Our drive from Swift Run Gap (milepost 65.7 , Elkton, Va) to Thornton Gap (milepost 31.5, Luray, Va) Swift Run Gap Entrance Station What they say: This is a preferred entrance to the park. Even on a Saturday, it was maybe a 10 minute wait. Lovely area but really wish NPS had two lanes for pass holders and people needing to buy passes. It can take 15–20 min to get in the park on the weekend because the line goes so slow What we say: What we saw: South River Picnic Area — First Hike What they say: South River Picnic Area is in the southern end of ..read more

If event B happens after event A, then event A must have caused event B. Of course, this isn’t necessarily the case. Consider these post hoc fallacy examples. Examining and explaining post hoc ergo propter hoc examples can help to illustrate how frequently people commit this type of logical fallacy. Hello, my name is Fidel Andrada. This strange Latin phrase translates as, “After this, therefore because of this.” In other words, if event B happens after event A, then event A must have caused event B. Of course, this isn’t necessarily the case. Consider these post hoc fallacy examples. Tru ..read more

Not the names of the Three Musketeers, but three terms ideally known for their rhetorical appeals. They are means of persuading others to believe a particular point of view. Hello, my name is Fidel Andrada. Ethos, Logos, and Pathos are are often used in speech writing and advertising to sway the audience. Meaning of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos Aristotle used these three terms to explain how rhetoric works: “Of the modes of persuasion furnished by the spoken word there are three kinds. The first kind depends on the personal character of the speaker [ethos]; the second on putting the ..read more

A paradoxical situation from which an individual cannot escape because of contradictory rules or limitations. Do you ever feel like you’re caught between a rock and a hard place? That, no matter what you choose, you’re not going to get the outcome you desire? You’re in a catch-22 situation. Hello, my name is Fidel Andrada. With these simple catch-22 examples, you’ll gain a better understanding of the term and how it applies to everyday situations. What Is a Catch-22? A catch-22 is a paradoxical situation with no apparent way out because of how conflicting or contradictory factors or rules keep ..read more

A dangling modifier is a type of misplaced modifier that modifies a word or phrase that is not clearly stated in a sentence. What is a Dangling Modifier? A dangling modifier is a type of misplaced modifier. A dangling modifier is incorrectly positioned because it doesn’t connect it to anything in the sentence. The word or words a dangling modifier describes have been omitted from the sentence. Hello, My name is Fidel Andrada. Dangling modifiers make the meaning of a sentence not easy to understand because it assumes the omitted part of the sentence is “a given;” that is, you’re assumed to alre ..read more

Redskins Top Dallas to their 3rd Straight Super Bowl I took Maureen to her first authentic Tex-Mex food at La Tolteca, a restaurant and sports bar near downtown Burke, Virginia where pictures of Dallas Cowboys hung on the wall in a gallery of other desperadoes. A sports bar near downtown Burke, Virginia “It’s interesting,” Maureen said of the corn tortillas that were stuffed with orange cheese and chopped onion and covered with a delicate brown chili gravy. “You can’t get this in Boston,” I said, “In Boston, you’ll get a swill of cottage cheese inside a pita bread with tomato sauce o ..read more

Unconscious bias is an inborn part of the ways people think. Dr. Patricia G. Devine In 2015, University of Wisconsin Professor, Patricia G. Devine, wanted to find out if there was anything we could do to lessen the impact of unconscious bias. Specifically, she looked at whether unconscious bias could be mitigated when it came to hiring in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM. Her own school’s STEM department only hired women at about a thirty-two percent rate. Even though about forty percent of stem doctorates are awarded to women. Dr. Devine suspected uncons ..read more

The answer that requires the fewest assumptions — is generally the correct one. All the way back in the 12th century, the Franciscan friar William of Ockham gave the world a rule: “Plurality must never be posited without necessity.” Put more simply, the simplest answer — that is, the answer that requires the fewest assumptions — is generally the correct one. In the 800-plus years since Friar William laid down his maxim, logicians have turned it into a rule: Occam’s Razor. Hello, my name is Fidel Andrada. Occam’s razor simply states that of any given set of explanations for an e ..read more

Have you ever been accused of being ambiguous? It means you’re being unclear or inexact. Hello, My name is Fidel Andrada. Ambiguity is a funny thing. Sometimes, people do it on purpose. Other times, they don’t know they’re doing it. Sometimes, people enjoy a little ambiguity because it feels like you’re solving a puzzle. Other times, they find it annoying and want you to just “come out with it.” In speech and writing, however, ambiguity can be a useful tool. In your speech, you might want to use ambiguity to make your audience consider things for themselves. In a creative writi ..read more

Syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning where you arrive at a specific conclusion by examining two other premises or ideas. Hello, my name is Fidel Andrada. Syllogism derives from the Greek word syllogismos, meaning conclusion or inference. Some syllogisms contain three components: Major Premise Minor Premise Conclusion The three components of syllogism For example, all roses are flowers (major premise). This is a rose (minor premise). Therefore, I am holding a flower (conclusion). Types of Syllogism The type of syllogism that typically contains these three components is a categorica ..read more