Kendra Cobb
College Prep English
Argumentation Essay Analysis/Response
December 14, 2016
College Prep English
Argumentation Essay Analysis/Response
December 14, 2016
Argumentative Essay Analysis
- We do not naturally and automatically acquire “intellectual depth” and habits of deep reflection,” Pinker writes (10). According to Pinker, how and when--in what kind of institutions--do we develop these capacities?
In “Mind Over Mass Media,” Steven Pinker writes about how we are not born with any intellectual depth and discusses how and when we develop these capabilities. In this article we gain this intellectual depth when we attend colleges and have constructive criticism. Pinker says, “They must be acquired in special institutions, which we call universities, and maintained with constant upkeep, which we call analysis, criticism, and debate” (561). This shows that we develop this intellectual depth when we attend these universities. The other art of the question is how do we develop intellectual depth. Pinker states that “Far from making us stupid, these technologies are the only things that will keep us smart” (561). At the beginning of this paragraph, he talks about how our knowledge is increasing and humans cannot keep up. Technology helps us manage our time and make more use of the hours that there are in a day (561). To gain the intellectual depth, humans have to use different form of technology to increase the knowledge in them. Humans do not just gain intellectual depth. They have to work and earn it. They must use technology at universities to expand their knowledge.