COMA101- EVT

I can never lose someone who I never had.

In the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten days, the lead stars dive into a game of wits as the two try to outsmart each other and thereby, acomplishing their personal plans. But did they really do so?
Andie is a smart girl. Had a post-graduate degree, got her self a good job and the ideals of a real woman. Ben, on the other hand is a cunning advertising executive. Andie is on the mission to find, date and lose a guy while Ben has to find date and make a woman fall in love with him - all of these in just ten days.

But as these two try to wrestle with fate and find ways to acomplish their plans, Andie and Ben accidentally find each other in love- unexpectedly.

Burgoon’s Expectancy Violation Theory is seen in the movie for a couple of times. EVT attempts to explain people’s reactions to unexpected behavior. Expectancies are primarily based upon social norms. Andie and Ben’s first date for example, where a lot of Ben’s expectations were not met by Andie’s bahavior (driven by her goal to turn him off).

Consequently, when a violation occurs in the relationship and expectations are not met, arousals and reactions happen in the person’s cognitive functions. These reactions may be classified as positive or negative, nonetheless, reactions are still present.

However, in the movie, even if Andie violates much of the expectations of Ben, where the social norms demands for negative reacton, he remains persistent. Maybe it was because of his own personal plans too, but at the end of the day, it just wasn’t.

No matter how hard they tried to outwit and outplay each other, still, they ended up falling in love. No matter how hard Andie tries to be a bitch and lose that one guy who she learned to love, it was still to no avail. No matter how hard Ben tries to control his feelings he unconsciously falls very hard with Andie.

Here, we see that even the EVT can be a tool to acomplish one’s plans and still fail when emotion strikes. Yes, EVT can help one to have the desired outcome but still, it should be noted that focus is crucial. No matter how hard we try to manipulate and gain the upper hand, we just can’t. Love is such a powerful competion.
At the middle of the movie, when Ben appeared to have been turne off by Andie, I thought and thought really hard about this thing that my blocmate said: shouldn’t he be turned on first so that Andie can turn him off?

What a crazy world. Aye.

word count: 451

'nuff said, simpliciter. [Coma101 assignment]

Is Parsimony always a good thing?

Parsimony. My Biotechnology and Society teacher once used to tell us during exams : "Only 27 words or less, the simpler, the better. " But is this really so?

Parsimony, in the context of theories (whether scientific or rhetorical) is a rule which states that ideas/ thoughts need not to be multiplied or repeated. In communication theories, Parsimony is applied when the simplest between two or more theories is preferred to explain phenomena.

To someone who loves a simple life, this may sound good, if not great. But there's a bit of a downside to this simpliciter frenzy. Yes, it eliminates the rough and chaotic world of confusion, but should really be content of this twisted image of simplicity? No.

Just imagine a world where theories need not to be expanded just because of the justification that theory X is simpler compared to theory Y even if it does not necessarily explain the phenomena. The irony: instead of having a simpler world, chaos breeds in.

In the classroom setting, for example. A certain student may ask the teacher about certain measurements of a right triangle, thus the Pythagorean Theorem is needed; but, instead, because of the Parsimonial premise, the teacher then would not mind to explain that a2+b2 = c2 but rather just blabber that 1+1 = 2. Why? because it is simpler. Period. No fuss.

So, what's the point? Mediocrity. Even sometimes, degradation of standards. Really, in a chaotic world, who would not want a simple life? But what if this simplicity would cause the human mind to just nod and believe what's there already- again, just because it's simple. Some may find this as "kill joy" but the reality is far more than that. We are made with a constantly seeking and critical mind in a constantly expanding Universe.

Another thing is that Parsimony limits the individuals from discovering their talents, personality and other equally important factors that cushion the growth of humanistic being. Bob Ong once wrote in his book, Stainless Longganissa, that it is "just fine to grow old, be tall and do nothing- if you are a tree, that is!" The same thing is true with Parsimony, it's okay to choose the simpler ones than the complex theories and be content with it as long as you are a tree. I'm not a tree.

Thus, Parsimony, although it may sound really nice, but no thanks, anyway. Constant searching for the truth and critical analysis should always be observed. It is a de facto duty for everyone to scrutinize and weight down things to their true measure.

You have a thing that weighs three pounds inside that skull, it's called "brain", don't just be content, contend. Use it.

word count: 452