最后的战役 第二周 argument 53 by adam

adam05UID：2670502

53Thirteen 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.
My type:
Recently, some researchers indicate that increased levels of melatonin before birth cause shyness during infancy and this shyness continues into later life just depend on a few researches. After a careful examination, this passage will reveal how unreasonable the argument is.
First of all, the data collected from the study is not reliable. The survey which was based on only 25 infants and one generation does not support the assumption strongly. Whether most of the infants, or large portion of infants conceived in early autumn have the same symptom is open to double. Even though researchers studied lots of infants and more generations, the conclusion also can not be reasonable. Because that infants show mild distress when exposed to unfamiliar stimuli such as an unusual odor or a tape recording of an unknown voice is not a special symptom. It is normal that people show distress to unfamiliar things in daily life even for adults. So the assumption is clearly unreliable.
Furthermore, the arguer also fails to prove the melatonin is the essential factor that affects the infants, the daylight of winter in the north hemisphere are more insufficient than that of autumn, does it come that the infants conceived in winter are more like to be shy? No evidence shows that. Admitted that daylight truly effects, as we know, an infant is usually born after 10 months' pregnancy, 10 months duration makes enough possibility to experience the autumn time, in fact, only the infants conceived in the earlier winter avoid spending autumn in their mothers' matrix, therefore most of us will be considered shy according to the arguer. That’s nothing but ironic.
Last but not least, comparing with congenital factor, experiences after born have a more deep effect on infants. Many elements will affect children during the growing up such as living conditions, social environment, education, friends, parents and so on. Dislike the pure conditions when they are all infants, after they become to know more and more about things around them, they will be what they really want to be including be shy. So, it is possibly true that most of the children identified themselves as shy are affected by their living environment instead of melatonin inherited from their mother.
From what has been discussed, the arguer's conclusion is neither scientific nor practical and unable to establish the casual relationship between the increased levels of melatonin and the shyness during infancy and later life. To make his argument sounder, he should rebuild the survey on a larger group and rule out the factors above that weaken his reasoning.