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- Tue Oct 15, 2019 4:49 pm
#71249
Complete Question Explanation
Flaw in the Reasoning, #%. The correct answer choice is A.
The editor makes a counterargument, concluding in the first sentence that something people assert is a myth. The myth is about what a significant amount of music on the Internet is the result of. The editor thinks there is not a significant amount of music on the Internet that comes from people downloading the music and then reworking it. The evidence for this claim is that 99% of people who download music don't end up "publish[ing] new music of their own."
The problem with the argument is that the editor overlooks the other 1%. What if the 1% do a significant amount of downloading, reworking, and then publishing of the reworked music? Then it could be the case that a significant amount of Internet music is the result of the 1%'s (very substantial) efforts. We need an answer choice that identifies this overlooked possibility.
Answer Choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. This fits the prephrase. Remember that any "overlooks the possibility" answer can be tested using a "weaken test." Does the fact stated in the answer choice weaken the conclusion of the argument? Here, if a relatively small number of people can create a significant amount of new music, then the conclusion (that there can't be a significant amount of such music on the Internet) is attacked directly. Thus, answer choice A is a possibility that renders the reasoning questionable.
Answer Choice (B): This answer choice refers to "neglected" information that is irrelevant to the argument. The argument is about the possibility of downloading and reworking a substantial amount of music before publishing it, not merely about publishing it per se. Thus, the answer is incorrect.
Answer Choice (C): This answer choice is true, but not a flaw. When an author seeks to undermine a causal explanation (to say that something is not the result of something else, as the conclusion does here), the author is not required to provide an alternative explanation. In other words, an argument can validly rule out a cause even though it does not identify an alternate cause.
Answer Choice (D): This answer choice attributes an assumption to the author of the argument that is unnecessary to the argument. The premise (the second sentence of the argument) does not tell us whether the 99% rework the music they download or not. Rather, the premise moves straight from downloading to not publishing. So there is no "contrapositive" form of this assumption in the argument, i.e. that anyone who hasn't published downloaded music also hasn't reworked it.
Answer Choice (E): This answer choice attributes an assumption to the author that is irrelevant to the argument. The argument does not need to say anything about what kind of music Internet users prefer to make an argument about the source of a significant amount of Internet music. Maybe there is (or maybe there isn't) a significant amount of music on the Internet that users prefer. That wouldn't tell us anything about where such music comes from. Furthermore the "always" in answer choice E renders the answer too strong to be a necessary assumption.
Flaw in the Reasoning, #%. The correct answer choice is A.
The editor makes a counterargument, concluding in the first sentence that something people assert is a myth. The myth is about what a significant amount of music on the Internet is the result of. The editor thinks there is not a significant amount of music on the Internet that comes from people downloading the music and then reworking it. The evidence for this claim is that 99% of people who download music don't end up "publish[ing] new music of their own."
The problem with the argument is that the editor overlooks the other 1%. What if the 1% do a significant amount of downloading, reworking, and then publishing of the reworked music? Then it could be the case that a significant amount of Internet music is the result of the 1%'s (very substantial) efforts. We need an answer choice that identifies this overlooked possibility.
Answer Choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. This fits the prephrase. Remember that any "overlooks the possibility" answer can be tested using a "weaken test." Does the fact stated in the answer choice weaken the conclusion of the argument? Here, if a relatively small number of people can create a significant amount of new music, then the conclusion (that there can't be a significant amount of such music on the Internet) is attacked directly. Thus, answer choice A is a possibility that renders the reasoning questionable.
Answer Choice (B): This answer choice refers to "neglected" information that is irrelevant to the argument. The argument is about the possibility of downloading and reworking a substantial amount of music before publishing it, not merely about publishing it per se. Thus, the answer is incorrect.
Answer Choice (C): This answer choice is true, but not a flaw. When an author seeks to undermine a causal explanation (to say that something is not the result of something else, as the conclusion does here), the author is not required to provide an alternative explanation. In other words, an argument can validly rule out a cause even though it does not identify an alternate cause.
Answer Choice (D): This answer choice attributes an assumption to the author of the argument that is unnecessary to the argument. The premise (the second sentence of the argument) does not tell us whether the 99% rework the music they download or not. Rather, the premise moves straight from downloading to not publishing. So there is no "contrapositive" form of this assumption in the argument, i.e. that anyone who hasn't published downloaded music also hasn't reworked it.
Answer Choice (E): This answer choice attributes an assumption to the author that is irrelevant to the argument. The argument does not need to say anything about what kind of music Internet users prefer to make an argument about the source of a significant amount of Internet music. Maybe there is (or maybe there isn't) a significant amount of music on the Internet that users prefer. That wouldn't tell us anything about where such music comes from. Furthermore the "always" in answer choice E renders the answer too strong to be a necessary assumption.
