Jane and Alan

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Jane and Alan

by binit » Sun Jun 28, 2015 12:34 am
Q. Jane: According to an article in this newsmagazine, children's hand-eye coordination suffers when they spend a great amount of time watching television. Therefore, we must restrict the amount of time Jacqueline and Mildred are allowed to watch television.
Alan: Rubbish! The article says that only children under three are affected in that way. Jacqueline is ten and Mildred is eight. Therefore, we need not restrict their television viewing.

Alan's argument against Jane's conclusion makes which one of the following errors in reasoning?
A. It relies on the same source that Jane cited in support of her conclusion.
B. It confuses undermining an argument in support of a given conclusion with showing that the conclusion itself is false.
C. It does not address the main point of Jane's argument and focuses instead on a side issue.
D. It makes an irrelevant appeal to an authority.
E. It fails to distinguish the consequences of a certain practice from the causes of the practice.

[spoiler]OA: B[/spoiler]

I am not fully convinced with the OA, however, there are no better choices. Anybody interested in any good point of discussion?

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by theCEO » Sun Jun 28, 2015 8:37 am
binit wrote:Q. Jane: According to an article in this newsmagazine, children's hand-eye coordination suffers when they spend a great amount of time watching television. Therefore, we must restrict the amount of time Jacqueline and Mildred are allowed to watch television.
Alan: Rubbish! The article says that only children under three are affected in that way. Jacqueline is ten and Mildred is eight. Therefore, we need not restrict their television viewing.

Alan's argument against Jane's conclusion makes which one of the following errors in reasoning?
A. It relies on the same source that Jane cited in support of her conclusion.
B. It confuses undermining an argument in support of a given conclusion with showing that the conclusion itself is false.
C. It does not address the main point of Jane's argument and focuses instead on a side issue.
D. It makes an irrelevant appeal to an authority.
E. It fails to distinguish the consequences of a certain practice from the causes of the practice.

[spoiler]OA: B[/spoiler]

I am not fully convinced with the OA, however, there are no better choices. Anybody interested in any good point of discussion?
Hi binit,

Which of the choices did you absolutely rule out?

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by bubbliiiiiiii » Mon Jun 29, 2015 9:31 am
binit wrote:Q. Jane: According to an article in this newsmagazine, children's hand-eye coordination suffers when they spend a great amount of time watching television. Therefore, we must restrict the amount of time Jacqueline and Mildred are allowed to watch television.
Alan: Rubbish! The article says that only children under three are affected in that way. Jacqueline is ten and Mildred is eight. Therefore, we need not restrict their television viewing.

Alan's argument against Jane's conclusion makes which one of the following errors in reasoning?
A. It relies on the same source that Jane cited in support of her conclusion.
Usage same source as proof to debate strengthens rather than weaken. Thus, eliminate.
B. It confuses undermining an argument in support of a given conclusion with showing that the conclusion itself is false.
C. It does not address the main point of Jane's argument and focuses instead on a side issue.
Main point of Jane's argument is not allow chiuldren to watch television and Alan addresses the same issue. Thus, eliminate.
D. It makes an irrelevant appeal to an authority.
Appeal!?! Could not relate. Thus, eliminate.
E. It fails to distinguish the consequences of a certain practice from the causes of the practice.
It precisely takes into account the conequence and cause by stating age of children. Thus, eliminate.

[spoiler]OA: B[/spoiler]

I am not fully convinced with the OA, however, there are no better choices. Anybody interested in any good point of discussion?
By POE, B.
Regards,

Pranay

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by binit » Wed Jul 01, 2015 1:37 am
Hi theCEO and bubbliiiiiiii,

Thanks for your replies. As I told, no doubt B is the best choice available. So, basically POE is the only way to arrive at solution, I think. Whereas, are u ppl convinced with B?

According to B, Alan confuses undermining Jane's argument by showing that her conclusion is wrong. Is that correct? Alan provided info that their children are NOT at risk, so isn't he attacking Jane's main evidence behind her conclusion? If so, he is basically providing a strong weakener. Yes, he could have concluded that "Therefore our kids are not at risk". So, his conclusion is basically broader, but he definitely undermines Jane's argument.

Pls share your thoughts.

~Binit.

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by nikhilgmat31 » Thu Jul 30, 2015 2:58 am
E can be a possible solution too. since watch too much TV even for 8 or 10 years of kids is harmful :)

anyways B is answer.