Argument88，有拍必回，拍不嫌多

落雪飞花2008UID: 2579536

TOPIC: ARGUMENT88 - The following appeared in a newsletter about health published in the country of Sauria.

"According to Sauria's leading nutritional experts, a diet high in complex carbohydrates, and low in fat is optimal for good health and longevity. Because this was the diet of the people who lived in ancient Sauria, one would expect them to have had long and healthy lives. Yet the mummified remains of Sauria's ruling classes from two to three thousand years ago show the existence of many medical problems among the ancient Saurians, including dental problems, elevated blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and early mortality. Clearly, the diet of the ancient Saurians was responsible for these problems. The high incidence of high blood pressure, obesity, and heart disease in Sauria today even among those who have tried low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets further proves that Sauria's leading nutritional experts are wrong."
根据Sauria的权威营养专家的看法，碳水化合物含量高而脂肪含量低的饮食对于健康和长寿是最为有利的。由于古代Sauria的居民所吃的就是这类饮食，我们可以推测他们应该健康而且长寿。然而一两千年前Sauria统治阶级的木乃伊残骸显示古代Sauria人存在很多疾病，包括牙齿疾患，高血压，肥胖，心脏病和早夭。显然，古代Sauria人的饮食是这些疾患的原因。今天Sauria那些既便尝试了低脂肪高碳水化合物饮食的人中也存在的高血压，肥胖和心脏病的较高发病率进一步证明了Sauria权威营养学家是错误的。

WORDS: 251
TIME: 01:00:00
DATE: 2010-1-21 下午 09:37:49
提纲：
1、没有信息说那些木乃伊在世时都是吃低脂的食物。或许他们得病是因为其他原因比如压力，比如生活过于安逸
2、没说现在的S居民的具体得病时间，或许健康的饮食方法是他们得病后的一种治疗方法，还可能他们的病是一种遗传病，与饮食无关


The argument represented above is reasonable at first glance. However, after examining the argument carefully, several fallacies about the conclusion that Sauria's leading nutritional experts are wrong will be found out.

First, the author' conclusion is based on an false assumption that all the mummified remains of Sauria's ruling classes had a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet when they were alive. Even though it is mentioned that this diet was adopted by the people lived in ancient Sauria, it does not mean that all the ruling classes ate like that. Therefore, the medical problems among the ancient Saurians, such like dental problems, elevated blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and early mortaluty,cannot be resulted from the diet. Even though the assumption is true,which is obviously unwarranted ,there might be other reasons for why the medical problems happened on the ancient Saurians.It is possible that the ruling class were under huge pressure because of their conflicts for power and money,which contributed to their health failures. In addition,perhaps the ruling people were too occupied with enjoying a excessively comfortable life to do exercises to keep fit. All in all, many alternatives leading to those medical problems are negelected by the author.

The author also commits a fallacy of hasty generalization. He fails to survey the further information about when today's Sauria have the medical problems presented above, before the diet or after the diet? Perhaps those involved people got the diseases before the diet, and the diet is just a cure solution recommonded by the doctor. Or maybe many of the medical diseases are family disease, which is carried over to their next generation by gene. In that case,the diseases have nothing to do with the diet.

In conclusion, if the author want to prove the experts’ opinion is wrong, more detailed information about the surveyed Saurians should be provided.