#12 - When doctors vaccinate a patient, their intention is

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Parallel Reasoning, Principle. The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[samanthaadams2112]

I am having trouble deciding why B is correct over E. So I thought the principle in the stimulus would be something along the lines of exposing something/someone to a weakened version of a thing will make it less likely that they will develop a more severe version of the weakened thing they were exposed to. I saw B as somewhat fitting that, when kids are exposed to a weakened version of treachery and cruelty they will be better suited to deal with a stronger/more severe version of treachery and cruelty in the real world, but my main problem with B is that it assumes that there will be treachery and cruelty in the real world, whereas in the stimulus, the weakened version of the disease is sort of preventing the more severe version. The weakened form of treachery and cruelty in B is not preventing the actual treachery and cruelty in the real world or making it less likely that there will be treachery and cruelty. That is why I liked E, because it was like the police department exposing criminals who commit minor crimes to an energetic response were aiming to prevent the criminals from committing a more severe crime. Seemed more on point with the stimulus. Maybe I interpreted the stimulus or B or E wrong, but I would love an explanation of why one is right and the other is wrong!

Thanks!

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi Samantha,

I thought the principle in the stimulus would be something along the lines of exposing something/someone to a weakened version of a thing will make it less likely that they will develop a more severe version of the weakened thing they were exposed to.

That's a really good prephrase! The issue with answer choice (E) however is that the police are pursuing minor crimes to deter different people from committing crimes. As you said in your prephrase, we want an effect on the person who was exposed to the weakened form, not an example for other people to follow.

but my main problem with B is that it assumes that there will be treachery and cruelty in the real world, whereas in the stimulus, the weakened version of the disease is sort of preventing the more severe version.

Answer choice (B) tells us that the fairy tales contain an allegorical treatment of "treachery and cruelty." This is done to inure children to real versions of "treachery and cruelty" in the real world, so the fairy tale version sounds like a weakened form to me. It is also commonsense to assume that what we would call "treachery and cruelty" do exist in the real world.

[1month2go]

Why is choice D incorrect?

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, 1month2go,

This kind of parallel question requires you to describe what occurs in the stimulus and then find a match in the answers. Start by reading the scenario:

• Doctors give vaccines, a weakened form of a disease, to protect from the real disease later.

Next, describe what happens:

• Somebody gives someone else a weaker version of something to protect from the real thing later.

Then match this to the answer choices.

Let's try it with answer choice D:

• A business closes, costing it money now, to help it be profitable later.

There are aspects that are similar, such as doing something in the present to plan for something later, but do we have a total match? Not quite. We don't have:

• A weakened/lesser version of something.
• Somebody doing something for someone else.
• A bad thing you're trying to prevent later.

For these three reasons D isn't a great match.

I hope this helps!

[1month2go]

Hi, 1month2go,

This kind of parallel question requires you to describe what occurs in the stimulus and then find a match in the answers. Start by reading the scenario:

• Doctors give vaccines, a weakened form of a disease, to protect from the real disease later.

Next, describe what happens:

• Somebody gives someone else a weaker version of something to protect from the real thing later.

Then match this to the answer choices.

Let's try it with answer choice D:

• A business closes, costing it money now, to help it be profitable later.

There are aspects that are similar, such as doing something in the present to plan for something later, but do we have a total match? Not quite. We don't have:

• A weakened/lesser version of something.
• Somebody doing something for someone else.
• A bad thing you're trying to prevent later.

For these three reasons D isn't a great match.

I hope this helps!

Thanks, that makes sense!

[pmuffley]

Hello!

I was between B and D with this one. The reason I ultimately chose D was because B says "when they encounter them later in life".

I didn't take the stimulus for making an absolute statement. I thought that would look something like this: "...and thus to make the patient better able to resist the pathogen and less likely to develop a severe form of that disease when they are exposed to it in the future."

Can you help correct my thinking please?

[Robert Carroll]

pmuffley,

Is answer choice (B) making an absolute statement? I don't see it. Also, I notice you didn't provide any justification for answer choice (D), which is nothing like the stimulus. So you seem to recognize that answer choice (D) has nothing going for it. So answer choice (B) has people being exposed to a weaker form of a bad thing early, to make it less severe if they're exposed later. Sounds exactly like the stimulus!

Robert Carroll

[pmuffley]

Hey Robert,

Thanks for all of your replies! With this one specifically, I see exactly what you're talking about. In a more general sense, can you help me understand the "no absolute" part. "When" to me is an absolute. "If" would be a possibility. I literally cannot wrap my head around this one and I don't want to mess up a problem like this just because I fought one word.

[Robert Carroll]

pmuffley,

"If" and "when" are both sufficient condition indicators, though, so they are similar in degree of absoluteness. What differentiates them is that "when" is arguably temporal, whereas "if" need not be. So, in terms of absoluteness, there is no difference, so no need to reject answer choice (B) on that basis.

Robert Carroll