argument53 FLY AW小组第41次作业

夜一UID: 2130338

Argument53  第7篇 让砖头来得更猛烈些吧！
------摘要------
作者：寄托家园作文版普通用户     共用时间：30分7秒     388 words
从2006年6月13日23时52分到2006年6月14日0时30分
------题目------
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.
------正文------
The arguer asserts that increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life. To support this conclusion, the arguer has analyzed the situations of 25 infants and their following teenager lives. However, the arguer's assertion is not convincing enough to be accepted by others.

First of all, it is unverified to claim that the infants' signs of mild distress indicate shyness. Obviously, the mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli can be caused by many other passions, such as unhappiness or anxiety. An unusual odor can make infants uncomfortable and unpleasant, while a tape recording of an unknown voice can make them afraid and anxious. As a result, without detailed study of the causes of such signs of mild distress, it is too arbitrary to regard such signs as shyness.

Besides, even if the infants' signs of mild distress indicate shyness, it is unreasonable to attribute such shyness to molatonin. On one hand, 25 infants are too few to represent the general situation. On the other hand, molatonin is no more than one of the possible reasons of such shyness. Other similar conditions of these infants should be also considered, such as heights, weights, blood categories, health status, events having happened before birth, and other hormones that affect brain or nervous functions. Nevertheless, the arguer takes one possible cause for granted, rather than consider the situation comprehensively. In fact, no evidence demonstrates that increased levels of melatonin before birth impact on shyness during infancy.

Furthermore, it is unsubstantiated to deduce from the mentioned follow-up study that the shyness continues into later life. On one hand, the credibility of the teenagers' self identified shyness is doubtful, as no one can ensure that these teenagers are able to identify themselves objectively and correctly. On the other hand, no additional information shows that such shyness results from early infancy rather than affairs happened in following years, such as little communication with others, unhappy family events, or uncomfortable school lives. Therefore, the arguer does not have enough evidence to support this deduction.

In conclusion, it is unverified either to conclude from the study of infants that increased levels of melatonin before birth, or to deduce from the follow-up study that this shyness continues into later life. Hence, the arguer's assertion is neither reasonable nor believable.