The Little Blue Reasoning Book - Brandon Royal [33]
First, an individual or organization may lack desire, motivation, or perseverance to carry out a plan. There is a saying that “one who can read but doesn’t is no better than one who cannot read.” The ability to do something is not the same thing as actually using that skill. We all know of examples of extremely talented individuals who lack the focus or perseverance to achieve their true potential.
Second, the required skill or technological capability to carry out the plan may be lacking. Consider the statement a high school graduate made: “Either I’m going to medical school or I am going to join the military and become a member of the Special Forces.” This assumes that the person has the talent and perseverance to get accepted to medical school en route to becoming a doctor. It equally assumes the physical and technical skill, mental toughness, and temperament to make it through training en route to being selected as a member of the Special Forces.
Third, we cannot assume that an individual or organization has the required opportunity or financial wherewithal, that is, economic resources, to complete a given task. In the example above, the high school graduate assumes that in the case of medical school, he or she has the ability to also obtain loans and other forms of financial aid required to complete medical studies.
Fourth, in terms of unanticipated bottlenecks or consequences, think what would happen if everyone pursued the proposed plan. For example, your office may be considering the installation of a new computer e-mail system, which many believe will resolve your company’s communication problems. But what if everyone uses the computer system at the same time? The system might just crash because it is unable to accommodate all users (technological limitations).
Be suspicious of any claim that suggests that legislation can solve a problem. Legislation can certainly be used to discourage or limit undesirable actions, but it does not prevent them per se. Legislation to prevent discrimination, for instance, may not work if people themselves are unwilling to stop discrimination. Likewise, passing a law to increase fines for people parking their cars illegally in front of prestigious shopping venues will not necessarily stop shoppers from parking their cars, particularly wealthy consumers who may nonetheless decide to park illegally and accept higher fines.
The following section provides an opportunity to solve critical reasoning problems. These multiple-choice problems are grouped according the five categories introduced here: comparison and analogy assumptions, representativeness assumptions, “good evidence” assumptions, cause-and-effect assumptions, and implementation assumptions.
TESTING CRITICAL REASONING
Tip #23: Watch for “scope shifts,” which occur when one term is substituted for another as an argument unfolds.
Problem 12: Crime
According to an article in the Life and Times section of the Sunday newspaper, crime is on the downturn in our city. Police initiatives, neighborhood watches, stiff fines, and lengthened prison terms have all played a significant role in reducing the number of reported crimes by 20 percent.
Which of the following would most weaken the belief that crime has decreased in our city?
A) In its Sunday newspaper, a neighboring city has also reported a decrease in crime.
B) Police officers were among those citizens who voted for a bill to support police initiatives to reduce crime in our city.
C) Most of the recent police arrests were repeat offenders.
D) The author of the article includes white-collar crime in his definition of crime, thus increasing the number of reported crimes.
E) It