After reading my previous blog post, I would like to use this post to refine my claims of death of mature reasoning in our society. Although it may appear like mature reasoning is on the decline after following politics or watching certain television shows, perhaps mature reasoning is just taking different forms.
As I familiarize myself with blogs, I am finding more and more quality material written with mature reasoning. They definitely don't fit my first perception of mature reasoning, but I think that may be why they are an intriguing media form to analyze.
I came upon a very intriguing blog on exercise physiology today called The Science of Sport. It is kept by Ross Tucker and Jonathan Dugas who both earned Ph.D.'s in exercise physiology from the University of Cape Town. I think this is an example of blogs at their best.
The self-proclaimed blog of "scientific comment and analysis of sporting performance" does a great job of combining science with engaging commentary. The contributors post about current developments in physiology and shed light on common myths and misconceptions. They will often take on common arguments in the field and state the facts of both sides and support their own opinion. Therefore, there is no "main argument" of the blog but arguments of each post. I perused arguments ranging from barefoot running to outlandish advertising claims for performance and wellness products. Each argument addressed possible counter-arguments, and did so conversationally while retaining a level of professionalism.
It was definitely written to be informative and enjoyable for people who are intrigued by the field. These are the people who will likely become followers. However, I can see this site as being a great resource for those who are seeking information on a certain topic, even though it doesn't reach "article" status.
Although rhetoric basically means "the art of argument" across genres, the techniques definitely differ. This blog utilized links, differing styles of text, and headings to separate ideas. I think this would only be effective in this "blog genre." It is extremely effective in this context but if it was put in a more scientific setting, it would immediately lose credibility. However, for the purpose and context of the blog, the techniques and writing were very effective.
I thought this was an interesting collision of rhetoric and science. Making science readable and enjoyable for the general public is a huge step in the right direction. I am hoping to analyze this blog further in my genre analysis paper coming up.
Kaitlyn
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