The most intriguing issue for me what was discussed in class on Tuesday was the one concerning the extent to which all sources will be viewed as having equal authority, weight, and veracity, regardless of the author or quality.  The point was that, since sources from both experts and laypersons can appear on the Internet, there’s a danger that people, particularly students, won’t navigate through sources with discretion, and will treat them as all being of equal worth.  Basically, the point is that there’s no filter to eliminate untrustworthy and unreliable sources,and students will be just as likely to select these ones as they are reliable ones.  This interests me because it seems to me that, to the extent that people don’t examine sources and arguments critically and thoughtfully, there is a risk of people being influence by unreliable sources since they are so prevalent on the Internet, and they frequently appear on commonly used search engines such as Google.

I’ll probably research Prince William Forest Park.  The three historical topics that I’m considering researching are: 1) the history of the CCC in relation to its projects on the park grounds,because I’ve actually stayed in a cabin there before, which was built by the CCC, so it’d be interesting to learn about its background; 2) the history of the OSS and how the park was used as a spy-training facility,because I’d be interested in learning about some of the activities that have taken place there so I have greater perspective and understanding of the park when I visit; 3) the history of the people who lived in the area prior to the establishment of the park, because it’ll help me appreciate the kinds of lives people led there in the past whenever I visit.