Watch or listen to 10 minutes of a political talk show — or an infomercial — on television. If possible, record the program so you can replay it.
- Before watching, take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle so there are 2 columns. Title one column “facts” and the other column “inferences”. Read your textbook for the definitions of these words.
- While you are watching the program, mark down as many individual factual statements and inferences as you can.
- When the 10 minutes is up, count the marked in each column.
- Figure out the ratio between thee 2 columns (for example, 1 to 1, 1 to 2, or 1 to 3).
How did evaluating the facts/inferences used, and understanding the ratio between the two, change your perception of the messages in the program?
Discuss how following concepts relate to what you watched:
- Types of arguments
- Straw person
- Refutation pattern
- Propositions of fact, policy, value
Required Texts:
