"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why did cleaned wounds treated with honey heal faster than both cleaned wounds treated with antibiotics and wounds that were only cleaned, even though honey has lots of bacteria, which slows healing?
Objective
The correct answer should tell us something that suggests the net effect of honey on healing time results in faster healing than cleaning wounds with antibiotics and cleaning wounds without additional substances. For example, there could be something in honey that kills enough bacteria to offset the additional bacteria in honey such that honey-treated wounds end up with less bacteria than antibiotics-treated wounds.
A
Wounds that have simply been cleaned with soap and water and not otherwise treated heal faster than wounds that have been cleaned and then treated with antibiotic ointment.
This doesn’t explain why the honey-treated wounds healed faster. And, we have no reason to think the cleaned wounds were cleaned with soap and water (as opposed to just water, or something else).
B
The bacteria found in honey are present in much lower concentrations than the concentrations of bacteria typically present in infected wounds, and applying antibiotic ointment to a wound rarely if ever kills all of the bacteria infecting the wound.
Even if the honey-bacteria has a lower concentration than wound-bacteria, the honey-treated wound would still have both the honey-bacteria and the regular wound-bacteria. So we’d still expect it to have more bacteria than an antibiotic-treated wound.
C
Honey has properties that inhibit the growth of bacteria in wounds, including the bacteria the honey contains, and antibiotic ointments damage sensitive wound tissue, which slows healing.
So, honey stops bacteria growth, including its own bacteria. And, on top of that, antibiotics do something that slows healing. This provides a potential explanation for why honey-treated wounds healed the fastest.
D
The high concentration of sugar in honey inhibits the growth of bacteria in wounds, including the bacteria contained in the honey itself.
(D) only explains why honey is better than cleaning alone. It doesn’t explain why honey-treated wounds healed faster than the antibiotic-treated wounds. After all, we’d expect antibiotics to kill bacteria, too.
E
The antibiotic ointment used in the study damages sensitive tissue in wounds, which slows healing, but honey does not have this effect if the wound has been cleaned.
So, honey has one advantage over antibiotic ointment. You know what else it has? Tons of bacteria. This doesn’t help explain why honey-treated wounds, in light of that bacteria, healed faster than antibiotic-treated wounds.
Ayla: The best way to combat false views is to challenge them in public. Once Carl’s views are subjected to the kind of public scrutiny the forum provides, people will see them for what they are because the forum will provide convincing arguments against them.
Speaker 1 Summary
Bernard concludes we shouldn’t invite Carl to speak at the forum. This is because Carl’s views are false and dangerous. We don’t want to support adoption of those views, and inviting him to speak would help spread those views.
Speaker 2 Summary
Ayla’s implicit conclusion is that we should invite him to speak. This is because challenging his views in public is the best way to combat them.
Objective
We’re looking for a disagreement. The speakers disagree about whether we should invite Carl to the forum.
A
one should always avoid legitimizing a view whose adoption one wishes not to support
Ayla doesn’t have an opinion. Although she wants to challenge Carl’s false views, we don’t know what she thinks about views she wishes not to support. She might think it’s OK to legitimize views she doesn’t support, as long as they’re not false.
B
people will see the falsity of every dangerous idea for which they are furnished with forceful counterarguments
Bernard doesn’t have an opinion. He doesn’t discuss what happens when people encounter counterarguments against views.
C
the best way to fight erroneous ideas involves allowing the public expression of these ideas
The speakers disagree. Bernard implicitly thinks this is not the best way, because he says not to invite Carl. If he thought this was the best way to fight Carl’s ideas, he wouldn’t make this recommendation. Ayla thinks the best way to fight Carl’s ideas is to allow him to speak.
D
people who hold false views tend to pose a danger to society
Ayla doesn’t have an opinion. She doesn’t discuss the idea of danger or whether some views can be dangerous.
E
one should not encourage the adoption of dangerous views
Ayla doesn’t have an opinion. She doesn’t discuss the idea of danger or whether we should encourage adoption of dangerous views.