Summary
People have some common complaints about computers: it can be hard to correct mistakes with digital bills, and sometimes computer files get lost. On the other hand, people are really attached to some benefits of computers, like ultra-speedy searches, or the convenience of word processors over typewriters.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
The stimulus conforms to the following principles:
Sometimes, people’s complaints about a particular technology are outweighed by the benefits of that technology.
People may be unwilling to give up a particular technology even though they have some complaints about it.
The same technology can have both drawbacks and benefits.
Sometimes, people’s complaints about a particular technology are outweighed by the benefits of that technology.
People may be unwilling to give up a particular technology even though they have some complaints about it.
The same technology can have both drawbacks and benefits.
A
The fact that people complain about some consequences of technology cannot be taken as a reliable indication that they would choose to live without it.
This is strongly supported. In the stimulus, we see that people complain about computers, but even so, they would not want to live without computers. In other words, people’s complaints do not indicate that they would choose to live without computer technology.
B
If people do not complain about some technology, then it is probably not a significant factor in their daily lives.
This is not supported. The stimulus never indicates a link between complaining about a technology and that technology being significant to people’s daily lives. Our only example is computers, which people do complain about, so that’s not useful here.
C
The degree to which technologies elicit complaints from people is always an accurate measure of the extent to which people have become dependent on them.
This is not supported. We only know about one single technology, computers—that’s definitely not enough to say whether complaints are “always” an accurate measure of dependency.
D
The complaints people make about technological innovations are more reliable evidence of the importance of those innovations than the choices people actually make.
This is not supported. The stimulus doesn’t indicate that either people’s complaints or their choices can be used as evidence of a technology’s importance. In fact, the stimulus doesn’t mention how to determine a technology’s importance at all.
E
The less willing people are to do without technology the more likely they are to complain about the effects of technology.
This is not supported. The stimulus only offers information about computers, one single type of technology. That doesn’t give us enough information to support a principle about technology in general.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do blues fans and musicians derive such enjoyment from music with sorrowful lyrics?
Objective
The correct answer will be an unsatisfactory hypothesis, because it won’t explain why fans and musicians find fulfillment in blues lyrics that are predominantly sorrowful.
A
The sharing of blues music serves to create a cohesive, sympathetic social network.
This explains why blues enthusiasts find positive meaning in the music. Though the lyrics are sorrowful, they inspire a sense of community that can be joyful.
B
Blues musicians who do not draw on their personal tragedies are no more successful than blues musicians who do.
This addresses the success of blues musicians, but not their personal response to the music. It does not imply whether blues music that draws on personal tragedies is more or less fulfilling than blues music that does not.
C
The irony and wit found in the blues provide a sense of perspective on life’s troubles.
This explains why blues enthusiasts find fulfillment in the music. The lyrics are sorrowful but instructive, offering a perspective that is rewarding.
D
The realization that other people share one’s plight is helpful in dealing with life’s problems.
This explains why blues enthusiasts find fulfillment in the music. Though sorrowful, blues lyrics inspire a sense of camaraderie that can be rewarding.
E
The conversion of personal sorrow into an artistic work can have a cathartic effect on artists and their audiences.
This explains why blues enthusiasts find positive meaning in the music. Creating and sharing art inspired by negative emotions, like blues music, provides a catharsis that can be rewarding.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why is the percent of garments reported as recycled scrap 9% even though the percent of garments considered unsalable, which are all included in the garments recycled as scrap, is 7%?
Objective
The correct answer should differentiate between the category “garments reported as recycled scrap” and “garments considered unsalable” in a way that would lead the recycled scrap % to be higher. For example, maybe there are additional items that are part of garments reported as recycled scrap besides just garments considered unsalable.
A
Garments with minor blemishes are sent to wholesale outlets for sale at discounted prices and are not returned for recycling.
If garments aren’t recycled, then they aren’t considered unsalable either, because everything unsalable is part of recycled scrap. So, this tells us about garments that aren’t part of either the recycled category or unsalable category. This has no impact.
B
The percentage of garments returned by retail outlets as unsalable includes, in addition to defective merchandise, garments in unacceptable styles or colors.
We already know that all unsalable garments are part of the garments recycled as scrap. Additional details about what kinds of garments are unsalable doesn’t add any relevant information.
C
Some inspectors, in order to appear more efficient, tend to overreport defects.
Unsalable garments include those reported by inspectors as defects. The actual defects don’t matter; only the reported defects. So overreporting of defects doesn’t impact the comparison between unsalable garments and recycled garments.
D
The total number of garments produced by the manufacturer has increased slightly over the past year.
The stimulus never compared stats across different years, so this information doesn’t impact the comparison between unsalable garments and recycled garments.
E
Unsalable garments are recorded by count, but recycled garments are recorded by weight.
The % of unsalable garments is calculated in a different way compared to the % of recycled garments. This could account for why the first figure was 7% and the second was 9%. The garments considered unsalable (and sent to recycling) could be heavier than other garments.
Summarize Argument
The author claims that free will does not always have the same role in determining moral responsibility. The argument proceeds with two examples which support this claim by demonstrating situations where free will leads to different assessments of responsibility. First: the free choice to commit crimes leads to responsibility. Second: the free choice to eat a diet that causes a heart attack does not lead to responsibility for the consequences of having a heart attack while driving.
Identify Argument Part
The claim that a choice of diet can affect whether or not one has a heart attack helps to support the conclusion by demonstrating a situation where responsibility and free will have a different relationship from that associated with crime.
A
It is a subsidiary conclusion of the argument.
The claim about diet affecting heart attacks is not supported by anything else in the argument, so cannot be a subsidiary conclusion.
B
It is used to show that we should hold someone morally responsible for damages caused by having a heart attack while driving.
As with (C), the author never makes a claim about when we should or shouldn’t hold someone responsible. The argument is just trying to show that we assess responsibility differently in different situations.
C
It is cited as evidence that our concept of moral responsibility should be the same in all situations.
As with (B), the author makes no statement about how we should assess responsibility. The point of the argument is just to demonstrate that our assessment can differ based on factors other than free will.
D
It is used to disprove the claim that we should not hold criminals morally responsible for damages.
The author isn’t trying to disprove anything, and the argument never references a claim that we shouldn’t hold criminals morally responsible.
E
It is used in support of the conclusion of the argument.
This accurately describes what the claim about diet and heart attacks does in the argument: it’s a premise. It supports the conclusion as part of one of two conflicting examples.
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that surgery performed by anyone other than a general surgeon involves undesirable risks. As premises, he gives two conditional claims:
(1) If a surgery is performed by someone who is not highly competent, it involves unwanted/undesirable risks.
(2) If someone is a general surgeon, that person has special training that makes them highly competent at performing surgery.
Identify and Describe Flaw
This is the flaw of mistaking sufficiency for necessity. The author treats “being a general surgeon” as necessary for “being highly competent at performing surgery.” But according to premise 2, “being a general surgeon” is sufficient, not necessary.
In other words, the argument overlooks the possibility that other kinds of doctors might also be highly competent at performing surgery.
A
there are general surgeons who are incompetent
The author doesn't fail to consider this. In fact, he explicitly claims that general surgeons are highly competent, at least when it comes to performing surgery.
B
general surgeons are not the only doctors competent to perform surgery
The author mistakenly treats “being a general surgeon” as necessary for “being highly competent at performing surgery,” while in the premises, it’s merely sufficient. He fails to consider the possibility that other doctors may also be highly competent at performing surgery.
C
the competence of the doctor performing surgery does not guarantee a successful outcome
The author never claims that a competent doctor guarantees a successful surgery. He just argues that a surgery performed by an incompetent doctor involves highly undesirable risks.
D
risk is not the only factor in deciding whether to have surgery
The author concludes that surgery performed by anyone other than a general surgeon involves undesirable risks. But he never claims that the riskiness of a surgery is the only factor in deciding whether to have it.
E
factors in addition to competence are relevant when choosing a doctor
The author doesn’t claim that competence is the only relevant factor when choosing a doctor. He just argues that a surgery performed by an incompetent doctor involves highly undesirable risks.
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
Evolutionists who believe that a line of Tennyson’s poetry refers to Darwin’s theory of evolution are wrong. How do we know this? Firstly, the poem in question was published nine years before Darwin revealed his theory. This implies that Tennyson probaby didn’t know about Darwin’s theory when he wrote this poem. Secondly, looking at the poem as a whole, the line actually seems to refer to a creationist theory of biology. This gives us a different explanation for the line of poetry, totally independent of Darwin.
Identify Argument Part
The claim about the publication dates of Tennyson’s poem and Darwin’s theory supports the conclusion by suggesting that Tennyson was unaware of Darwin’s theory and so could not have been referencing it.
A
It casts doubt on whether the theory of evolution should be attributed to Darwin alone.
The author never discusses who was involved in developing Darwin’s theory. Like (D), no part of the argument does this.
B
It supports the claim that creationist theories of biology were dominant in the early nineteenth century.
The claim about publication dates is totally independent from the claim about a creationist theory being dominant in the early nineteenth century. Neither supports the other, they just each support the same conclusion.
C
It provides reason to believe that Tennyson did not know about Darwin’s theory when the poem was published.
This describes the role played by the claim about publication dates. The author uses this claim to cast doubt on Tennyson’s supposed reference to Darwin’s theory by implying that Tennyson had probably never encountered Darwin’s theory.
D
It suggests that Tennyson’s line provided Darwin with the inspiration for developing his theory.
The author never discusses what influences may have helped to inspire Darwin in developing his theory. Like (A), this is outside the scope of the argument.
E
It implies that Tennyson knew little about the dominant biological theories of the nineteenth century.
The claim about publication dates is irrelevant to Tennyson’s knowledge of evolutionary theories. At most, it implies that Tennyson didn’t know about a single unpublished theory.
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author draws the hypothesis that looking for methane in a planet’s atmosphere is the most reliable way to tell whether or not that planet has life. This is because methane will disappear from the atmosphere unless it’s constantly replenished by living organisms’ biological processes. In other words, methane will only persist in the atmospheres of planets with methane-producing life. The author is claiming that where there is methane, there is life, and where there is no methane, there is no life.
Notable Assumptions
Based on the knowledge that only planets with life will have methane in their atmospheres, the author assumes that all planets with life will have methane in their atmospheres. This means that the author is assuming that all life produces methane.
A
There are other ways of detecting the presence of life on a planet.
This does not weaken the argument. Whether or not there are other ways to detect life on a planet doesn’t affect whether or not methane detection is the most reliable way. All the other methods could be unreliable, we don’t know.
B
Not all living beings have the ability to biologically produce methane.
This weakens the argument. The author uses “reliable” to mean that methane indicates life, and an absence of methane indicates no life. However, if some living beings don’t produce methane, there could be a planet with no methane that still has life.
C
We are incapable at present of analyzing a planet’s atmosphere for the presence of methane.
This does not weaken the argument. Whether or not detecting methane is practical doesn’t make a difference to whether or not it would be the most reliable means of detecting life.
D
Some living beings biologically produce only very small amounts of methane.
This does not weaken the argument. The author never specifies how much methane would be required to detect it in the atmosphere; maybe even the tiniest amount is enough. This is like a weaker version of (B), trying to trick you into thinking it does the same thing.
E
Earth is the only planet whose atmosphere is known to contain methane.
This does not weaken the argument. Just because we haven’t found other planets with methane in their atmospheres, that doesn’t make a difference to whether methane is a reliable indicator of life. It’s not as though we have another verified life-containing planet to test.