Researchers studying athletes found that those who played mainly for the love of their sport actually had sharper vision during athletic competitions than those whose main goal was winning a trophy or championship. The vision of the first group of athletes was sharper because the concentration necessary for acute vision during an activity is typically possessed to a greater degree by those whose attention is focused on the activity itself.
Summary
Researchers found that athletes who played mainly for the love of their sport had sharper vision during competitions compared to athletes whose main goal was winning a trophy or championship. The first group had sharper vision because those whose attention is focused on an activity itself usually have more of the concentration necessary for acute vision.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Athletes who play mainly for the love of their sport focus more on the activity itself than athletes whose main goal is winning a trophy or championship.
A
Winning a trophy or championship is not important to athletes who play mainly for the love of their sport.
This answer is unsupported. To say that winning a trophy or championship is not important at all is too extreme. We know that these athletes play mainly for the love of their sport, but this does not have to be the only reason they play.
B
If an athlete’s main goal during an athletic competition is winning a trophy or championship, that athlete will lack the concentration necessary for adequate vision during that competition.
This answer is unsupported. To say that these athletes will not have the concentration necessary is too extreme. We only know from the stimulus that these athletes possess this concentration to a lesser degree, not that they don’t possess it at all.
C
Athletes who play mainly for the love of their sport concentrate more on the sport itself during athletic competitions than do athletes whose main goal is winning a trophy or championship.
This answer is strongly supported. We know from the stimulus that the athletes who play for the love of their sport had sharper vision, and we know that this sharper vision comes from concentrating on the sport itself.
D
It is impossible for an athlete to concentrate on more than one thing at a time during an athletic competition.
This answer is unsupported. To say that it is impossible is too extreme. We know from the stimulus that athletes either mainly play for the love of their sport or wining a trophy. We can’t assume that having a main objective means that there are no other objectives.
E
During athletic competitions, an athlete whose attention is focused on the sport itself will perform better than any athlete whose attention is focused elsewhere.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about an athlete’s performance from the stimulus.
Inventor: All highly successful entrepreneurs have as their main desire the wish to leave a mark on the world. Highly successful entrepreneurs are unique in that whenever they see a solution to a problem, they implement that idea. All other people see solutions to problems but are too interested in leisure time or job security to always have the motivation to implement their ideas.
Summary
The stimulus can be diagrammed as follows:
Notable Valid Inferences
People who implement the solutions that they see whenever they detect them have as their main desire the wish to leave a mark on the world.
A
Most people do not want to leave a mark on the world because trying to do so would reduce their leisure time or job security.
Could be false. The stimulus does not discuss quantities, so we cannot infer what “most people” don’t want.
B
All people who invariably implement their solutions to problems have at least some interest in leisure time or job security.
Could be false. We don’t know anything about how interested in leisure time or job security the invariable problem solvers are.
C
The main desire of all people who implement solutions whenever they detect them is to leave a mark on the world.
Must be true. As shown below, implementing solutions whenever one detects them is a sufficient condition for having one’s main desire be to leave a mark on the world.
D
Generally, highly successful entrepreneurs’ interests in leisure time or job security are not strong enough to have a negative impact on their ability to see solutions to problems.
Could be false. From the stimulus, we just know that when highly successful entrepreneurs see solutions, they implement the solutions. We don’t know anything about how often they see solutions, or what factors influence their ability to see solutions.
E
All people whose main desire is to implement their solutions to problems leave a mark on the world.
Could be false. The stimulus discusses people who implement their solutions, not people whose main desire is to implement their solutions. Similarly, the stimulus discusses those whose main desire is to leave a mark on the world, not those who actually leave a mark.