ToW 21: The Fermi Paradox

http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/fermi-paradox.html

     This article by Tim Urban of Wait But Why attempts to explain in fairly simple terms the Fermi Paradox, which is the idea that, despite there being incomprehensibly large amounts of earth-like planets around sun-like stars in the universe, why we have never discovered any other life, intelligent or non-intelligent. He does this by breaking this complex and large topic down into simpler pieces, using a casual tone.

     One important detail to note about Wait But Why articles is that they have a very specific audience- they are not hosted anywhere and are posted in more of a blog format, meaning that not too many people run across the site by chance, and the site doesn't interest everybody as well, so the people who do stay are often big fans of the blog, and Urban recognizes and makes use of this in order to causally write, and become closer to his audience than a writer might usually

     This combination of casual tone and the style of explanatory writing allows Urban to effectively and extensively explain this complex topic, and in a way that is incredibly fascinating to those who read it. Urban achieves his purpose in this way, which is to spread the knowledge that he had learned for himself out of curiosity to those who also might be interested in this topic.

ToW 20: Raise the Legal Age for Cigarette Sales to 21

     This article that appeared in the New York Times from their editorial board, and outlines an argument for raising the legal cigarette purchase age to 21. Some of the main points are that it would help to prevent cigarette addiction from taking root in a still-developing brain, as well as prevent those under the age if eighteen from gaining access to cigarettes, as they usually get them from sligtlynolder friends and relatives, who would be old enough to purchase cigarettes for minors, but still too young to recognize the damage it may cause. It's estimated that this law would prevent over 200,000 premature deaths due to cigarettes, as well as collectively add over 4 million years of life, claims the article.

     The use of hard facts in the article helps with its purpose, which is to convince the general population that raising the legal age is a good idea. It also utilizes counter-argument by bringing up arguments against itself, such as the idea that this law would infringe on young persons' rights, and then countering these arguments, such as by stating that there was clear public support.

     Overall, the article argues very well that the higher legal age would be a very good idea, and that it should be implemented and enforced, and even brings up states such as Hawaii that have already done so, and improvements that they've seen.