Friday, May 14, 2010

The Touro Communication Club Notes - #116–May 12, 2010
Tourocommunicationclub.blogspot.com

Contents:
1. Quotations about “Distraction”
2. Upcoming Club program, “Distraction” Wednesday, May 12, 2010 @ 2 pm in Room 223
3. 9th Speech Contest results
4. Logical Fallacy of the Week # 7 – “Everybody Does It.” plus 2 strategies
5. A Note to Communicators: “Distractions make us all become ADD”
6. Upcoming Conversations
7. Possible club topics
8. What happened last week: “The Seven Heavenly Virtues”

Five Quotes About Distraction

“America is addicted to wars of distraction.”
Barbara Ehrenreich, American author, feminist and political activist

"I don't want my body to be a distraction from my talent or my brain."
Shania Twain, Canadian country-pop singer and songwriter.

"I think the best thing I can do is to be a distraction. A husband lives and breathes his work all day long. If he comes home to more table thumping, how can the poor man ever relax?"
Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of the 35th President of the United States

“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.
Christopher Columbus, 15th century Italian explorer

"Distracted by all sort of distractions, it wanders around aimlessly in the ten directions."
From Sri Guri Granth Sahib, a collection of 1430 hymns which describe the qualities of God composed between 1469 and 1708.


The Touro Communication Club
2 pm - Wednesday, May 12, 2010– Room 223
“Distractions
We are bombarded with some 2 billion stimuli each day. Until recently, people seem to be able to juggle the external “noise” and the internal “noise.” But recently many of us are on stimulus overload. We cannot concentrate. We cannot focus. Our minds wander. We are glued to our BlackBerrys wherever we are. We seem to be reduced to Pavlovian dogs responding to stimuli that we cannot or choose not to control. We seem to have become a nation of ADD people. Lots of opinions here. Perhaps even a case or two of denial?

Here are the results of the latest Speech Contest, the largest number of finalists to date:
9th Speech Contest – Spring 2010
April 27, 2010

Name
Title of Speech
Instructor
Course/Site
Rank
1.Reetha Groce
“Verbal Abuse”
Prof. Wicke
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
1st Prize
2. Alex Matatov
“Science & the Bible”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 101
Dov Revell/
SCAS
2nd Prize
3.Isaac Ortega
“Long Island Winery”
Prof . Bardwell
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
3rd Prize
4. Leanne Poploff
“Awareness & Consequences from Bullying”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 101
Dov Revell/
SCA
Honorable Mention
5. Edwin Ashe
“The Day Hip Hop Died”
Prof. Green
GCA 100/
Taino/SGS
Finalist
6. Angeli Berga
“Domestic Violence is Not Okay”
Prof . Nussbaum
GCA 100/
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
7. Rose Dubreuil
“Self Esteem”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 100/
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
8. Deirdre Gonzalez
“Teenage Plastic Surgery”
Prof. Cline
GCA 100
Taino/SGS
Finalist
9. Jason Graham
“The Rise and Fall of Studio 54”
Prof. Green
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
10. Aidara Ismael
“The School System”
Prof. Nussbaum
GCA 100/
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
11.Paul Johnson
“Genetic Screening”
Prof. Backinoff
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
12. Sarah LeGoute
“Should Mothers Stay at Home or Work after Childbirth?”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
13. Valine Mack
“The NAACP”
Prof. Backinoff
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
14. Michael Maya
“Love at the Movies”
Prof. Turney
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
15.Eva Millan
“How to Start a Non-Profit Organization”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
16.Michael Quick
“This is what the Beacon Does”
Prof. Green
GCA 100
Taino/SGS
Finalist
17. Alan Sayegh
“Health Care Reform:”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
18. Annette Victor
“Bullying”
Prof. Bardwell
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
19. Shawn Walker
“The Benefits of How to Cook”
Prof. Turney
GCA 100
Midtown/SGS
Finalist
Judges: Mr. Robert Babsky (IT), Ms. Sophia Volfson (Advisement), Mr. Javon Johnson (Financial Aid)

Logical Fallacy of the Week #7: “Everybody Does it”

The official name for this fallacy is an “Appeal to Common Practice.” As a persuasive device, this fallacy works because its “logic” is that if everybody is doing “it,” it must be okay.

“Everybody’s Does It” has both benign and dark aspects. Our nature is often split. We want to be individuals, yet we don’t want to be isolated. In our search for conformity we don’t like to be left out of the group. At the same time we want to feel we are individuals so we wear tattoos and face metal to distinguish ourselves from the group. I’ve often mused at how similar some people look when they are trying to be different

For a person who is looking for guidance, what everybody seems to be doing is a guide for behavior. Drani Gabu is from Sudan and one of the original members of the Communication Club. When he came to Touro, he said he didn’t know how to dress. He looked around for several days and noticed what people wore and then he knew how to dress appropriately for Touro. In his travels to Idaho and Oregon, he observed local dress and adjusted his costume.

The human tendency toward conformity is transformed into a logical fallacy when it becomes a specific business strategy to achieve a particular end.
This fallacy is important for directing group behavior. Advertisers use it to create a “buzz.” Movies and products are test marketed to create a buzz. “Everybody likes this movie. Let’s go see it.”

Microsoft bludgeoned early word processing programs to become the world standard for computers. With no competition, Microsoft has become our only choice of word processing. So, everybody is forced to use Microsoft.

This fallacy has its benign aspect, as with Drani’s observations, as well as a darker side. The fallacy is a common persuasive technique. “Everybody’s [having sex.] or [doing drugs] Let’s do it.”

Strategy #1: When this “Everybody’s Doing It” comes at you, you need to be pretty clear as to whom you are and what your values out. You notice your stomach tightening up. Your crap detector is at work. Something feels wrong. If it feels wrong to you, it probably is.

Strategy #2 – When your crap detector is working, you’ll feel like pulling away. Somebody’s invading your psychic space. Take a deep breath to compose your thoughts before replying. Don’t blurt out your response. Ask a question or two. “What do you mean?” or “I don’t understand.” These can be stalling tactics to allow your mind to do an appropriate response.

A Note to Communicators:

“Distractions make us all become ADD”

Can you focus? Can you concentrate? In New York City, we are smothered with visual and acoustic assaults. We are bombarded with some 2 billion stimuli each day. We try to screen them out by the aggressiveness of external stimuli penetrate the bubble of our being.

Some of us seem to be permanently distracted by cell phones which perform all manner of functions except wash and iron our laundry. We read and send texts in class and while we are driving. One student exclaimed, “I can’t turn off my Blackberry!” We must have the TV set going on in the background.

We have become so attached to our cell phones that even Deans and instructors are interrupted by messages that are too urgent to ignore in the middle of meetings, classes and funeral ceremonies. Don’t just blame just the students for being distracted. Distraction is a universal human issue.

We have become instruments of Pavlovian conditioning. Our senses are dulled from being in Times Square on New Year’s Eve all the time.

If external noise wasn’t distracting enough, what about the distractions inside your head and body? Headache, hunger, thirst, bathroom needs come to mind. Then there are the dozens of thoughts which skate through your brain –
· “Oh, I forgot to do this.”
· “Where are my keys?”
· “Oh, I’ve got to remember Mother’s Day.”
· “Why did Joe speak to me that way?”
· “I don’t like how Sasha dresses.”
· “I think I failed the exam.”
· “My boyfriend doesn’t like me.”
and on and on and on.
Your brain never stops running. Then someone swears at you. You are insulted. You swear back and juicy fight in on the way. Or another disrespects you. Your emotional temperature pops its thermometer. As one student revealed in a recent Communication Club meeting, “I turn off my mind when I’m drunk.”

Fighting distraction is an endless battle. The battle is inside your head, but the stimuli come from everywhere. You lose every time you get distracted because you can’t concentrate. And it’s likely that you don’t know how to concentrate – to minimize the distractions. I think some people don’t even know they get distracted.

But to a large degree, you can control what distracts you. This is a revolutionary thought to some. Yes, you can choose not to be in the clutches of your Blackberry. But when you’re so addicted,you no longer realize you have a choice.

But that’s hard.! Gosh, Gee Whillikers! I know it’s hard. Lots of things are hard. But you can do it. You can turn off that cellphone. You can change that thought pattern.
Look at something else. Change your focus. You choose what to focus on. That’s the first step toward concentration –. Ballet dancers find a point and return to that point with each pirouette. Search for the calm center inside you. Close your eyes and focus on a blank blackboard. Deep breathing will help.

Not only is “the mind a terrible thing to waste,” your mind is your only source of building the life you want. You are the only one who can choose to control you. Distractions can be pleasant if they don’t become a way of life.

UPCOMING CONVERSATIONS:

May 19, 2010 – School is closed.

May 28, 2010 – “Negotiation” We know how to get into conflicts. But do we know how to negotiate ourselves out of one without fighting? Negotiation is an important skill that we forget exists when tempers rise. We’ll do an autopsy on the negotiation process with a couple of role plays.

June 2, 2010 – Success Strategies – Are they different for men and women?
Dean Donne Kampel and Dr. Sabra Brock both research and publish about how women and men carve out pathways to success. They will compare notes on how men and women manage. They will share some of the secrets and tips they’ve uncovered. They will even discuss the perception of some as to whether or not the leadership/success “pipeline” continues to be more difficult for women than for men.

June 9, 2010 – Imagination – Many people assign this human ability seems to the arts and artists, but everyone has an imagination which can be the springboard for all kinds of enterprises in business and the professions. We’ll talk about what imagination is and can do. If we’re lucky, we’ll even do some imagination exercises.

What about one of these topics?

“Rodney King: ‘Why Can’t We Get Along?”
“Repetition”
“Meaning”
“Why Does History Repeat Itself?”
“Heroism”
“Concentration”
“Coping with Adversity”
Student Poetry showcase
“Empathy”
“Connecting the Dots”
Role play of cynical people
“Cold Calling in Sales
“He’s Just Not That into You”
“Money”
“Criticizing – Giving and Receiving”
“Freedom II”
“Gender Communication II”
“Anger”
“SPAR Debate”
And dozens of others!

Compare the notice of the session with what really happened!
What happened on Wednesday, May 5, 2010?
“The Seven Heavenly Virtues”

Last October, we had a spirited discussion about “The Seven Deadly Sins.” Lest we forget what they are: Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Gluttony.

This week we turn to the Seven Heavenly Virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Fortitude, Justice, Temperance, Prudence Originating with the Greeks and codified by the Roman Catholic Church in the Dark Ages, these seven virtues are designed to teach positive lessons about behavior in an unruly world. We’ll explore as many as time allows.”

Wow! This was a rip-roaring session! One newcomer, Whitney Taylor, said afterward, “That was really fun!” Familiar faces included Richard Green, Meggy Lindsay, Jean Missial, Markus Vayandorf,, Al Walker, Gary Sheinfeld, Pamela Sheppard, Ronald Johnson, Ruth Abromowitz and Hal Wicke/
Hal had put on the board parallel columns Seven Heavenly Virtues with the Seven Deadly Sins.
Seven HeavenlyVirtures
Seven Deadly Sins
Faith
Wrath
Hope
Greed
Charity
Sloth
Fortitutde
Pride
Justice
Lust
Temperance
Envy
Prudence
Gluttony

The discussion began as a dutiful exchange of ideas about faith. The group tried to stay away from specific religious beliefs to focus on what “faith’ meant to them.
· You can’t get there directly.
· You need to have a passion for social justice.
· Gary mentions Jacques Derrida, the late 20th century French philosopher, known for founding the literary theory of deconstruction. “Tolerate, but no!”
· Everyone needs something to follow – a group.
· “Faith by itself is nothing.”
· “Faith represents a workable idea.”
· Hal interjected that we need to exclude specific religious belief systems because we’re trying to find commonalities in our definitions.
· “Faith is a fact” “Like getting up in the morning.
· There are no rewards for virtues.
· Do the best you can.
Hope – the story of Pandora’s box [after all the ills of the world escaped, hope was remained.]
· We kept easily drifting over to the list of sins.
· We know the sins, but how to stop them at the root.
· Greed is a learned behavior.
· Where do you learn this.
· Markus –“Everything is trial and error.”
· Concept of giving up
· “I am a man of [Christian] faith.” “I learned it from my grandmother.”
· “It’s easy. All you have to do is put it together.”
· “Your God will do something.”
· Search for the “Kingdom of God” which is found in everything.
· “I had an epiphany.”
· “You’ll have one too when it’s time.”
· “Truth is truth.”
· What do you do when you contradict your faith?
· “Faith overcomes.”
· “Faith limits nothing; nothing exists out of faith.”
· “Other faiths do not exist.”
· “Faith = trial and error.”
· [Not much focus on hope; discussing faith was more interesting than “hope.”]

Charity
· Charity begins at home.
· Accept before you know you are doing the right thing.
· Accept for who you are.
· Markus – “This, too, is trial and error.”
· Put a label on things.
· Words explain experience.
· All religions speak of the same thing (re: charity)
· Practice these rules to the letter
· Jean Paul Sartre – “Hell is other people.”
· We are trapped in language.

Fortitude
· Cognitive dissonance
· Are you yourself 90% of the time when nobody is around?
· Meet your goals.
· Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?
· Al Walker asked Hal Wicke – “What do you believe?” Hal answered that his beliefs were irrelevant to the discussion because he was interested in everybody’s ideas, not his own. [I don’t think Al was satisfied.]

Justice
· Justice is limited.
· There will be a disagreement as to what is right and wrong.
· Is Justice blind?
· Life is not fair; Justice is not fair.
· Was killing Martin Luther King “fair”?
If you observe that the notes are sketchy and disjointed, you are quite perceptive. The exchanges were faster and faster and Hal could not referee the conversation and write notes. [He hasn’t yet learned to walk and chew gum.]

The atmosphere was exhilarating as the group broke up, exhausted despite not getting to the final two virtues of “temperance” and “prudence.” What started slowly ended on quite a high note, indicating that Virtues are a hot topic. Maybe we’ll bring them back.
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We always have a great time exploring these issues. So often our daily life never focuses on these Communication issues. If you have something you want us to discuss please let us know and we’ll add it to the list.

Next time bring a friend. The Communication Club is always an open discussion, limited only by time. Everyone gets a chance to speak. All opinions are welcome. Here is an opportunity for students to challenge professors’ views outside the class without any homework or assignments. You just have to show up and listen and talk if you want.

Hal Wicke