Response papers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Response papers - Essay Example Being involved in sports as school children, athletes do not realize that emulating the big league is a useless, futile and expensive proposition, as there is no income and no media adulation. Parents' and society expectations take a serious toll on the athletes, with extreme peer pressure to succeed. This leads to suicides and depression in a very large number of school athletes, who lead their lives bearing the burden of expectations of their families and their school team coaches. In the article, Bissinger has explained in some detail the excesses that constitute a school sports system becoming an obsession. Although suicide and extreme emotional stress is talked about, a mention of the organizations and support groups who help these school kids would have not only exhibited the despair, but would have shown us the hope. Man is a social animal, and physical attractiveness is an important part of social interaction. The human baby is almost universally considered cute, as are the young of several other species. A case in point was Tai Shan the Panda, who generated an almost global wave of adoration when he was displayed in a zoo. Natalie Angier explains through an extensive range of examples, the advantages and the evolutionary need of being 'cute', whether for an animal, a human, or a product. The article explains the importance of humans finding their and other species' young cute as it evokes a desire of care-giving. Due to the physical vulnerability of human infants, evoking such a response in adults ensures their very survival. There are distinct physical traits in animals we find cute, such as forward facing eyes, a sideways walk and floppy ears, that we find appear enhanced and more prominent in children's' cartoon characters, at the cost of authenticity. The author cites evolutionary evidence and shows that humans are genetically hardwired to react positively to their young's need for care. Children's products all over the world exploit this uncontrollable charm in cute objects, by creating products that are found so by their target buyer. Everything from cars to dolls have been designed to evoke this emotion. The article does go into reasonable depth on the anthropological and psychological aspects of this perception, but could have additionally touched upon the potentially dangerous cosmetic surgeries that are performed all over the world to achieve attractiveness. The author could also have touched upon the distinction between feelings of care-giving and feelings of pity, as felt while looking at a malnourished child on TV. It will answer the question whether the feelings of adoration are stronger, or of pity. "Talk about editing" response paper Newspapers have served as a barometer of the times for more than a century, and the New York Times is an established name in daily newspapers, known all over the world for its objectivity and lucidity of style and content. An important part of the newspaper is the op-ed page, where anyone with an opinion and point of view on any topic may submit an article and have it printed. David Shipley's article explains in detail the process by which a submitted article is edited, including the importance of maintaining the purity of thought and the constant interaction of the editorial staff with the writer throughout the process. Editing starts with spelling and grammatical