【超越自我小组】8月18日作业argument105

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TOPIC: ARGUMENT105 - The following appeared in a health newsletter.

"According to a recent study, people with many social ties report catching colds less often than do people with few social ties. Consequently, researchers conclude that having an active social life probably helps strengthen the immune system. The researchers note that catching a cold-one of a family of highly contagious viruses-gives the cold-sufferer temporary immunity to that virus in the future, but not to the many other related viruses. Merely being exposed to a new cold virus, however, is not enough for a person to catch a cold, since a strong immune system can successfully fight off some new viruses. Thus, in order to prevent catching a cold, people should strengthen their immune systems by becoming more active socially."
WORDS: 373          TIME: 00:30:00          DATE: 2008-8-18 21:31:25

In the news letter, the arguer asserts that the people should become more active socially for strengthening their immune systems. The conclusion is based on a series of survey. First, people who with many social ties less catch cold than the people who without. Second, people can immunity to a certain virus, when they are contagious of a certain cold. Third, a new virus is not enough for a person to catch cold. The strength of the conclusion is relied on some unsubstantiated assumption, as discussed below.

To begin with, the author fails to rule out the possibility that the less caught cold mere due to the more social activities. Actually, it is entirely possible that people who have a immune system strong enough is the reason for they take more social activities. If so, how that author rely on such confusion to reasonable conclude an opposite result.

Second, there is no evidence to lend any support that if people encounter a new virus, the immunity system can strong enough to fight off it. Common sense inform me that no one can assure when a person meet a totally new virus, he can make it through without contagious. Take SARS for example; there are thousand of people suffering from the infection. Therefore, without giving any evidence to make sure people will not be infected, the author's confidence can not convince me.

Third, even taking more social activities do help a lot to fight against a bad cold, the author overlooks the feasibility of the solution. On one hand, those people who often go to the public areas are much easier to contact with new virus. The more they contact with new virus, the more possibilities they are contagious. On the other hand, the people who have a weaker immune system take more social activities, which could lead an even worse consequence.

In short, if there is no detail evidence to make sure the cause-effect relationship between catching colds and people's social ties, the author's assertion can not be consider as a strong one. Also, to prove the conclusion, we need an evidence of people can fight against most of the new virus, without these, it is hardly to be a sound argument.