#13 - Reformer: A survey of police departments keeps track

[Dancingbambarina]

Hello,

This is a flaw #% question. Please comment if these questions and all #% questions follow page 584 of the book regarding if we are talking strictly one of the three - percentages in this case - we cannot answer with another - like a number in answer C.

Answer C seems very sensical but am I right it is the wrong answer because we do not know the stimulus overlooks it. It may have indeed considered this possibility, and plus even if population did increase, percentage coud've still decreased?

Thank you!!!!!!

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Dancingbambarina,

Yes, if an argument mentions only one of these (either % or raw numbers) throughout the argument, then an answer that only mentions the other should generally be avoided. (I won't ever go so far as to say "always" when discussing strategies, but the strategy is generally reliable.)

Because the argument uses percentages, any increase or decrease in population has already been factored into the argument (For example, to determine what percentage of the population is in prison, which is mentioned as increasing in the stimulus, one must divide the number of people in prison by the number of the general population.)

Answer C would only make sense as the flaw if the argument had been using raw numbers.

For example, imagine the following argument:

"City X had 100 crimes last year, but 200 crimes this year. Therefore, City X is getting more dangerous/crime is becoming a more serious problem in City X."

Well, what if the population of City X actually tripled this year? Then 200 crimes might not sound so bad compared to the 100 crimes last year, because 200 crimes out of a population three times as big would actually be a reduction in the crime rate as a percentage of the population.