Oppenheimer concluded that people rated writers who used simple, clear language as more intelligent than those who used complex words.  Oppenheimer emphasized that a writer’s diction is important and that writers should select words with their readers in mind.  As Oppenheimer put it, "It's important to point out that this research is not about problems with using long words but about using long words needlessly.”

The best part of the study, however, is its ironic title:   “Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly” (3). The study was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize on this day in 2006.  The Ig Nobel Prize is a satiric award given annually; its goal is to recognize scientific research that “first [makes] people laugh, and then [makes] them think” (4).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What are interleaving, spaced repetition, and the testing effect, and how does each contribute to effective learning?

Challenge - Is Difficulty Really Desirable?:  Write an editorial giving your position on the question:  Should learning be easy or difficult?  Support your claim with evidence.

Sources:

1-RMIT University. “Sans Forgetica” 

2-Brookman-Byrne, Annie. “Desirable difficulties in learning.” Blog on Learning and Development 5 Sept. 2018.

3-“Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly,” Daniel M. Oppenheimer, Applied Cognitive Psychology, vol. 20, no. 2, March 2006, pp. 139-56.

4. Improbable Research. “Ig Nobel Prize Winners.”