The Little Blue Reasoning Book - Brandon Royal [78]
Question 5
Choice C. This is a passage organization question. Think in terms of the number of viewpoints and the relationships among them.
The author introduces his thesis or summary in the very first sentence — “a controlling insight in my educational philosophy” — then goes on to support it with his personal observations, experiences, and opinions. Thus, choice A is not correct. No objective analysis is put forth; if there were, we would expect to see some surveys, statistics, or alternative viewpoints introduced. Choice B is wrong because there is a single idea presented, but the author agrees with it because it is his own idea. Choice D is incorrect as there are not two viewpoints presented, just one. Choice E suggests a popular viewpoint, but it is highly unlikely that many people have adopted this viewpoint because, according to the author, adults (and, by extension, laypersons) haven’t really caught on. Last, a number of perspectives are not drawn upon. The author chooses to spend the entire article developing his single viewpoint that “no one has ever been — no one could ever be — educated in school or college.”
Quiz – Answers
Back to quiz questions
1. False. The Prisoner’s Dilemma provides an example of how cooperation is superior to competition.
(Tip #17, Chapter 3 – Decision Making)
2. False. The statement “some doctors are rich people” does imply reciprocality because “some rich people must be doctors.”
(Tip #49, Chapter 5 – Mastering Logic)
3. False. The ad hominem fallacy consists in attacking the person, often in a personal or abusive way, rather than attacking the argument or claim being made. Attempting to draw attention away from the real issue by emphasizing a side issue describes the fallacy known as “red herring.”
(Ad Hominem vs. Red Herring, Appendix II – Fallacious Reasoning)
4. False. The halo effect is the tendency to view a person, place, or thing favorably based on only a single incident, trait, or characteristic.
(The Magic of Coincidence, Chapter 1 – Mindset & Perception)
5. False. The formulaic relationship among the three elements of classic argument structure is:
Conclusion = Evidence + Assumption
or
Conclusion − Evidence = Assumption
(Problem 38, Chapter 4 – Analyzing Arguments)
6. False. The words “inference” and “assumption” are not the same and should not be used interchangeably. An “inference” is a logical deduction based on an argument, statement, or written passage. An assumption is an integral component of an argument.
(Avoiding Improper Inferences, Chapter 5 – Mastering Logic)
7. False. Matrixes can be used to summarize data within a two-dimensional grid. Data must be “mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive,” not “collectively exclusive and mutually exhaustive.”
(Tip #4, Chapter 2 – Creative Thinking)
8. False. In formal logic, the phrase “Every A is a B” must be translated as “Only Bs are As,” not “Only As are Bs.” Case in point: The statement “Every cat is a mammal” must be translated as “Only mammals are cats.” It is not true to say that if every cat is a mammal then only cats are mammals.
(Tip #47, Chapter 5 – Mastering Logic)
9. False. Left-brain thinking might be described as “spotlight” thinking, while right-brain thinking might be described as “floodlight” thinking.
(Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking; Chapter 2 – Creative Thinking)
10. False. Utility analysis takes into account the desirability of outcomes by multiplying each value by the probability of its occurrence. We do not total resultant values; we choose the outcome which yields the highest value.
(Utility Analysis vs. Weighted Ranking,