Argument167 【天道酬勤作文互改小组】第十四次作业

alarenmingUID: 2329302

TOPIC: ARGUMENT167 - A folk remedy* for insomnia, the scent in lavender flowers, has now been proved effective. In a recent study, 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia slept each night for three weeks on lavender-scented pillows in a controlled room where their sleep was monitored. During the first week, volunteers continued to take their usual sleeping medication. They slept soundly but wakened feeling tired. During the second week, the volunteers discontinued their medication. As a result, they slept less soundly than the previous week and felt even more tired. During the third week, the volunteers slept longer and more soundly than in the previous two weeks. This shows that over a short period of time lavender cures insomnia.
                                                                                                                                         
*A folk remedy is usually a plant-based form of treatment common to traditional forms of medicine, ones that developed before the advent of modern medical services and technology.
WORDS:393          TIME: 00:40:00          DATE: 2007-7-15 14:34:13

The author conclude that the folk remedy for insomnia has been proved effective based on a study. After carefully thinking and analogizing, I found the conclusion is not so firmly like apparently seeing. For the author only use a study to support his argument, I will mainly analogy from several aspects in the study.

First, 30 volunteers sampled for this study is insufficient to represent the study's value. Possibility that the 30 person are adapt to this kind of folk remedy, but to others the situation differ. Second, lacking of the key information about the volunteers, the author did not show us those people's background, living habits, even we do not sure whether those volunteers are or were suffered from insomnia. Sometimes volunteers can get reward after they have participated in such a research program. It is possible that some of them pretended patients with insomnia and intended to get some money. Third, If further study, some more series problems come out---the folk remedy is not the only parameter in the study. If we try to prove things changed for a factor, we should keep the other factors are the same before and after, which method usually used in a control. But consider this study, those people sampled for the study lived in a controlled room where their sleep was monitored. Researchers even change their sleep environment, In doing so, we have reason to doubt that it is the change of sleep environment which makes better sleep. It is possible that volunteers used live in a very noisy place which could be reason for their insomnia, or they feel safety when they in such a monitored room which can facilitate their sleep. Fourth, it is not a good method to make this people take their usually sleep medication. even in the third week, they have a better sleep situation, we can not contribute this to the folk remedy, who knows that it is not the potential medical effect delayed? So, the application of many false and non-scientific methods makes this study itself a mistake. How could we expect it to support the speaker’s idea?

In sum, the author try to use a study to support his conclusion is not enough, not to mention the study’s problems. If the author can think about question more perspective, then this argument could be more convincing.