Week 7: coffee cup, spring break and letting document rest a bit
Good morning in the new time regime of Spring Forward.
Cognitive frame that is really hard but totally important to human beings who must work through complexity. incommensurability. Here is long entry from the Stanford Library of Philosophy (online). TLDR?
- Some concepts, methods, frames, social problems as well as policy decisions cannot be compared directly. Why? They lack a common measure. Some of the is math-focused but qualitative factors can be part of incommensurability, too.
- Consider apples and oranges, that old metaphor.
Why are we talking about incommensurability? Simply put: this memo is really hard to think about because our first instinct is figure out WHICH environmental problem is worse and then recommend a cup choice that addresses this problem. Makes sense in the mind. Yet, the world is not in our mind. The world is wild and complex and resists analysis all the time. This means the confusion and frustration you feel is human.
Knowing that some problems resist common measure helps us make sense of the non sensible world.
Side trip in philosophy of how science works: Have you heard of paradigm shift to describe how scientists build knowledge (claim and counter claim. Thomas Kuhn, philosopher of science, claims science process reveals that some discussions/arguments about competing paradigms fails to "make complete contact with each other’s views." This means (apples and oranges) that those in the "conversation" are always talking at least slightly at cross-purposes.
Kuhn calls the collective causes of this communication failures incommensurability. Here are some examples:
- the Newtonian physics paradigm is incommensurable with its Cartesian and Aristotelian predecessors in physics;
- Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier’s paradigm is incommensurable with that of Joseph Priestley’s in chemistry; and
- God's action as designer conflicts with Darwin's central understanding of evolution condenses into natural selection.
UPDATE today at 9:33 AM. After quick conversation with JK, I edited these passages to make sure that
the frame fits the cup.
Thank you, JK.
For us, we cannot compare directly the gravity of climate change with the fate of aquatic plastic. Therefore, in our memo we must lead with these sorts of framing statements:
In my analysis of hot beverage cups and environmental footprint, I weight climate change more heavily than ocean plastic. Therefore, this frame is a central assumption in this short problem-solution report. I recommend Styrofoam cups for their lower energy profile that that of paper cups.
You can also hint at how you will address this problem with qualifications in your recommendation at the end of this short memo.
Later in this short recommendation memo, I will address this conceptual framing limitation and speak briefly about how framing this problem as one of ocean plastic leads to another recommendation: paper cuups.
Comment on the above: If you chose this frame, you are TEAM STYROFOAM. In contrast, It you weight aquatic plastic as the central frame (TEAM PAPER), then your sentences look like this:
In my analysis of hot beverage cups and environmental footprint, I weight the fate of ocean plastic more heavily than climate change; this frame is a central assumption in my short problem-solution report in favor of paper cups.
Later in this short report, I will address this conceptual framing limitation and speak briefly about how framing this problem as one of climate change would lead to Styrofoam cups as the more environmentally sensitive cup,
Writing craft/collaboration note: you may use these sentences in your work as is or modify them as you wish. Remember that most workplace writing is collaborative. And, I am a coach-style supervisor. Additional comment: mentor texts are a good way to learn. A sentence is a text, therefore a mentoring passage. We learn by imitation of good models.
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate culture varies. Also added between the 9am and 11am sections? A visual about hot beverage culture, meaning that what if we drank hot beverages sitting down, with a ritual, and perhaps company rather than clutching a "venti". What kind of cup would Murial use?
Marybeth Shea
Wednesday! The lovely weather continues. We have a grab bag of skills that will help you with the next draft (iteration) of your coffee cup memo. First up, let's think of achieving "flow" or cohesion in your memo. You want the reader to experience a unified, well-staged (arrangement). Because this memo leaps across a highly complex topic, we need flow to help our reader make the leaps with us. The overarching writing skill is the skillful use of transitions.
Find your LCA paragraph (PARA 5 in flow chart) that defines/describes this environmental technique (EPA source). Think of this paragraph as your PIVOT point in the memo. You are moving from description to set up the problem to analysis. LCA is the primary technique. How do you go from this pivot paragraph to the research of Moore (TEAM PAPER) or the research of Hocking (TEAM STYRO)? -->
Having defined LCA, let's look now at Martin Hocking's work on . . . (or, insert Charles Moore)
As you can see, Hocking's work is, essentially, an LCA on disposable hot beverage cups.
Moore's work focused primarily on the end phase of the LCA. Here, the key idea noted earlier about how "leaky" both disposal and recycling systems are. Essentially, we do not landfill and recycle near as much of both cup materials that we think; hence, we experience now a critical volume of aquatic plastic.
You can use these transitional passages as you begin the hardest paragraphs yet: summarizing the work of the researcher's peer reviewed analysis.
Establishing ethos of the researcher (early in PARA 6, which is a node para):
Moore, an oceanographer and now advocate regarding the problem of aquatic plastic, published in [X} journal, with several co-authors. This [YEAR] research article is one of the first descriptions of the extent of this emerging ecological and health problem.
Hocking published two experimental analyses comparing the energetics of paper and Styrofoam cups. published in the early 90s, Hocking's work is -- to date -- the only rigorous peer-reviewed analysis. Hocking, a materials chemist who died not long ago.....
When referral links are a punt: You need to develop a brief paragraph (PARA 4, also a node para) about the environmental problem you weight, using one or two logos of numbers to establish the seriousness of the problem. Here is language that might use or adapt-->
Climate change is widely understood by scientists to pose an existential threat....Estimates of temperature increases....Should you need more information on climate change and energy efficiency, see this helpful and brief and authoritative summary at [lin] which summarizes the science-based work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). CAUTION about size of PDF.
My short analysis (short analysis, first-cut look, quick-and-dirty examination), relies of the frame of aquatic plastic. Interestingly, the same scientist whose work I will summarize is also the scientist who discovred this problem. You can read about this work briefly at [link] and [link] Both of these non profit groups were founded by Moore. The volume of plastic in one large Pacific garbage paper approaches the size of Texa....
Why do I call this punting? You are not diverting your prose or the reader's attention to a full treatment of climate change nor aquatic plastic. You give a numbers-based detail or two, then let Jane go to authoritative sources if she needs to. Punt! With courtesy for the reader.
I use punt since more people are familiar with this idea. However, I prefer the baseball action of bunt. Brief definition video for your enjoyment, staring Mickey Mantle.
Marybeth Shea
Here
- 9-9:50
- 11-11:50
I IMPLORE you to get this latest round of ER Writing Task IN TONIGHT. Yet, I do have a work around as an absolute firm edge of deadline at Sunday Noon. Then, I make a new ER Reviewing Task and open this over the break for THOSE WHO WANT TO WORK thusly.
Take care in time of rest and relaxation.
Might I caution you about St. Patrick's day? The fun can go quickly into fearsome troubles. I do enjoy many types of adult beverages but am always shocked at the excell on a saint's day, the one of my country of origin. Newer research shows that St. Patrick's day for some is the gateway to binge drinking, a very serious problem for individuals, people who love them, and society writ large.
For fun -- after the sober PSA above -- read about AI and new paint colors. Janelle Shane combined color databases from paint companies along with names; then, she asked the "magic machine" to offer new paint colors with names. Imagine that you are at a surreal Home Depot paint chip display. Fun times. Lots of greens to contemplate.
If you come to class today, I will show you my Janelle Shane "Sudden Pine" tee-shirt. All the cool nerds either have one or want one or admire the swag.
