The podcast made me think about why we as humans react a certain way. Why do we have an egocentric mindset where all blame is placed on others? Why is it always about ourselves? We tend to look the other way when we are the ones to blame. In our society, there is always someone above an individual, in power, money, and social status. Due to that authoritative power, we don’t see ourselves in a spot with those rights or influence.

This podcast argues that the impact we have on others is often greater than we give credit for. Through the usage of pathos, the host was able to connect a personal feeling to the audience. Through Vanessa Bohns’s experience by asking people to do a survey or borrow their phone, it evokes a relation to the audience, putting them in her shoes. Most people in their lifetime had to speak with strangers- maybe ask someone for a donation or even a date- and most people don’t expect an acceptance or money. Bohns describes the event as a feeling of distress when one does ask a stranger for assistance and expects a rejection. However, she points out how because of our egocentric nature, we often see the whole revolving around us, we don’t think how we can influence others. So, people tend to not think about the stress it puts on the stranger. It is “painful” for them to reject a person like Bohns, an anxious young woman, which is why we aren’t aware of this impact.

The Milgrams Experiment was to test how people would react when someone of more power orders them to do something morally wrong, would they continue and put the blame on the experimenter for putting them in an unethical situation or stop. For ethos, the host helps establish the credibility of the research through professors and researchers from a renowned university. While the audience does not know the educational background of the host, they would be more likely to trust someone with a degree. By inviting Stanley Milgram, the lead researcher of this experiment at Yale University, with an in-person experience of the experiment and data collected, it makes it seem more legit. And through the assistance of logos, Milgram’s data seems more valid as there were several trials of the same experiment and found consistent data of where more than 50% of the teacher volunteers used way up to 450 volts on the other volunteer. This reinforces the influence of people that people tend not to think about.

It is a norm for parents in Asian households to not show affectionate love and care to their children. I remember several times where I would tell my parents that I was craving for a specific fruit or food. However, I wasn’t expecting them to continuously buy the same item until I was tired of eating it. I have come to realize that, that is their way of showing affection. I never realized how much of an impact I was to them, and I pity myself for not recognizing their efforts. A mere craving, turned into weeks of eating the same food because my parents use the only method they know to express their care.