Below you will find help with selected exercises from the book.

3-7,3
3-8,3
3-11,12

3-7, 3. The Surgical Practices Committee of Grantville Hospital has documented an unusually high number of problems in connection with tonsillectomies performed by a Dr. Choker. The committee is reviewing her surgical practices. Those present during a tonsillectomy are

1. Dr. Choker
2. the surgical proctor from the Surgical Practices Committee
3. an anesthesiologist
4. a nurse
5. a technician

The most credible observers are (b), (c), and (d). The two surgeons on this list (Dr. Choker and the proctor) possess the greatest knowledge; since anesthesiologists and surgical nurses possess both medical training and experience in surgery, their observations rank close behind. The technician has other matters to focus on during surgery, and probably received no training in interpreting what a surgeon does at any given moment. The proctor's freedom from bias exceeds that of (c), (d), and (e) because it is possible for those persons to feel intimidated by a surgeon.

3-8, 3. Issue: What was the original intent of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, and does it include permission for every citizen to possess handguns?

1. a representative of the National Rifle Association
2. a justice of the United States Supreme Court
3. a constitutional historian
4. a United States senator
5. the president of the United States

Judging from the knowledge each is likely to have, we rank (c) as most reliable, with (b) close behind, and (d) and (e) somewhere on the spectrum. The knowledge that an NRA representative possesses is more than offset by that person's obvious bias. Bear in mind what this question does and doesn't ask. One question informed people ask about the Constitution concerns the original intent of its provisions; others include how well interpretations of an amendment cohere with the rest of the Constitution, what the amendment's words mean literally, and what those same words mean in the common-law tradition. A constitutional historian will give the best answer to the historical question of original intent, which is the question that most admits of a clear and factual answer. But just because other issues are harder to answer factually does not make them less important; it only makes expert information more useful to them.

3-11, 12. "Cats that live indoors and use a litter box can live four to five years longer."

In addition to the problem of determining exactly how long cats live outdoors, we face the need for more information that arises with every vague comparison. In this case, two things are claimed as the source of longer feline life: living indoors and using a litter box. Probably very few cats today live indoors and do not use a litter box; so the comparison does nothing to isolate the effects of the litter box.