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- Tue Apr 26, 2016 3:55 pm
#23438
Complete Question Explanation
Flaw in the Reasoning-#%. The correct answer choice is (B)
The argument is that, since right-handed people cause more household accidents than do left-handed people, left-handed people are not more accident-prone than are right-handed people.
The argument is flawed. It is common knowledge that more people are right-handed than are left-handed, and that should help you to realize that the reasoning in the stimulus does not prove its conclusion. If we are going to use data about who causes more accidents, we also need data about who there are more or less of.
For example, if 100 left-handed people cause 50 accidents, and 10,000 right-handed people cause 1,000 accidents, the left handed people might still be more accident prone, because 50% of left-handed people versus 10% of right-handed people caused accidents. The proportion of accidents attributed to left-handed people can't be understood fully without information about the proportion of left-handed people in the population.
Answer choice (A): There is a real distinction between people who use the left hand and those who use the right hand. The word "real" does not mean significant, and you should not interpret it that way. Furthermore, since the argument attempts to undermine the distinction of left-handed people as more accident-prone, you should not select an answer choice that claims the argument makes a distinction.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The argument did not discuss the frequency, or percentage, of left-handed people in the population, and that is a seriously flawed omission.
Answer choice (C): The argument limits the class of accidents to "household" accidents, but that does not constitute using the word "accident" in two different senses. This was an attractive choice, because susceptibility to household accidents might not prove much about susceptibility to accidents in general. However, this answer choice does not describe that flaw, and the argument used the word "accident" the same way both times. The limitation through the modifier "household" was different, but the meaning of the word "accident" was the same in both uses.
Answer choice (D): The argument does neglect the possibility that a person might cause more than one accident. However, that possibility just makes it more likely that the statistics are created by a few horribly uncoordinated persons, not right-handed or left-handed people in general, which supports the idea that left-handedness does not make a person more accident-prone. There are a few ways of stretching this choice into a shaky criticism of the argument, but the truth is that those angles are unjustified, and you should stay away from this response because it does not address the major flaw in the argument.
Answer choice (E): The evidence is certainly not irrelevant, it is simply inconclusive, or incomplete. Furthermore, if something is a myth, it is not a flaw to state as much. Before you pick a choice such as this one, you must be very certain that the stimulus consisted of nothing more than character attacks or insults.
Flaw in the Reasoning-#%. The correct answer choice is (B)
The argument is that, since right-handed people cause more household accidents than do left-handed people, left-handed people are not more accident-prone than are right-handed people.
The argument is flawed. It is common knowledge that more people are right-handed than are left-handed, and that should help you to realize that the reasoning in the stimulus does not prove its conclusion. If we are going to use data about who causes more accidents, we also need data about who there are more or less of.
For example, if 100 left-handed people cause 50 accidents, and 10,000 right-handed people cause 1,000 accidents, the left handed people might still be more accident prone, because 50% of left-handed people versus 10% of right-handed people caused accidents. The proportion of accidents attributed to left-handed people can't be understood fully without information about the proportion of left-handed people in the population.
Answer choice (A): There is a real distinction between people who use the left hand and those who use the right hand. The word "real" does not mean significant, and you should not interpret it that way. Furthermore, since the argument attempts to undermine the distinction of left-handed people as more accident-prone, you should not select an answer choice that claims the argument makes a distinction.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The argument did not discuss the frequency, or percentage, of left-handed people in the population, and that is a seriously flawed omission.
Answer choice (C): The argument limits the class of accidents to "household" accidents, but that does not constitute using the word "accident" in two different senses. This was an attractive choice, because susceptibility to household accidents might not prove much about susceptibility to accidents in general. However, this answer choice does not describe that flaw, and the argument used the word "accident" the same way both times. The limitation through the modifier "household" was different, but the meaning of the word "accident" was the same in both uses.
Answer choice (D): The argument does neglect the possibility that a person might cause more than one accident. However, that possibility just makes it more likely that the statistics are created by a few horribly uncoordinated persons, not right-handed or left-handed people in general, which supports the idea that left-handedness does not make a person more accident-prone. There are a few ways of stretching this choice into a shaky criticism of the argument, but the truth is that those angles are unjustified, and you should stay away from this response because it does not address the major flaw in the argument.
Answer choice (E): The evidence is certainly not irrelevant, it is simply inconclusive, or incomplete. Furthermore, if something is a myth, it is not a flaw to state as much. Before you pick a choice such as this one, you must be very certain that the stimulus consisted of nothing more than character attacks or insults.