argument 53 求大哥大姐给意见

wljffUID: 2616881

Argument53
Thirteen years ago, researchers studied a group of 25 infants who showed signs of mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli such as an unusual odor or a tape recording of an unknown voice. They discovered that these infants were more likely than other infants to have been conceived in early autumn, a time when their mothers' production of melatonin—a hormone known to affect some brain functions—would naturally increase in response to decreased daylight. In a follow-up study conducted earlier this year, more than half of these children—now teenagers—who had shown signs of distress identified themselves as shy. Clearly, increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life.

In this argument, the author concludes that the shyness during infancy and later life of a people is caused by the increased levels of melatonin. To support the conclusion, the author point out that these infant were more likely than other infants to have conceived in early autumn when their mothers' production of melatonin increase .The author also cited a follow-up study that conducted earlier this year which found that half of these children who had shown signs of distress identified themselves as shy.
At first glance, these reasoning seem to be appealing. However, a close scrutiny of the evidence would reveal that how groundless the evidences are. The argument is unconvincing for several critical fallacies that will be mentioned below.

To begin with, the author cited a study among a group of 25 infants who showed signs of mild distress. However, the author didn't mention whether these 25 infants are from different regions and whether they are representative enough. If they are from the same region, there may be the other possibilities that make them have signs of mild distress. Maybe the climate, the water they drink and the education they get result the feature they have. So if the author cannot rules out this possibility and makes the sample representative, we cannot make sure that it is the melatonin that makes these infants shy.

Secondly, another flaw that weaken the argument is that the evidence the author gave is not strong enough to conclude that it is the melatonin that make the infants shy, and it just a possibility. The author told us that the mothers of these infants are more likely to be pregnant in early autumn when they may produce more melatonin. However, the author didn’t tell us whether this hormone can affect the infant or whether melatonin can get in infant when they are conceived. And even the answer is yes, we should also know that what melatonin contains and how it can affect an infant. The author just tell us that the mothers are more likely to conceive in early autumn, and the information is so vague that we can really get the casual relationship between melatonin and the shyness of the infants.

Finally, the author gets the conclusion that this kind of hormone can affect these children’s later life which makes me so confused. Only half of the children show sign of distress and the author concludes that their later lives were affected by the hormone. Then what about the rest half children? Besides, the author didn’t mention that these children live in the same circumstance and have the same way to grow up. It is very possible that the ways they grow up make them what they are not just the certain hormone they get from their mother.

In sum, the argument is unconvincing and logically unpersuasive as it stands. To strengthen the argument, the author need to provide what the melatonin contains and how the melatonin works to make the infants shy to demonstrate the conclusion. And the author should rules out all the possibilities that other facts that make the infants them to have sign of mild distress. After that, we can get the conclusion.

wljffUID: 2616881

跪求大家给意见啊 自己顶顶

wljffUID: 2616881

求拍啊 有拍必回