Then It Hit Me

"I didn't know why that Frisbee was getting bigger. Then, it hit me!" This is a quote that is quite commonly, and humorously, found on T-shirts or bumper stickers. What, you may ask, does that have ANYTHING to do with Post 7? *grins* Well, I shall tell you.

Joseph Harris explains in his book "Rewriting" a concept he calls "forwarding." It derives its name from the "foward" function of email, and it could not be more aptly labeled. Forming the basis of nearly all academic writing, forwarding embraces the concept of continual discussion. I propose that an original text is much like a Frisbee, laying on the ground. A text is usually written to be read, and not to lay stagnant. A reader comes along, picks the Frisbee up, and slings it in another direction. He has taken the text, digested it, and given it a new spin. There are many ways to do so. Harris outlines four main ideas, but, basically, one may add to the original ideas, embrace the original ideas, think about the original idea to develop your own point, or use the idea as back-up for your own. Every single time we make a blog post, in some form or fashion, we forward another thought. We must read something, and provide our own thoughts. We may or may not directly incorporate the ideas (via quoting or what-not), but we did form the basis of our opinion through something else. We have picked the Frisbee up, and tossed it to the class at large.

I found a rather interesting piece of Frisbee slinging over at Hot Air. John Cook wrote an interesting article about a scandal involving the governor of New York, John Spencer. Cook has assumed that there would be a squabble-fest between the PR individuals and the press, and in order to prove it, he and a buddy accessed a massive stack of emails between the two crowds. (PR and press). He was astounded at what he found. Far from a cut throat battle, the PR and press were attempting to help each other out and prevent a blood bath! In order to prove this, Cook directly incorporated the emails into his articles. Note, not quoted, but directly incorporated scanned copies of them. After showing the actual emails, he briefly explained each point the email made, and how it proved his point. He has kinda stopped his Frisbee from flying. He caught the journalist's Frisbee, and now, he's plunked it down on a picnic table, and is daring anyone to move it. *grins* I guess, in retrospect, I have now jerked his Frisbee away from him and have slung it to you.