The Little Blue Reasoning Book - Brandon Royal [65]
Evidence: Todd went to a good university. He joined several well-known clubs on campus and met many new friends.
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Problem 21: Valdez
Choice E. This choice would most weaken the original argument. Making a plausible alternative explanation serves to undermine the idea that Ms. Valdez’s international marketing program was the reason for the jump in profits from 8 to 15 percent. The alternative explanation suggests that the increase in profits is due to a corporate acquisition prior to Ms. Valdez’s appointment as president which doubled Zipco’s annual revenues. We do have to assume in choice E that revenues and profits are linked proportionately; nonetheless it is still the best choice.
None of choices A through D brings us close enough to increased revenues or profits. They all mention potentially positive things, but we don’t have a clear assurance that they brought in the bucks (dollars). Choice B, perhaps the best wrong answer choice, simply says that production capacity has increased. We do not know whether an increase in production capacity equals an actual increase in production, or if such an increase in production has resulted in more profits.
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Problem 22: Headline
Choice C. The idea that low self-esteem may be the cause of both obesity and depression most weakens this argument. Here, obesity and depression are deemed the joint effects of another single cause — low self-esteem.
Per choice A, it is not essential to the argument that one understands why he or she is depressed or how to escape from depression’s grip. It is only essential that obesity be the cause of depression. In choice B, it is not necessary for obesity to be the only cause of depression; there could be many ways to become depressed besides becoming obese. In choice D, it is not necessary that obesity and depression be linked proportionally, even if causally related. Depression could occur whenever one is declared “overweight,” even though it would be logical to assume that one who is more overweight is also to some degree more depressed. Per choice E, the terms “desperation” and “suicide,” even if linked to depression, are outside the scope of the claim — “obesity is linked to depression.”
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Problem 23: TV Viewing
Choice E. One way to destroy or seriously damage a causal relationship (e.g., A causes B) is to show that it is not A that causes B but B that causes A. This is what choice E does by suggesting reverse causation. It suggests that aggressive people go looking for violent TV programming, not that violent TV programming makes people aggressive.
Choice A may weaken things a bit, but not drastically. The fact that some viewers in the high-viewing group experienced lower aggression levels than did other subjects in the high-viewing group is not an improbable result. What matters is that more high-viewers experienced more aggression overall relative to low-viewers. Ditto for choice B. Choice C is incorrect because it is irrelevant whether fear did or did not cause some viewers to restrict their viewing. If it did, it will only mean that these viewers should have shown fewer signs of aggression because they weren’t viewing as much. The reason that they are not viewing is effectively irrelevant. Choice D is also irrelevant; what matters is that people actually viewed the programs, not whether the programs were live or pre-recorded.
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Problem 24: Shark
Choice B. First, let’s go to the incorrect answer choices. Answer A is the closest to the correct answer because it generally supports the idea that surfers in other areas are also not being attacked. Choice A slightly strengthens the original argument. Choice C weakens the argument, suggesting that there are no sharks left in the reserve. Choice D also weakens the argument by suggesting that an alternative explanation (e.g., wristbands with metal bells) may be key to understanding why sharks are not attacking surfers. Choice E is essentially irrelevant; we are talking