LR BIBLE(2016) p.314 Question no.4

[smile913]

Hi,

As I was going through chapter 9, I seem to have misunderstood some concepts.
I thought
"(B) The brains of the rats that consistently chose to eat fatty foods did not contain significantly more fat than did the brains of rats that consistently chose lean foods " would be an answer choice that eliminates an alternate cause for the effect. Wouldn't the fat content in the brain be an alternate explanation to why rats consistently chose fatty foods?
According to the LR Bible, answer choice (B) was classified as a Shell Game answer.

I can't discern Eliminating an alternate cause(Type A) answers from Shell Game type answers.
As always, your help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi smile913,

Thanks for your question!

Answer choice (B) does not eliminate an alternate cause for the stated effect. To argue that it does, we need to assume that fat content in the brain would somehow lead to increased craving of fatty food. Such a causal connection is neither implied nor explicitly stated, and it is certainly not plausible or commonsense. Therefore, answer choice (B) has no cognizable effect on the argument's conclusion.

Hope this clears it up!

Thanks,

[smile913]

Your reply cleared my confusion
Thank you very much!

[Wounded_Bear]

Hi PowerScore Fam,

I also am having trouble with this question. I am working off LR Bible 2020 Edition and am referring to Q #4 and page 338.

I understand why AC D is the correct AC. However, I can't seem to wrap my head around why AC A is wrong. When I first read it, I put it as a Contender because I thought perhaps it is eliminating an alternate cause (i.e., it was not that they just craved fatty foods). Does the ability to recognize that this AC is wrong solely rest on recognizing that 'consistently chosen' already rules out the possibility that it could have been mere cravings? I'm going to take a break from the question for a bit lol -- maybe when I look at it with fresh eyes later, I'll see it with more clarity. But if I am missing something, please let me know. Thanks!