The manager of a grocery store shows you and your friend a tabloid headline "Flu Shots Have Been Proven to Cause the Flu.". The manager says, "Those folks are right because every time I have ever taken a flu shot, I've gotten the flu.". Your friend says, "Well, that settles it. I'm not taking a flu shot.". As a critical thinker, what would you tell your friend?
What will be an ideal response?
Answer will include the suggestions for being a critical reader of information presented in the popular press, such as always being skeptical, considering the source of the information (tabloid, which is a for-profit enterprise), and determining if a control group was used in the study mentioned in the tabloid. Moreover, one must distinguish between correlation (a relationship between factors) and causation. Could there have been a third factor that actually caused the relationship between flu shots and the flu? For example, the third factor might be the season of the year being the same for the flu and for taking flu shots. One must also beware of oversimplification regarding the cause of the flu and using a single case or testimonial (the manager of the store) as proof of something.
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Regarding the experience of sound, which of the following statements is FALSE? a. Sound waves travel slower than light waves. b. The amplitude of sound waves determines their perceived loudness and is measured in decibels. c. Humans hear by sensing sound waves that result from changes in molecular vibration. d. Pitch is the perception of how high or low a sound seems, which corresponds to
the frequency of the soundwave's vibration. e. Women's voices are usually higher than men's because their vocal cords are longer and tend to vibrate more slowly than men's.
In the United States and Canada as well as in northern European countries, cohabitation before marriage is now experienced by at least __________ of emerging adults.
A. one-quarter B. one-third C. two-thirds D. three-quarters
Secretions of __________ and __________ increase during puberty, leading to tremendous gains in body size and to attainment of skeletal maturity.
A. estrogens; adrenal androgens B. epinephrine; adrenal androgens C. growth hormone (GH); thyroxine D. melatonin; growth hormone (GH)
If you are forced to change your beliefs or your behavior against your will, you are
a. being persuaded. b. being coerced. c. conforming. d. obeying.