Rhetoric and Bits

a canopy of citrus trees on the UA campus

This semester's English Comp teacher is intensely focused upon rhetoric; he's clearly passionate about the art of persuasion. Me? Not so much. I'd rather share a perspective than try to cleverly convince someone of my view. (In full disclosure, I'm thinking that my distrust of classic rhetoric probably stems from spending nearly twenty years as a secretary to attorneys.) Supposedly, there is no such thing as conversation without rhetoric, but then that depends upon how one defines it, yes? That said, I am happy to learn about rhetoric and to figure out how it fits into my own writing style.

Coincidentally, this morning I was listening to one of Krista Tippett's On Being podcasts and it mentioned rhetoric in the context of science, and how scientific rhetoric can express lack of appropriate humility in light of our vast ignorance as we creep along learning bit-by-bit. The podcast is titled "The Mystery We Are," which can be heard HERE, and is a facilitated dialogue between Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson and Professor of Physics Marcelo Gleiser. This is a fascinating conversation!

Finally, for those of you who like my freestyle metaphorical writing, a new piece called Leaf on the Wind is over On the Gaia Path...