里茲螞蟻雅思IELTS文教
  • 首頁
  • 關於我們
    • 團隊哲學
    • 老師介紹
  • 課程總覽
  • 課程介紹
    • 發問前請先閱讀此文
    • IPA 英式發音線上課程
    • Foundation 基礎線上課程
    • 進階英文口說線上課程
    • ​★ 外師應用英文
    • ★ IPA 英式發音
    • ★ 基礎
    • ★ 文法
    • ★ 雅思
    • ★ 實用商英
    • ★ 翻譯健身房
    • ★ 口說訓練營
    • ★ 句型地獄班
    • ★ 生存英文
    • ★ 英文品酒課
    • ★ 進階實用單字
  • 如何報名
    • 上課及報名須知
    • 繳費說明與退費規則
  • 英文學習資源
  • 批判性思考練習
    • 新聞時事專欄
    • 外師專欄
  • 聯絡我們

站著上班就長壽? |  Standing desks nonsense

11/13/2018

評論

 
This article perfectly highlights the issue everyone faces these days when trying to distinguish fact from fake news, or at least meaningful insight from unscientific nonsense. It is also a great example of the low quality of writing and reporting on ‘popular science’ that is common in the media today.

​From the headline “Standing desks could increase life expectancy, study finds”, and based on the first half of the article, the reader would be forgiven for thinking that this article contained useful information based on the findings of legitimate scientific research, indicating that it would be a great idea to stand up while working in order to live longer.

However, there are two clues to this not being the case at all: one of which is in the use of the modal verb ‘could’, indicating that these results are not watertight; and also that only one miniscule and very unscientific study has claimed this finding. 
​

​Even worse, the article goes on to make yet another, even more extremely alarming statement that “[…] the emerging evidence suggests that the ill-effects of sedentary behaviour cannot be overcome by exercise”, this time without even quoting a source for this outlandish declaration.

​In actual fact, in the very next paragraph the article’s authors then go on to totally contradict all of these claimed findings, and their own headline, and for the remaining third of the article they quote findings that prove the complete opposite to their original point, admitting that much more extensive and more comprehensive research has already found that neither sitting nor standing have any measurable effect on health as long as regular exercise is part of a person’s lifestyle.

It is these important language and context cues and contradictions that the reader should be aware of when trying to determine the usefulness of the reporting contained within.

​This piece also highlights the need to read an article all the way to the end and not just the headline and first paragraph as is commonly found on social media, because only then would a savvy reader be able to dismiss such sensationalist popular science reporting as the drivel it really is. How many “scientific reports” have you seen sensationalised in the media and just accepted them at face value?
 
參考資料: 
​
Standing desks could increase life expectancy, study finds
評論
comments powered by Disqus
LeedsMayi里茲螞蟻文教
​106台北市大安區羅斯福路三段193號3樓
service@leedsmayi.com.co
  • 首頁
  • 關於我們
    • 團隊哲學
    • 老師介紹
  • 課程總覽
  • 課程介紹
    • 發問前請先閱讀此文
    • IPA 英式發音線上課程
    • Foundation 基礎線上課程
    • 進階英文口說線上課程
    • ​★ 外師應用英文
    • ★ IPA 英式發音
    • ★ 基礎
    • ★ 文法
    • ★ 雅思
    • ★ 實用商英
    • ★ 翻譯健身房
    • ★ 口說訓練營
    • ★ 句型地獄班
    • ★ 生存英文
    • ★ 英文品酒課
    • ★ 進階實用單字
  • 如何報名
    • 上課及報名須知
    • 繳費說明與退費規則
  • 英文學習資源
  • 批判性思考練習
    • 新聞時事專欄
    • 外師專欄
  • 聯絡我們