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 Adam Tyson
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#49896
In this case, yes, Deck, but not always. It would have been possible for the set of answer choices to have been more complex, with multiple premises, and only one matching the structure of "this thing has not changed while other things have tried to improve, therefore this thing will not do better than it has before in comparison to those other things." Answer D doesn't completely match the stimulus, but it matches it better than the others because of the combination of a Time Shift and a conclusion that is completely certain.
 nivernova
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#100740
Why is it not a Parallel FLAW????

Bot the argument in the stimulus and the correct answer choice contain are flawed.

I don't understand why it is just a Parallel question.
 Jeremy Press
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#100750
Hi nivernova,

Most of the time in a Parallel question with a flaw, the question stem will tell you that there is flawed reasoning in the stimulus so that you can be aware to look for the stimulus flaw (and the matching flaw in the correct answer). But there are a few Parallel questions where the question stem doesn't refer to flawed reasoning but the stimulus still has a flaw anyway. In those cases, the test makers are expecting you to pick up on the flaw and find an answer choice that best matches. That definitely makes the question trickier, but you do have to be aware that it's a possibility. You'll probably still see us label those questions "Parallel Reasoning" questions (because of the language of the question stem), but the presence of the flaw means you have to match that element as well.
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 acaiblueberry
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#112510
I tripped up on this question because I focused too much on the word "recently" in D and thought it was wrong as the stimulus was addressing something from over the past ten years. Even though recently implies a shorter period of time than ten years, am I correct to say that matching that wording doesn't matter but rather recognizing that both deal with the passing of time and how the past can inform predictions?
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 Jeff Wren
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#112547
Hi acaiblueberry,

You wrote:

"Even though recently implies a shorter period of time than ten years"

Not necessarily, so you'll want to be careful making those types of assumptions. While I agree that this is generally the case, a lot depends on the context in which the word is being used.

For example, the statement, "Presidential elections have recently been very close" may include elections beyond 10 years. In other words, they are recent in the context of all elections.

That being said, I agree that in the context of Answer D, recently would likely suggest a shorter time frame than 10 years.

Matching the exact time frame doesn't matter, but matching other elements in the argument (such as the level of certainty) does matter. The major difference between Answer B and Answer D is that Answer B concludes that something will "probably" happen, while Answer D (and the stimulus) conclude that something will happen (for certain).

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