#10 - Unlike many machines that are perfectly useful in

[Arindom]

Hi,

So, the conclusion here is that fax industry some cooperation among competing manufacturers has helped the industry in that the fax machines are useful and there is commercial viability as well.

Can you explain why ans choice D is wrong then?

Thanks.

- Arindom

[David Boyle]

Hi,

So, the conclusion here is that fax industry some cooperation among competing manufacturers has helped the industry in that the fax machines are useful and there is commercial viability as well.

Can you explain why ans choice D is wrong then?

Thanks.

- Arindom

Hello Arindom,

One problem with answer D, "Some cooperation among manufacturers in the same industry is more beneficial than is pure competition.", is that it doesn't say for *whom* it's more beneficial. The public? the consumer? the manufacturer? all of the above?
By contrast, answer B, "In some industries it is in the interest of competitors to cooperate to some extent with one another.", focuses the benefit on the competitors themselves, and the commercial viability they need to stay in business, re the stimulus.

Hope this helps,
David

[reg4315]

Would (A) or (D) be correct if the question were a Principle or Strengthen question? Or, even just speaking more generally, would the stronger/more generalized wording of answer choices (A) and (D) be appropriate in principle and strengthen types overall?

Thanks!!

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi Reg,

Answer choice (A) would strengthen the conclusion. The wording here is appropriately strong.

Answer choice (D) would not strengthen the conclusion. As David wrote above, " it doesn't say for *whom* it's more beneficial. The public? the consumer? the manufacturer? all of the above?" The conclusion states that lack of cooperation limited the usefulness of the technology. Since answer choice (D) does not tell us in what way cooperation is beneficial, it does not strengthen the conclusion. Furthermore, we do not know if the fax industry experienced "pure" competition." The wording here is actually rather weak at some points.

[Leela]

Though A is a strengthen answer, I chose it because it seemed to more appropriately address what's given in the stimulus. I'm confused. I didn't choose B, because I thought "some industries" was too broad seeing as we only know about the fax industry.

[Brook Miscoski]

Leela,

The question asks you which answer choice is supported by the stimulus, so this is a must be true question (not a strengthen question). When doing a must be true question, you must strive to restrict yourself to the information stated in the stimulus. The stimulus is only about fax machines. Thus (A), a choice about machines in general, must be eliminated immediately.

The difference between (A) and (B) is the use of the word "whenever" in (A) versus the use of the word "some" in (B). Remember, "some" means "at least one." Thus, (B) states: "In at least one industry it is in the interests of competitors to cooperate to some extent with one another." We know that is true, because it's true about the fax machine industry, satisfying the "at least one."

"Whenever," however, means "always," so (A) is a claim that goes far beyond fax machines.

[Leela]

Thanks, Brook! I had forgotten that some means "at least one."