The Little Blue Reasoning Book - Brandon Royal [61]
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Representativeness Assumptions
Problem 14: Movie Buffs
Choice B. This is a classic representative sample assumption question. The argument assumes that a sample based on people attending Sunday matinees (afternoon showings) is representative of the whole country of moviegoers. The question is, “How representative is the opinion of those attending Sunday matinees?” For example, Sunday matinee moviegoers might consist of a disproportionate number of family viewers (i.e., people with children) who prefer not to watch bizarre or violent movies during their Sunday afternoons. For this sample to be representative, we need to survey at least some Saturday night moviegoers, Saturday matinee moviegoers, and weekday moviegoers.
Choice A does weaken the argument somewhat by suggesting that people will see a movie regardless of its genre just so long as their star actor (or actress) appears. Choice C is incorrect because we are concerned about the current tastes of moviegoers and not the movie hits of yesteryear.
Choice D is incorrect. We cannot assume that increased book sales and college enrollment in criminology courses is necessarily linked to trends among moviegoers. As far as we know, the moderate increase in course enrollments is the result of many other factors.
Choice E is incorrect because it notionally strengthens the idea that movie producers should stop producing these types of movies because they are financially unsound. If actors’ salaries are high, then movie production costs will be higher, putting pressure on the bottom line.
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Problem 15: Bull Market
Choice A. This argument assumes that the whole of the Indian economy can be judged from the strength of the stock market, here the National Stock Exchange (NSE) index. In choice B, the fact that the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index (another major stock exchange in India) has gone up does lend support for the comments made but it does not lend as much support as does choice A. Choice A provides direct support for the key assumption in the argument.
The fact that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) index was down this time last year, choice C, neither lends support for nor weakens the argument at hand. The fact that the Asian and European economies are also considered strong (choice D) lends some tangential support to a strong Indian economy, but it is hard to draw any firm conclusions from this fact. The fact that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) index is subject to great fluctuations (choice E) serves to weaken the comments made.
This is essentially the same argument used in the example titled “Finland” in chapter 2, which may also be viewed under the guise of a representativeness assumption. The argument concludes (in the “general”) that Finland is the most technologically advanced country on earth; the argument uses as evidence (in the “particular”) the fact that more people per capita own mobile phones in Finland than anywhere else on earth.
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Problem 16: Putting
Choice C. The argument assumes that the ability to putt is the pivotal factor in determining whether a person can achieve a low golf score. A good golf game has many ingredients, including putting, driving, iron shots, chipping, sand trap shots, judging weather, pacing, strategy, temperament, experience, physical fitness, and competitiveness. This passage assumes that it all happens on the putting green. Although it would be impossible to argue that putting is not an important component to achieving a low score in golf, it is certainly not the only factor.
Choice A is incorrect. We cannot assume that there is no way to improve a golf game other than with