Popular beliefs and opinions of the masses in society often become social norms. Challenges to these social norms can cause large-scale social changes or transitions. Examples of such events include women's suffrage, the Occupy movement, and falsified racial stereotypes. However, popular opinions, influenced by the media, businesses and community members, are sometimes wrong. “Welcome to Cancerland,” written by Barbara Ehrenreich, and “Beautiful Brains,” written by David Dobbs share the similar goal of dispelling common myths and stereotypes of specific social groups. Ehrenreich's essay claims that businesses and community members are popularizing the "sisterhood of breast cancer" celebration while stemming the push. This can be used as a persuasive technique, because it allows the reader to feel more confident in the words they are reading. Ehrenreich's anecdote is extraordinarily effective, because it transforms the events of a “normal” day into the new, horrible lifestyle associated with cancer. She describes the stop at the doctors as a “…mammogram guide, a stop in a series of mundane missions…” (Ehrenreich 43). Her use of the words “driving” and “mundane” exemplifies the tedious and relatively quick task that awaits her, with no surprises and simple routine. When Ehrenreich discovers, however, that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, he refuses to accept that conclusion and examines the slides. Dobbs' anecdote serves a similar purpose to allow the reader, especially parents, to relate the actions of their teenagers to the actions committed by Dobbs. son. In his anecdote, Dobbs recalls a story in which his teenage son was stopped by a police officer on the highway for driving 113 miles per hour. Dobbs, who wanted “an opportunity to… yell at him,” fell short due to his son's incredibly apologetic attitude and “irritatingly reasonable” remarks (Dobbs 156). Dobbs' son realized the dangers and risks involved in his high-speed adventure, but committed the act anyway. This prompts Dobbs to ask questions that many parents would ask in such a situation; questions like “What's wrong with these kids? Why do they behave this way?" (Dobbs 157). By asking these questions, Dobbs represents himself as do most parents, demonstrating his credibility in the eyes of his parental readers. As a result, parents would most likely be more interested in read what Dobbs proposes and would potentially be more influenced by his argument. However, Dobbs differs from the typical parent in this situation in that he refers to science to explain his child's action, whereas normal parents would use their own judgment. While While most parents believe that adolescent brains are not fully developed, Dobbs delves into the scientific reason behind this accusation, citing multiple