What’s wrong with syllogisms?
Can you answer the question without recourse to syllogisms?
Nothing. As a trained scientist, I use deductive reasoning all the time. It's the misuse that is troublesome:
"Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly as one man.
Minor Premise: One man can dig a posthole in sixty seconds; therefore--
Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a posthole in one second. This may be called the syllogism arithmetical, in which, by combining logic and mathematics, we obtain a double certainty and are twice blessed."
(Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary)
Can you answer the question without recourse to syllogisms?
Yes.