【Big Fish】03月15日Argument167--By FF

FloridaffUID: 2772878

题目：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.



In this article, the author concludes that a folk remedy --the scent in lavender  flowers-- for insomnia has been proved effective now. To support the conclusion, the author cites a recent study of 30 volunteers with chronic insomnia that shows this folk remedy can cure insomnia during a short period of time. Careful examination of this study, however, reveals that it lends little credible support to the author's conclusion.

First of all, the approach of this study conducted for whether the scent in lavender flowers has an positive effect on insomnia is neither very scientific nor convincing. The first fallacy of the study is that there is a lack of a control, in which volunteers with chronic insomnia slept each night for three weeks without lavender-scented pillows, compared with the original voluntees on lavender-scented pillows. Without such a control, it is possible concluded from the study that there are other reasons that cures insomnia, such as the medication' effect takes place right now and later in the third week. Furthermore, the author fails to rule out of the possibility that it is the medication's later effect and the lavender together that cure insomnia. Absent either such a control or further evidence, the author's conclusion that it is the scent in lavender flowers that cures insomnia is simply unjustified.

Secondly, even assuming that the study's approach is correct, the fact that lavender cures insomnia in a short period of time does not indicate necessarily that the scent in lavender flowers has been proved effective. It is likely that the first contact with new stuffs make an effect on volunteers with chronic insomnia. Besides, the author fails to account for the unrepresentative fact that only 30 volunteers and just three weeks of time cannot make such a justified conclusion. Unless the author can demonstrate that lavender has a long-term and practical effect on insomnia patients, the author's conclusion is unconvincing.

Thirdly, from the study cited in this article, however, we find no sign of how the volunteers felt during the third week, thus we could not evaluate the actual effect of lavender flowers on insomnia. Moreover, how soundly or long a person sleeps, or how tired a person feels after sleep, have no relationship with whether a person suffers from insomnia.

In summary, the arguer's argument mentioned above is not based on a valid study or sound reasoning, neither of which is dispensable for a conclusive argument. In order to draw a better conclusion, the author should reason more convincingly, cite some evidence that is more persuasive, and take every possible consideration into account.