“The Empirical Kids” By David Brooks In 2013 David Brooks wrote a piece for the Opinion Page of The New York Times. The piece provoked responses that were both positive and negative to his argument. Interestingly, the crux of his argument is taken from a student he taught at Yale University named Victoria Buhler. Buhler’s analysis came from an assignment for Brooks’ Yale taught class that looked into Brook’s 2001 piece for The Atlantic called “The Organizational Kid”. This is important to note as it sheds light on how Buhler came to the conclusions she did. Furthermore, in reading “The Organizational Kid,” it is clear that despite only a twelve-year difference in age, the generation of Empirical Kids is quite different then the Organizational …show more content…
In having the article published by Yale Daily News, Zhang appealed to a narrower audience than readers of The New York Times. Zhang challenges Brooks’ critique of the current generation of young “wonskters.” It is quite evident that the rhetorical strategies Brooks employs fail to accurately depict what Zhang interprets as “Empirical Kids” being. Brooks employs ethos, pathos, and logos in attempting to appeal to his audience. Brooks is not an “Empirical Kid,” so he elicits the help of Buhler with his rhetorical strategy of ethos. Brooks states, “One terrifically observant senior, Victoria Buhler, wrote a paper trying to capture how it feels to be in at least a segment of her age cohort” (Brooks). His use of diction is an attempt to provide credibility to Buhler, as she is a terrifically observant student. However, what Brooks fails to acknowledge is the fact that Buhler represents a very demographic in being a Yale student. Even though she may have a better grasp of the “Empirical Kid” generation, does not mean she represents the viewpoints of everyone. Her Yale education suggests her values and arguments are more attached to well-educated middle to upper class. These individuals would be more likely to question such issues that are being