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  • - [David] Hello, readers.

  • Today I wanna begin with a brief aside about physics.

  • Unless you're like a quantum particle or something,

  • it's not possible to be in two places at once,

  • nor is it possible to travel in two directions at once.

  • Right, if I'm on a train from Chicago to Pittsburgh,

  • I can't simultaneously be on a train from Chicago to Omaha.

  • So my body can't travel in two directions at once,

  • but my mind can.

  • What, what?

  • I know, it is possible to think two ideas at the same time,

  • ideas that are equally important

  • but may not necessarily support one another.

  • I can be thinking,

  • it's hot outside and I'm late for my train,

  • and those two ideas can have equal weight in my mind.

  • The same thing can happen in texts.

  • An essay, or an argument,

  • or a book can have two or more main ideas.

  • It's a train that can go east to Pittsburgh

  • and west to Omaha at the same time.

  • This is a confusing idea.

  • When you look at an essay, you think,

  • what's the main idea in this text?

  • What is the author trying to tell me,

  • or what position are they trying to convince me of?

  • So how can there be room for more than one idea?

  • How can we tell that a piece has two main ideas

  • and not just one idea with supporting evidence?

  • All right, here's an example of two main ideas.

  • Sharks are deadly predators and fierce hunters.

  • They hunt with sharp teeth, incredibly sensitive noses,

  • and the ability to sense the electrical current

  • of a living body.

  • Many people are afraid of sharks,

  • because encounters with them can be fatal.

  • That's paragraph one.

  • However, sharks need to be protected,

  • because they are important to ocean ecosystems.

  • Their roles as high-level predators ensures

  • that they maintain population levels of smaller fish,

  • which in turn maintains the balance of ocean plant life.

  • If there were no sharks, algae could take over the ocean.

  • Now, both of these paragraphs are about sharks.

  • So in once sense, it's true that the passage

  • as a whole is about sharks.

  • Gonna just draw a little shark.

  • He's so scary.

  • Look at those very sharp teeth. (laughs)

  • Anyway, the topic is sharks,

  • but what's the idea here in each paragraph?

  • Paragraph one says, "Sharks are deadly, and here is why."

  • And paragraph two says, "It's because of their deadliness

  • "that they need to be protected,

  • "because big predator species balance ecosystems."

  • These are two ideas that are separate but interrelated.

  • Sharks are deadly.

  • Sharks need protecting.

  • On its face, those two ideas almost seem

  • like they contradict each other

  • or cancel each other out,

  • but they are two separate threads that each support

  • the overall topic of sharks.

  • They are two distinct ideas here with equal importance.

  • This passage teaches us that A,

  • sharks are deadly, so they are scary,

  • and B, deadly animals must be protected,

  • because they are important.

  • Neither of these ideas are more

  • or less important than one another.

  • They are both main ideas.

  • When you're considering whether or not there

  • are two or more main ideas, ask yourself,

  • are both x and y equally important understandings

  • from this passage,

  • or is it just one idea supporting another?

  • So with this in mind,

  • you too can learn to travel in two directions at once

  • with the power of your mind and the power of reading.

  • You can learn anything, David out.

  • How can you be in two places at once

  • When you're not anywhere at all

- [David] Hello, readers.

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