Blog Post #3

In Chapter 3, Harris discusses countering. He explains how countering is not a blatant argument with the other person’s work and thoughts, but it is a counter to the discussion at hand and puts additions onto the current ideas. An example of this can be found in a New York Times article titled, “The Economic Case for Letting Teenagers Sleep a Little Later”, by Aaron E. Carroll. He counters the argument that teenagers in middle school and high school should wake up early for school and expresses his opposition by stating that they should start school later so that the kids can get more sleep. In order to counter the statement that states that if school was started later then kids would just stay up later at night, he cites research studies that point out how that isn’t true. He explains that, “delaying the start of school from 25 to 60 minutes corresponds with increased sleep time of 25 to 77 minutes per week night”, and that students would go to sleep at the same time whether school started earlier or later. He also cites specific facts such as how the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends that teenagers get between 9 and 10 hours of sleep every night, and the percentages of schools that start before 8:30am. He does this to support his counter argument, but also acknowledges the other side of the argument and adds on to their claims to show how they support his own claim. Even though he is arguing their belief, he does it in a civil way. I think that this was overall an effective counter due to the fact that he oppose the other persons claim but did it in a respective and well-mannered way and followed everything that Harris mentions in the countering chapter.