Answers to Application Questions

Question 6: In order to establish data for an argument directed toward a group of noble prize winning physicists, a speaker should use:

Answer Choices:

(a) an example. Sorry, an example may be used as data in some cases, however, for this particular audience examples may not be "valid" data. Remember that the field in which the argument is occurring will dictate what is accepted as appropriate data. An example may be appropriate in fields such as law or public policy, but for physicists there are better forms of data from which to choose.
(b) numerical, statistical data. Correct! For this particular argument field, statistical and numeric data would be best at establishing common ground between the speaker and audience. For instance, if a physicist wants to argue that a theorem should be revised, he would likley start with a numeric illustration of the current theorem.
(c) an authority's opinion. Sorry. What would an authority opinion be to a nobel prize winnin physicist? After all, they are the authority!

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