Marcos Alberti\'s \"Three Glasses After\" series (Links to an external site.)Lin
ID: 3460791 • Letter: M
Question
Marcos Alberti's "Three Glasses After" series (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.captures several of his friends after a day at work, then again after one, two and three glasses of vino. The result? A transition from self-conscious and straight-laced to carefree.
"There is a saying about wine that I really like and it's something like this: 'The first glass of wine is all about the food, the second glass is about love and the third glass is about mayhem'," Alberti said. "I really wanted to see it for myself if that affirmation was in fact true."
The project, which Alberti said "started as a joke", shows the subject shortly after arriving at his studio, "to capture the stress and the fatigue after a full day". The Brazilian then snapped a simple portrait after each glass to document their change.
"People from all walks of life - music, art, fashion, dance, architecture, advertising - got together for a couple of nights, and by the end of the third glass several smiles emerged and many stories were told," he said.
Alberti wanted to show that, despite its obvious dangers, alcohol can have its benefits when consumed in moderation. "I only saw bad things about alcohol, so I wanted to show that, in a good and happy environment, with friends and with moderation, alcohol can be a good thing," he told i100. "It brings people together."
And judging by the wide beams and energetic laughs most of his subjects sport in their final picture, Alberti isn't wrong.
Alberti is claiming a causal relationship between drinking wine and a reduction in stress. He is presenting a series of photographs as evidence. What is the big difference between what Alberti has done and a randomized controlled experiment?
a) He does not have a hypothesis.
b) He only has one group. He has not established a comparison
c) He has not measured an outcome.
d) The groups were not equal to begin with.
Generate one specific plausible alternate explanation for the change in the facial expressions of the people in Alberti's photographs.
Explanation / Answer
The difference between what Alberti has done and a randomized controlled experiment is:
b) He has only one group. He has not established a comparison.
A randomized controlled experiment has two groups namely the experimental group and controlled group on whom the study is done. Alberti did not have any such groups. He tested the same people before and after alcohol consumption. This was not a comparative study.
An alternate explanation:
Alcohol does not reduce stress. Instead it gives people instant gratification. It gives a temporary escape from reality. It is a momentary happiness which only creates an illusion of contentment. This momentary happiness have made the people in Alberti's photography escape (not reduce) their stress. Moreover, it became a reason to socialise after work which made them happier and smile.