#13 - The use of ordinary dictionaries in interpreting the

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below!

[lanereuden]

So for this one I thought About answer choice A because it is just used to give alphabetical ordering, then that is not useful

On the other hand, I am curious as to how B weakens the argument

I feel like you have to assume that agreed-upon is a condition which is sufficient (necessary?) to have utility/use, given the statement: the periodic table is a convenient source of agreed upon background information that can be usefully applied to the problem on which a chemist is working

[Juanq42]

So for this one I thought About answer choice A because it is just used to give alphabetical ordering, then that is not useful

On the other hand, I am curious as to how B weakens the argument

I feel like you have to assume that agreed-upon is a condition which is sufficient (necessary?) to have utility/use, given the statement: the periodic table is a convenient source of agreed upon background information that can be usefully applied to the problem on which a chemist is working

Hi,

The way I understood this question was that this argument by analogy attempts to compare dictionaries to periodic tables on the basis of their interpretive quality. It states how periodic tables interpretations are "agreed upon" (undisputed / consistent). Answer B would weaken the argument since it questions a dictionaries "agreed upon" definitions which subsequently weakens its usefulness.

[James Finch]

Hi Juan,

Exactly, (B) weakens the stimulus by attacking the analogical reasoning, as an analogical situation must function the same way as whatever the argument is trying to prove in order to serve as an actual premise. If the two situations do not function similarly, then the analogy doesn't work and thus cannot function as a premise, weakening the argument.

[jm123]

Is E incorrect because it says "used primarily by chemists?" Whereas the analogy in the stimulus isn't relevant to the primary source, just if that source is agreed-upon background information. Would E be classified as a shell game answer because it seems to be attacking the argument at first glance but isn't really because no primary usage was discussed?

[Adam Tyson]

Sounds about right to me, jm123! It's not about who uses the source, but about how useful that source is. Is the dictionary just as reliable and consistent in its way as the periodic table is? Good work spotting the problem in answer E, which I think could be called a sort of Shell Game answer.