#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 #鐵肺男子
 
本週的批判性思考，要帶大家來看這位住在鐵肺中的男子！
Anti-vaxxers may sometimes justifiably be labelled as “idiots”, “the worst type of conspiracy theorists” and some of “the most selfish people on earth”, but often they are just ignorant, and as a result, also scared. In what perhaps could be considered somewhat of a silver lining to the cloud of death and destruction that COVID-19 has brought to our world, the horrendous symptoms and high death tolls could be a factor convincing anti-vaxxers to wake up to the harm they cause to the collective health of society through their inconsiderate behaviour. If they need a bit more prompting, it might be worth pointing them in the direction of articles like the one linked to below.

Most people alive today have no memory or experience of the much more horrible epidemics and pandemics that plagued humans in the 20th century and before. Polio is one of these absolutely horrific afflictions that we have thankfully managed to mostly rid our world of, solely by the use of vaccines. There is probably no more convincing testimonial to the benefits of and necessity for vaccines and widespread immunisation than this poor man’s story. This is because it is both inspiring because of his determination and unexpected longevity, but also absolutely devastating because of the countless other children and others that did not survive, or lived only to be tortured by deformities such as hunchbacks and other debilitating disabilities.
​
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/26/last-iron-lung-paul-alexander-polio-coronavirus
 
===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex，針對每週一篇英文文章閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望同學不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。大家可以善用這個寶貴的資源～
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華、金金上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/applied-english.html
​

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 #口罩議題
今天的外師專欄，要來探討口罩相關的議題～來看看外師Alex閱讀完這篇新聞後的感想吧！

Let’s examine how the media often combines and distorts information in order to push their own agendas. When a writer has their own personal agenda to further, they often have no concern for facts or unbiased discussion, and will pluck any data from any source to cobble together whatever semblance of an argument they can, regardless of the total lack of journalistic integrity that it shows them to suffer from.  Clearly this is what has happened in the article below, where the author seems to want to bolster their feminist credentials by combining the results of unreleased research, biased opinion polls and unconfirmed statistics, in order to create their own perfect storm of man-bashing “toxic masculinity” drivel. No doubt in their mind, the author has manufactured a well-balanced position that is supported by facts and figures. But when those “facts” and “figures” come from unpublished, non-peer-reviewed research, raw and preliminary data that has not been analysed or correlated, and from opinion polls that ask leading questions to bait the respondents into certain stereotypical answers, the result is no more valid than a social media post about 5G causing COVID-19.

Unfortunately, this is the likely result when research findings are published without being subjected to peer-review first. It is a foregone conclusion that only some of the meaning or concepts contained in the research will be latched onto by people who just skim the details looking for points that can feed their confirmation bias. Although this might be the case with any information spreading through various filters, when writers cherry-pick only what supports their opinion and dismiss the rest, the increasingly common trend of releasing the results of studies without first subjecting them to proper checks and balances is certainly going to exacerbate the spread of misinformation rather than mitigate it.
​
https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/497814-men-less-likely-to-wear-face-masks-because-theyre-not-cool
 
===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex，針對每週一篇英文文章閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望同學不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。大家可以善用這個寶貴的資源～
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華、金金上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/applied-english.html

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 
大家知道什麼是Objective Reality 嗎? 今天就讓我們來看看這是什麼吧！

After examining the pitfalls of misinformation, disinformation and fake news, then looking at how several contentious and likely unprovable theories, such as the multiverse theory and string theory, are seriously being investigated by researchers, here we can see a confluence of the two seemingly unrelated issues. This is how when free reign is given to imagination in many fields it can lead to revolutionary achievements and innovations, but when it is permitted in fields where objectivity and evidence-based support are required, it can instead result in the undermining of the basic tenets that we see as foundations of our understanding of the world.

Consider the claims by the authors of this article and their study into quantum physics: they assert that their results suggest that objective reality does not exist. Ignore the fact that they do not actually have any substantial proof to support this statement besides their own experiments into a theory that itself is a theory of a theory, and just think about the absurdity of this claim for a moment. How can researchers at the pinnacle of science, supposedly the source of civilisation’s understanding of objective reality – not to mention its outsize role in eliminating superstition and unfounded beliefs – make the claim that actually there is no objective reality? Although they attempt to qualify their claims by stating that macroscale things like humans do exist, for them at the subatomic quantum scale there is no such certainty. While we may sometimes benefit from thought-experiments that make outlandish claims such as this, this is also the same ammunition that spreaders of fake news seize on to support their conspiracy theories and undermine our grasp on reality. Perhaps using sensational, unsupported headlines to capture the imagination of the public, and no doubt draw attention (and funding) to their research, is not a privilege that researchers should be permitted?

https://theconversation.com/quantum-physics-our-study-suggests-objective-reality-doesnt-exist-126805
 
===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex，針對每週一篇英文文章閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望同學不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。大家可以善用這個寶貴的資源～
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華、金金上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/application-english.html

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 #多重宇宙論
 
大家有看上週的UFO討論嗎? 延續上週的太空議題，這週外師專欄要討論另一個有趣的話題：多重宇宙論！現在，就來看看Alex的評論吧～
 
Intelligent alien lifeforms visiting our planet may be a an extremely remote possibility, perhaps to the point of impossibility, but how about the potential of infinite parallel universes in which the rule of physics, chemistry and biology are not valid at all, and every single possibility is realised? Surely this is the work of science fiction, and not even worth serious consideration. Nonetheless, there are theoretical physicists around the world dedicating their entire careers to trying to find evidence to prove that this theory is true.
To seriously entertain the multiverse theory as a possibility, it requires more than just a willing suspension of disbelief – something many people regularly do to appreciate a work of fiction, film or art. Accepting that infinite parallel universes coexist with ours as a possible way of explaining away the failings and shortcomings of classical physics pushes a field that was already esoteric to the extent of implausibility on to the point of absurdity. It begs the question how it is any different from early humans creating fantastical and equally implausible concepts of heavens, hells, gods, ghosts and demons, to explain things which could not be accounted for with any more logical reasons. Then again, religious leaders still maintain manage to maintain straight faces while indoctrinating millions of people with false hopes of fantasy, even in the 21st century.
Yet, as the author of this article makes clear, there is public and private funding (at Kings College London, no less) and talented brainpower being funnelled into investigating these ludicrously far-fetched theories. So, although it may be possible that it is not just mathematical sophistry, and could be testable science as some physicists claim, it is hard to see how something so frivolous is worthy of the time, effort or funding that could be infinitely better utilised for much more pressing, real-world issues that need research right now.
 
https://theconversation.com/the-theory-of-parallel-universes-is-not-just-maths-it-is-science-that-can-be-tested-46497
 
===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex針對每週一篇英文文章在他閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。希望同學們可以善用這個寶貴的資源。
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華、金金上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/application-english.html
 

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 #UFO
本週的外師專欄，要來談談UFO～現在的年輕人還有人在關注幽浮嗎? 大概十幾年前，幽浮可是個熱們話題呢，也成了許多電影的靈感來源。讓我們看看Alex怎麼說吧！
Unidentified Flying Objects are real! At last, we now have the definitive proof that everyone has been waiting for, in particular conspiracy theorists and other assorted crackpots! We finally have evidence that extra-terrestrial beings have been to earth, confirming the long-held suspicions of some members of the earth’s population, many of whom wear tinfoil hats. Who looks silly now?
From this point on we can submit ourselves to the vast, god-like power of our alien overlords, and all of the world’s problems will be solved by their infinitely more advanced technologies and superior intelligence. The complete waste of our meaningless existences will be done away with in one fell swoop as we get beamed up to the Mothership, jacked into the Matrix, and impregnated by xenomorph facehuggers. We can once and for all be rid of this revoltingly tiny rock that we have soiled and despoiled in the amazingly short time that our species has inhabited it, as our Martian Masters spirit us across the universe in their interstellar spacecraft, and teleport us directly to the promised paradise planet.
But wait a moment; let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Where exactly are these infinite intellects, if they really have been to planet earth already? Surely if they have the technology to travel across galaxies and universes, they must have been hard at work sharing their science and technology with us by now, especially since these supposed sightings took place at least 5 and 16 years ago, which must be peanuts in interstellar, time-travelling, uber-intelligence time. That’s not to mention the innumerable other “confirmed” sightings stretching back at least as far as 2,240 years ago to the Roman historian Livy.
If space invaders really have been here for at least 5 years, or as long as most of recorded human history already, then why do we have COVID-19, pollution, crime, racism, sexism, inequality, animal cruelty, social media, and all of the other horrendous problems of this world still? And why aren’t we immortal yet? In fact, while we are asking these pertinent questions, why haven’t the supposed gods, divinities, deities, spirits and other imaginary beings invented by the deluded, paranoid, lonely, insecure, jaded and manipulative humans of this world done anything about ANY of this? As it turns out, it might not be time to renounce reality or give up on evidence-based science just yet.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/27/pentagon-releases-three-ufo-videos-taken-by-us-navy-pilots
===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex針對每週一篇英文文章在他閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。希望同學們可以善用這個寶貴的資源。
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華、金金上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/application-english.html
​

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀 #工廠化養殖場
​
上次提過了陰謀論，這次要討論與疫情相關的另一項資訊—工廠化養殖場。究竟工廠化養殖場會對我們與整個環境造成什麼樣的影響呢?

Conspiracy theories aside, significant amounts of blame for the current devastating pandemic is justifiably being directed at China’s atrocious treatment of and lack of respect for animals, and in particular the widespread horrendous practices of trading in and consumption of live animals and endangered animals. While it remains to be seen whether or not China will bother to improve its pitiful record in this area or in any way atone for the millions of lives ruined because of the selfish and greedy actions of its government and people, the reality is that there is potentially an even bigger source of deadly pandemic pathogens and diseases right under your nose, in the form of the farmed meat on your plate.
Through the use of – admittedly quite convoluted and confusing – analogies involving gymnasiums, neighbouring countries and terrorists, the authors of this article struggle to make a point that needs to be understood by more people: if you don’t decrease your meat intake right now, the farms where much of your meat comes from will be the breeding grounds for viruses and other diseases that will sicken and kill you and millions more people in the future, with likely even more deadly pandemics than what we are facing now. This is because the vast majority of animals are farmed in horrifying conditions that involve the widespread use and abuse of antibiotics, drugs and other chemicals. Want to significantly decrease the chance of future pandemics? Stop eating meat now!
On top of that, the authors fail to mention the absolutely torturous conditions that animals must endure in most farming. Disgustingly cramped confinement, early separation from mothers, burning, beating, cutting, dismembering, executing – the list of torture of animals goes on. Have difficulty imagining how humans could be so brutal to fellow creatures? Watch some videos on YouTube about factory farming and you can see the facts for yourself. If you care at all about animal rights, stop eating meat now!
Then there are the devastating effects that farming meat has on the environment, including the eradication of rainforests; the polluting of rivers and the oceans; the extinction of millions of wild animal, bird and insect species; plus, the catastrophic contribution that animal farming’s emissions have on global warming. These are all facts that are well-established in the scientific literature and can’t be ignored any longer. If you care about the environment at all, stop eating meat now!
Since people have difficulty caring about the future carnage that will be caused by global warming, and struggle to understand the horrendous conditions that the animals they eat have to suffer, perhaps the current death and destruction of this pandemic can be a useful warning sign.
Eating meat is neither necessary nor healthy, for you or for the planet.
 
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/20/factory-farms-pandemic-risk-covid-animal-human-health
 
===我是分隔線===
 
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex針對每週一篇英文文章在他閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。希望同學們可以善用這個寶貴的資源。
 
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華、金金上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
 
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/application-english.html
 

#里茲螞蟻批判性思考寫作專欄 #Alex專欄 #外師每週精選閱讀  #寵物豬
本週的專欄要來探討養寵物！以前曾經流行的寵物豬，究竟是不是個好主意呢? 大家可以點進文章閱讀哦！
Do you agree with scientists that humans are a type of animal, in which case, should we keep other animals as pets? Here’s a little thought experiment for you to try to decide whether it’s ethically right or wrong. Replace all the instances of the word “pig” with “child”, “pet pigs” with “children” and “owners” with “parents” and so on, in this week’s article, and see what impact the article has on you. Let’s see how it goes below.
“Typical misconceptions about children are that they are dirty, smelly and germ-ridden, but these ideas are rooted in the human psyche, said a founding member of the Happy Children Home adoption service, who asked to be identified as Anita.” I’m sure most parents and people would agree with this so far.
“Potential parents should consider emulating parents abroad and have their children sleep with them, she said. Blankets are essential, as children do not have much hair to keep them warm. They do not have a strong body odour and prefer not to defecate where they sleep, she said, adding that the stereotypical view of dirty and smelly children is because parents fail to clean them. Kids do have a propensity to play in mud and are liable to become dirty when going outside, she said, but added that they are easy to clean because they do not have much hair.” It’s all totally true, and definitely worth potential parents’ consideration. Afterall, no one can deny that parents want to care for and love their children as much as possible, since they mean the world to them.
“Parents should not leave food lying around and might even need to chain up their refrigerators to prevent their child from accessing it, Anita said.” Well, surely this is all just because kids are hungry all the time. Besides, we don’t want our children turning into pigs now, do we?
“As sound pollution can be an issue, people who live in less urbanized areas or have sound-proofed homes would be more suited to having children, she said.” This is something that I am sure many neighbours of babies and young children can attest to.
“Children are known to distance themselves from parents who cage them and as they grow and become unruly, they require larger enclosures, which generates a vicious cycle, Anita said.” Wait a minute, that sounds a lot like child abuse! It must surely be totally unacceptable to keep children in cages, no matter how old they are. As we all know, they need a lot of space to run around and socialise with others, as Anita rather confusingly points out: “Children enjoy interacting with their parents and demand a lot of attention, she said, adding that they also need periodic walks, as this helps their digestion.”
“For parents, medical fees are the prime expense, Anita said, citing the sterilization of female children as an example. Parents should neuter or spay their children when they are little, she said. The surgery, which should be done by a doctor familiar with children’s anatomy, plus the anaesthetic — which must be given according to a child’s size — means the procedure is more expensive than for more common pets, Anita said.” WHAT?! THIS IS DISGUSTING! How do people consider it as totally normal to neuter, spay and sterilise their children and think of nothing but the financial cost to themselves? Oh wait, it’s just being done to animals, so who cares about what they think, right? Here was me mistakenly believing that pet owners treated their pets “like members of their family”, when in fact many actually see them as slaves to be bought, sold, dressed up, tied up, sexually mutilated, caged, abandoned and even killed, however the pet owners see fit. It sounds pretty barbaric to still be happening in the year 2020.
https://taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/04/14/2003734584
 
===我是分隔線===
💡這個專欄目的是訓練同學聰明閱讀。
 
上面的貼文內容是我們的實力派外師Alex針對每週一篇英文文章在他閱讀後，親自寫出的批判性思考文（不是copy & paste的東西啊）。旨在讓同學知道如何用不同的角度來讀文章。你可以選擇先讀Alex寫的批判文，也可以選擇先讀本次的英文文章連結，但最好兩處都要閱讀才能達到最好的效果。
 
這是個訓練批判性思考的好機會，希望不要被文字牽著鼻子走，在閱讀時可以多思考。希望同學們可以善用這個寶貴的資源。
舊文連結：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/alex-column
 
Alex是我們的御用老師，每週都會幫梅姨、托托、慕華、金金上英文課。目前星期一晚上有開一班 #里茲螞蟻外師應用英文課程 ，程度高級，充滿知識性與深度。有開放單次付費上課。若你想學習用英文來深度探討各項主題，check it out！
Alex老師的應用英文課：
https://www.leedsmayi.com/application-english.html
​

Dig far enough into many significant social issues and you will often come across either a legitimate conspiracy or else a conspiracy theory at the heart of the matter. ​
​