美丽心灵第四次作业：argu194 请多指教~~
TOPIC: ARGUMENT194 - A recent study suggests that people who are left-handed are more likely to succeed in business than are right-handed people. Researchers studied photographs of 1,000 prominent business executives and found that 21 percent of these executives wrote with their left hand. So the percentage of prominent business executives who are left-handed (21 percent) is almost twice the percentage of people in the general population who are left-handed (11 percent). Thus, people who are left-handed would be well advised to pursue a career in business, whereas people who are right-handed would be well advised to imitate the business practices exhibited by left-handers.
WORDS: 454 TIME: 00:54:02 DATE: 2008-7-24 1:14:23
In this argument, the author recommends that all left-handed people should pursue a career in business while the right-handed ones should imitate actually what the left-handers do. A survey involving photographs of 1000 prominent business executives are provided by the author to suppprt his recommendation. While the argument appears plausible at the first glance, close scrutiny reveals that the assumptions based on series of substantiated evidence, rendering it not conclusive as it primarily stands.
Firstly, the author tries to establish a causal link between left-handedness and business success. The photographs of 1000 using-left-hand executives are the only evidence he cites. However, it is entirely possible that aside from left-handedness, one or other factors will equally play an important role in business success. Such alternatives may include personal diligence, interest, commercial opportunities, and so forth. It is entirely possible that one of the executives on the photographs endeavor more attention on his business work and fortunately he just come across an macroeconomic prosperity when the market is sufficient with business opportunities that lead he or she gained the first "bulk of gold." Besides, a sample of 1000 left-handeders might be insufficient in amount to ensure the conclusion that that left-handedness contributes to business success. No more details information is given about the samples, the argument can never convince me of the relationship between left-handedness and the ability to succeed in business.
even assuming that left-handed people are somehow talent in business, it is also unfair to advise all the left-handeders to pursue the business career. The author omits to point out that all the other traits of left-handeders, such as the personal talents, interest, and motivation, are entirely the similar. Common sense tells us that whether a occupation choice is agreeable to a individual depends on variety of factor. Thus, without further evidence to prove that left-handed people tend to succeed in business rather than any other field, we can not accept such recommendation for left-handeders.
Furthermore, it is unwarranted the next recommendation for right-handers. Even if the best vocational choice for left-handed people is business, we cannot conclude that all their business practices should be followed by the right-handeders. Not only the innate talent is unable to imitate, but on the other side, no evidence indicate that the way in which left-handed people conduct business is the unique path to business success. Perhaps the right-handeders have their own advantages such as familial relationship to approach the success.
All in all, the argument suffers several logical flaws. Therefore in order to make a sound recommendation, the author should provide further survey to find the real factor leading to business success, and a comparison between the characteristics of the left-handeders and the right-handeders is also necessary.
