10. The following appeared in the editorial section of a local newspaper.
“This past winter, 200 students from Waymarsh State College traveled to the state capitol building to protest against proposed cuts in funding for various state college programs. The other 12,000 Waymarsh students evidently weren’t so concerned about their education: they either stayed on campus or left for winter break. Since the group who did not protest is far more numerous, it is more representative of the state’s college students than are the protesters. Therefore the state legislature need not heed the appeals of the protesting students.”
地方性報(bào)紙的編者按：
過(guò)去的冬天里，200名學(xué)生從Waymarsh州立大學(xué)前往州府大樓*對(duì)各項(xiàng)州立大學(xué)項(xiàng)目基金進(jìn)行削減的計(jì)劃。另外12000名Waymarsh學(xué)生顯然對(duì)他們的教育不太關(guān)心：他們或是留在學(xué)校里，或離開過(guò)寒假。由于不*的人群更大，他們比*人群更有資格代表州立大學(xué)學(xué)生。所以州立法會(huì)不必理會(huì)*者。
1. 代表學(xué)生的形成方式不知道。如果是隨機(jī)產(chǎn)生的，那么去反對(duì)的學(xué)生完全可以代表學(xué)生總體。
2. 沒去的學(xué)生不一定不關(guān)心。他們可能有更重要的事情要忙。例如要趕回家過(guò)圣誕節(jié)。有已經(jīng)訂好的寒假計(jì)劃等等。
3. 此外，沒去的學(xué)生之所以沒有去很可能是因?yàn)樗麄冇X得那些代表足可以代表他們表達(dá)心聲。
1， 沒有投訴不代表沒有不滿。很可能學(xué)生以其他的方式發(fā)泄不滿意，比如absent the class, leave the school earlier, 等等。One obvious rejoinder to this line of reasoning is that。。。很可能他們已經(jīng)知道了學(xué)生去protest了，所以才沒有去。
2， 200名學(xué)生不具有代表性的說(shuō)法不對(duì)。很可能是被推選出來(lái)的elected to represent the entire students。缺乏根據(jù)的論證，錯(cuò)。
The conclusion in this argument is that the state legislature need not consider the views of protesting students. To support this conclusion, the author points out that only 200 of the 12,000 students traveled to the state capitol to voice their concerns about proposed cuts in college programs. Since the remaining students did not take part in this protest, the author concludes they are not interested in this issue. The reasoning in this argument is flawed for two reasons.
First, the author assumes that because only one-tenth of the students took part in the protest, these students’ views are unrepresentative of the entire student body. This assumption is unwarranted. If it turns out, for example, that the protesting students were randomly selected from the entire student body, their views would reflect the views of the entire college. Without information regarding the way in which the protesting students were selected, it is presumptuous to conclude that their opinions fail to reflect the opinions of their colleagues.
Second, the author cites the fact that the remaining 12,000 students stayed on campus or left for winter break as evidence that they are not concerned about their education. One obvious rejoinder to this line of reasoning is that the students who did not participate did so with the knowledge that their concerns would be expressed by the protesting students. In any case, the author has failed to demonstrate a logical connection between the students’ alleged lack of concern and the fact that they either stayed on campus or left for winter break. Without this connection, the conclusion reached by the author that the remaining 12,000 students are not concerned about their education is unacceptable.
As it stands, the argument is not well reasoned. To make it logically acceptable, the author would have to demonstrate that the protesting students had some characteristic in common that biases their views, thereby nullifying their protest as representative of the entire college.
“This past winter, 200 students from Waymarsh State College traveled to the state capitol building to protest against proposed cuts in funding for various state college programs. The other 12,000 Waymarsh students evidently weren’t so concerned about their education: they either stayed on campus or left for winter break. Since the group who did not protest is far more numerous, it is more representative of the state’s college students than are the protesters. Therefore the state legislature need not heed the appeals of the protesting students.”
地方性報(bào)紙的編者按：
過(guò)去的冬天里，200名學(xué)生從Waymarsh州立大學(xué)前往州府大樓*對(duì)各項(xiàng)州立大學(xué)項(xiàng)目基金進(jìn)行削減的計(jì)劃。另外12000名Waymarsh學(xué)生顯然對(duì)他們的教育不太關(guān)心：他們或是留在學(xué)校里，或離開過(guò)寒假。由于不*的人群更大，他們比*人群更有資格代表州立大學(xué)學(xué)生。所以州立法會(huì)不必理會(huì)*者。
1. 代表學(xué)生的形成方式不知道。如果是隨機(jī)產(chǎn)生的，那么去反對(duì)的學(xué)生完全可以代表學(xué)生總體。
2. 沒去的學(xué)生不一定不關(guān)心。他們可能有更重要的事情要忙。例如要趕回家過(guò)圣誕節(jié)。有已經(jīng)訂好的寒假計(jì)劃等等。
3. 此外，沒去的學(xué)生之所以沒有去很可能是因?yàn)樗麄冇X得那些代表足可以代表他們表達(dá)心聲。
1， 沒有投訴不代表沒有不滿。很可能學(xué)生以其他的方式發(fā)泄不滿意，比如absent the class, leave the school earlier, 等等。One obvious rejoinder to this line of reasoning is that。。。很可能他們已經(jīng)知道了學(xué)生去protest了，所以才沒有去。
2， 200名學(xué)生不具有代表性的說(shuō)法不對(duì)。很可能是被推選出來(lái)的elected to represent the entire students。缺乏根據(jù)的論證，錯(cuò)。
The conclusion in this argument is that the state legislature need not consider the views of protesting students. To support this conclusion, the author points out that only 200 of the 12,000 students traveled to the state capitol to voice their concerns about proposed cuts in college programs. Since the remaining students did not take part in this protest, the author concludes they are not interested in this issue. The reasoning in this argument is flawed for two reasons.
First, the author assumes that because only one-tenth of the students took part in the protest, these students’ views are unrepresentative of the entire student body. This assumption is unwarranted. If it turns out, for example, that the protesting students were randomly selected from the entire student body, their views would reflect the views of the entire college. Without information regarding the way in which the protesting students were selected, it is presumptuous to conclude that their opinions fail to reflect the opinions of their colleagues.
Second, the author cites the fact that the remaining 12,000 students stayed on campus or left for winter break as evidence that they are not concerned about their education. One obvious rejoinder to this line of reasoning is that the students who did not participate did so with the knowledge that their concerns would be expressed by the protesting students. In any case, the author has failed to demonstrate a logical connection between the students’ alleged lack of concern and the fact that they either stayed on campus or left for winter break. Without this connection, the conclusion reached by the author that the remaining 12,000 students are not concerned about their education is unacceptable.
As it stands, the argument is not well reasoned. To make it logically acceptable, the author would have to demonstrate that the protesting students had some characteristic in common that biases their views, thereby nullifying their protest as representative of the entire college.