argument 188 求批

boyhc202UID: 2871922

TOPIC: ARGUMENT188 - A new report suggests that men and women experience pain very differently from one another, and that doctors should consider these differences when prescribing pain medications. When researchers administered the same dosage of kappa opioids-a painkiller-to 28 men and 20 women who were having their wisdom teeth extracted, the women reported feeling much less pain than the men, and the easing of pain lasted considerably longer in women. This research suggests that kappa opioids should be prescribed for women whenever pain medication is required, whereas men should be given other kinds of pain medication. In addition, researchers should reevaluate the effects of all medications on men versus women.
WORDS: 433          TIME: 00:51:19          DATE: 2010-8-6 15:03:17
The author of the passage above claims that researchers should reevaluate the effects of all medications on men versus women because of the result of a study, which reveals that kappa opioids is more efficient and effective for women than it for men. But whether the study is reliable is remain to be seen. Following are some critical fallacies I find from the study, which render the conclusion incredible.
The main problem I want to point out is the reliability of the study. From what the author mentioned above, we are informed that only 48 people respond to the study. It seems the quantity of invesgators is very small, and it is hard to draw conclusion from insufficient evidence. It is possibile that other than these 48 people, many other women will feel much more pain than the men or equal to the men, which report the completely opposite result from what the author cites. Little samples cannot be representative of the whole. If the author can't provide further information to illustrate these samples are representative, I'm doubtful about the assumption.
Secondly, without ruling out the possibilities that may lead to the pain, medications can't account for the pain. The therapy or the treatment method also result in the difference between two groups. Such as, women were treated in a new method, which could reduce the pain of the body, while, men weren't taken good care of, and were given a normal therapy. That is to say, medication is not one and only the reason for the result. Lacking any evidence to exclude other reasons, the assumption remains unbelievable.
Furthermore, even if we accept author's assumption above, we still can't agree with author's conclusion strongly. As we know, kappa opioids is just one kind of painkillers, people differ in sex response differently in taking it doesn't mean people will response in different ways in taking other kinds of medications. In addition, the research is conducted in dentistry, while, the author provides no evidence to demostrate that kappa opioids can be used in other fields. For example, people's nerves around teeth are sensitive to the stimulate from medications, while other part of the body is not. So no more details are given to make it understandable.
All in all, the invalidity of the study makes the conclusion unwarranted. If the author wants to bolster its conclusion, he should extend the number of invesgators to make the response more credible. What's more, the author also need to provide more information about the medication they took, because other interferences may lead little indication to the assumption.