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- Thu Jan 21, 2016 12:00 am
#77322
Complete Question Explanation
Flaw. The correct answer choice is (E).
The stimulus opens by describing a widely-held belief that by 80, people aren't as sharp as when they were 30. But, a study showed no difference between the two groups when they played a card game that was supposed to test those things. On this basis, the author concludes that the entire belief is false.
Speaking from strictly a Flaw in the Reasoning perspective, the card game offers some evidence that the widely-held belief is false, but then the author takes that little bit of evidence and runs with it way too far, ultimately concluding that the entire belief is known to be false.
The question stem here asks you to identify what the author may have overlooked in drawing the conclusion. While we can clearly see what the author did, use your own analysis first to help prephrase an answer. If someone told you about this widely held belief, what would you think if they told you a card game disproved that belief? Would the results of a card game be enough evidence to make you doubt the claim? If not, why?
Answer choice (A): There is no problem if this is the case. Perception and memory were the basis of the widely-held belief, and the card game was focused on those two things. Just because the card game doesn't address other factors isn't relevant because it addresses the two under consideration.
Answer choice (B): This point, if overlooked, wouldn't hurt the argument but rather help strengthen it. That is interesting, because it's a tipoff that an answer that is opposite of this would likely be correct.
Answer choice (C): The author hasn't overlooked this even if they didn't address it. similar to (A), the belief was perception and memory and the card game tests those. No differences were found, and so even if the two were interrelated in ways we aren't aware, the results still showed no difference.
Answer choice (D): Whatever caused the belief to become widely held isn't important here, since the conclusion was based on the results of the card game. The fact that the card game showed no difference is the reason for dismissing the belief, not the origin of the belief.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. If this is the case, then the results of the study aren't all that helpful. If playing the game perfectly is easy, then maybe anyone could do it: 30 year olds, 80 year olds, 5 year olds, etc. Would the results of such a game provide a lot of insight into the possibilities of cognitive decline? Not likely—the game is too easy to yield the kind of results that would be helpful, which then undermines the conclusion of the argument. Note also how this answer works in opposition to answer (B).
Consider also that the use of "perfectly" here strengthens this answer since it helps show the game can't be all that challenging; if playing perfectly doesn't require much brainpower, the results won't do much as far as separating people into different groups of cognitive ability.
Flaw. The correct answer choice is (E).
The stimulus opens by describing a widely-held belief that by 80, people aren't as sharp as when they were 30. But, a study showed no difference between the two groups when they played a card game that was supposed to test those things. On this basis, the author concludes that the entire belief is false.
Speaking from strictly a Flaw in the Reasoning perspective, the card game offers some evidence that the widely-held belief is false, but then the author takes that little bit of evidence and runs with it way too far, ultimately concluding that the entire belief is known to be false.
The question stem here asks you to identify what the author may have overlooked in drawing the conclusion. While we can clearly see what the author did, use your own analysis first to help prephrase an answer. If someone told you about this widely held belief, what would you think if they told you a card game disproved that belief? Would the results of a card game be enough evidence to make you doubt the claim? If not, why?
Answer choice (A): There is no problem if this is the case. Perception and memory were the basis of the widely-held belief, and the card game was focused on those two things. Just because the card game doesn't address other factors isn't relevant because it addresses the two under consideration.
Answer choice (B): This point, if overlooked, wouldn't hurt the argument but rather help strengthen it. That is interesting, because it's a tipoff that an answer that is opposite of this would likely be correct.
Answer choice (C): The author hasn't overlooked this even if they didn't address it. similar to (A), the belief was perception and memory and the card game tests those. No differences were found, and so even if the two were interrelated in ways we aren't aware, the results still showed no difference.
Answer choice (D): Whatever caused the belief to become widely held isn't important here, since the conclusion was based on the results of the card game. The fact that the card game showed no difference is the reason for dismissing the belief, not the origin of the belief.
Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. If this is the case, then the results of the study aren't all that helpful. If playing the game perfectly is easy, then maybe anyone could do it: 30 year olds, 80 year olds, 5 year olds, etc. Would the results of such a game provide a lot of insight into the possibilities of cognitive decline? Not likely—the game is too easy to yield the kind of results that would be helpful, which then undermines the conclusion of the argument. Note also how this answer works in opposition to answer (B).
Consider also that the use of "perfectly" here strengthens this answer since it helps show the game can't be all that challenging; if playing perfectly doesn't require much brainpower, the results won't do much as far as separating people into different groups of cognitive ability.
Dave Killoran
PowerScore Test Preparation
Follow me on X/Twitter at http://twitter.com/DaveKilloran
My LSAT Articles: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/author/dave-killoran
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PowerScore Test Preparation
Follow me on X/Twitter at http://twitter.com/DaveKilloran
My LSAT Articles: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/author/dave-killoran
PowerScore Podcast: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/
