#13 - Global Reference, Main Point

[chian9010]

I have a question of answer choice E.
I think this answer choice, in general, covers more details (game theory comparisons) than C (which only focuses on evolution theory not even mentions about the traditional theory or classic game theory).

Is E incorrect because it indicated the evolution game theory is currently used by scientistS? (which we don't know whether many scientists agree or not)

And it is incorrect because it doesn't predict the behavior of "spiders" in general but only a specific spider- "A. aperta"

[Brook Miscoski]

Chian, you're on the correct trail.

I would eliminate (E) for the following reasons:

1. You are right that the passage only suggests scientists could use evolutionary game theory, not that they already accept its use.
2. The passage is about how to explain behavior during territorial disputes. (E) is about site selection. The author explains that site selection can affect behavior during territorial disputes (there is more fighting if the site is less habitable), so site selection is a factor in evolutionary game theory, it is not what the scientist is trying to explain.

[chian9010]

Very clear! Thank you so much!

[scerankosky7]

Is there an explanation as to why A is not correct? My impression was C may have been too specific and did not mention the seemingly much-talked about concept of classical theory (almost in a comparative passage sort of way), so I went with a broader theme in A.

Thank you so much?

[Adam Tyson]

A is incorrect, scerankosky7, because it is not comprehensive enough to capture the main point of the passage overall. While it might be true that these two similar theories could be used to analyze decision-making, the passage is about more than that. It's about how evolutionary game theory is superior to the species-specific theory introduced in the first paragraph when it comes to analyzing the behavior of at least one species of spider. That IS more specific, which is part of what makes C a better choice. Being specific isn't a problem with that answer, but a benefit of it!

Another problem with answer A is that the passage has little to do with human behavior or with classical game theory. That's just some background and context to help us better understand the features of evolutionary game theory. Since humans and classical theory are not a central focus of the passage, we should not be talking about them in our main point answer.