Critical Reasoning

Codex Berinensis, a Florentine copy of an ancient roman medical treatise , is undated but contains clues to when it was produced. Its first eighty pages are by a single copyist, but the remaining twenty pages are by three different copyists, which indicates some significant disruption. Since a letter in handwriting identified as that of the fourth copyist mentions a plague that killed many people in florence in 1148, Codex Berinensis was probably produced in that year.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis that Codex Berinensis was produced in 1148?

a) Other than Codex Berinensis, there are no known samples of the handwriting of the first three copyists
b) According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for ten months.
c) A scribe would be able to copy a page of text the size and style of Codex Berinensis in a day.
d) there was only on outbreak of plague in florence in the 1100s
e) The number of pages of Codex Berinensis produced by a single scribe becomes smaller with each successive change of copyist

Here is my approach....
For strengthen question I try to find a weakness or flaw in the argument,& look for an answer that eliminates the weakness.
So,For question above..i negated b... and got
According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for more than ten months. may be more than 12 so obviously it weakens the argument...
Thus I selected b as an answer.... but seeing og i tried negating D... which also seems to weaken an argument...

My question is.....
In above question how do I decide between option B and D......and moreover is my approach right..

Regards

Onell wrote:Codex Berinensis, a Florentine copy of an ancient roman medical treatise , is undated but contains clues to when it was produced. Its first eighty pages are by a single copyist, but the remaining twenty pages are by three different copyists, which indicates some significant disruption. Since a letter in handwriting identified as that of the fourth copyist mentions a plague that killed many people in florence in 1148, Codex Berinensis was probably produced in that year.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis that Codex Berinensis was produced in 1148?

a) Other than Codex Berinensis, there are no known samples of the handwriting of the first three copyists
b) According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for ten months.
c) A scribe would be able to copy a page of text the size and style of Codex Berinensis in a day.
d) there was only on outbreak of plague in florence in the 1100s
e) The number of pages of Codex Berinensis produced by a single scribe becomes smaller with each successive change of copyist

Here is my approach....
For strengthen question I try to find a weakness or flaw in the argument,& look for an answer that eliminates the weakness.
So,For question above..i negated b... and got
According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for more than ten months. may be more than 12 so obviously it weakens the argument...
Thus I selected b as an answer.... but seeing og i tried negating D... which also seems to weaken an argument...

My question is.....
In above question how do I decide between option B and D......and moreover is my approach right..

Regards

I think this is from OG 12
and i remember this question as i feel the answer is not sound.

I think it said answer was D....

It doesnt work as in real life,if we start thinking in real world scenario D may sound insance but with the information available here D is better than other so it is OA.
Logic is
that date it is mentioned by fourth writer
it took 3 writers to write last pages compared to 1 (so something must have been wrong,may be this question assumes plauge killed them)
and if there was only one plauge and author has mentioned about it,it should have been started then....he mentions date as important thing
(may be it started in 1108 then,plauge killed first writer ....then second one...then third one...)

It feels like digging answer to me but i guess that is logic for D which is OA

dont start comparing it with real life,it is best available answer with available information


and about B the word "significant disruption" helps you
10 month may not be considered as significant disruption in history.So it lasted for only 10 months and book writing was resumed in 11th month it would not have "significant disruption".I think thats the reason for which that word is there in question.

thanks

Here is my approach....
For strengthen question I try to find a weakness or flaw in the argument,& look for an answer that eliminates the weakness.
So,For question above..i negated b... and got
According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for more than ten months. may be more than 12 so obviously it weakens the argument...
Thus I selected b as an answer.... but seeing og i tried negating D... which also seems to weaken an argument...

My question is.....
In above question how do I decide between option B and D......and moreover is my approach right..

P1: Codex Berinensis, a Florentine copy of an ancient roman medical treatise , is undated but contains clues to when it was produced.
P2: Its first eighty pages are by a single copyist, but the remaining twenty pages are by three different copyists, which indicates some significant disruption.
P3: A letter in handwriting identified as that of the fourth copyist mentions a plague that killed many people in Florence in 1148.
C1: Codex Berinensis was probably produced in that year.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis that Codex Berinensis was produced in 1148?

The conclusion (hypothesis) is based on a few facts. First, the passage notes that there are four different copyists. The author indicates that this is unusual and that it indicates some significant disruption. The passage references evidence of a plague in 1148 as a potential "significant disruption". The author uses this fact to conclude that Codex Berinensis was probably produced in 1148.

On a side note, what does "produced" mean? I interpret this to mean that Codex Berinensis was finished in 1148. It may have been started in 1148 or maybe it was started before 1148. In my opinion, when the copy was started is not relevant to this question.

Based on the evidence provided in the passage, the conclusion (hypothesis) is weak. There could have been any number of reasons why there are four copyists (war, famine, etc.). That said, we don't need to prove the hypothesis. We just need to pick the answer that most strongly supports it. The correct answer should be consistent with the premises that a significant disruption (plague) is the reason for the four copyists and that this disruption (plague) was present in 1148.

Between answers (B) and (D).

b) "According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for ten months". Incorrect. This answer states that the plague went on for ten months. How long the plague lasted doesn't really contribute to the strength of this hypothesis. Does it make any difference if the plague lasted for 1 month or if it lasted for 2 years? No it doesn't. Even if the plague lasted for 2 years it is still possible that the first three copyists contracted the plague "early" and the text was finished in 1148.

d) "There was only one outbreak of plague in Florence in the 1100s". Correct. It is possible that there was an earlier plague that resulted in the deaths of the copyists. If a plague occurred in 1120 and 1148 then how do we know which plague killed the copyists and therefore when the text was produced. This answer rules out any other plagues that could have resulted in deaths of the copyists. Therefore, this answer strengthens the hypothesis.

Regarding your question, I don't use negation on strengthen questions so I can't comment on whether it is an effective strategy.

IM PRETTY SURE MY APPROACH IS CORRECT, PLEASE READ...

My approach to this question was this:
There seems to be a causal relationship involved...the argument says that there was a disruption that interfered with the copying of the Codex...then it proceeds to say that there was a letter from the 4th copyist about a plague in 1148(which happens to be the disruption) and this plague(disruption) caused the Codex to be produced that year.

Cause: Plague of 1148 (C)
Effect Delayed the Codex to be produced that year. (E)

C->E

Remember that in a causal relationship the author assumes that no other cause is responsible for the Effect. And he assures us that this cause is very much true(here he states that there was some significant disruption that caused the delay in produce - the plague of 1148).

Following this, we need to Strengthen the authors assumptions about his causal relationship by either:
1) showing C causes E
2) Eliminating other Causes
3) Eliminating reverse causality
4) Showing data used to make causality is accurate
5) if there is no cause then there is no effect.

Answer choice D properly demonstrates rule 2 "Eliminating other Causes"...if this was not the only plague then perhaps a later plague further delayed the Codex produce ...hope this helps...

(This question is particularly difficult because the causal relationship is difficult to spot, but you can try to do so by looking for Causal identifiers like "Since....<this>"..."therefore <this>")[/b]

I guess Option B may slightly weaken the aurgument. Imagine if the plague have started at mid of the year than if the author writes the book after 10 months from the beginning .. that means next year.
Anyways negating B may ease this issue out...

navami wrote:I guess Option B may slightly weaken the aurgument. Imagine if the plague have started at mid of the year than if the author writes the book after 10 months from the beginning .. that means next year.
Anyways negating B may ease this issue out...

Your reasoning regarding the 10 months is true...but never apply the "negation test" to questions apart from "Assumption" questions...in part the reason is that strengthen questions look for an answer that supports and that is not completely needed by the conclusion, where as assumption questions look for an answer that the conclusion is completely dependent upon...the negation test is meant to help you find the answer that completely destroys the conclusion, hence making that answer absolutely necessary.

I chose (C) for the following reasons:

- The hypothesis for which we have to find support is that the treatise was produced in 1148
- To produce a treatise, someone has to write it and the writing takes time
- If writing the treatise was very time-consuming (say it took several months to produce one page), even it the fourth author started to write in 1148, he couldn't have finished it

What's wrong with this logic?

Also, I still don't understand what's wrong with the following logic (taken from another forum)?

How can we assume that the disruption was due to the plague? Also how does the occurrence of the letter in 1148 relate to the timing of the treatise? Even if there was one 1 outbreak in the 1100's couldn't the fourth copyist have produced them 60 years apart?

Anyone?

Onell wrote:Codex Berinensis, a Florentine copy of an ancient roman medical treatise , is undated but contains clues to when it was produced. Its first eighty pages are by a single copyist, but the remaining twenty pages are by three different copyists, which indicates some significant disruption. Since a letter in handwriting identified as that of the fourth copyist mentions a plague that killed many people in florence in 1148, Codex Berinensis was probably produced in that year.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis that Codex Berinensis was produced in 1148?

a) Other than Codex Berinensis, there are no known samples of the handwriting of the first three copyists
b) According to the account by the fourth copyist, the plague went on for ten months.
c) A scribe would be able to copy a page of text the size and style of Codex Berinensis in a day.
d) there was only one outbreak of plague in florence in the 1100s
e) The number of pages of Codex Berinensis produced by a single scribe becomes smaller with each successive change of copyist

I received a PM asking me to comment.

Conclusion: The Codex Berinensis was produced in 1148.
Premise: The fourth copyist -- who finished the work following a significant disruption -- mentions a plague that killed many people in Florence in 1148.
Assumption: The plague in 1148 CAUSED the first copyist to stop working, an assumption that -- if true -- links the production of the Codex Berinensis to that year.

One of the most common ways to strengthen a causal relationhip is to RULE OUT OTHER POSSIBLE CAUSES.
Answer choice D: There was only one outbreak of plague in Florence in the 1100s.
This answer choice RULES OUT the possibility that ANOTHER PLAGUE -- PRIOR TO 1148 -- caused the first copyist to stop working.
By ruling out this possibility, the OA supports the contention that the plague in 1148 was responsible, STRENGTHENING the conclusion that the Codex Berinensis was produced in that year.

The correct answer is D.

Hi Mitch, does the answer depend on the understanding of the word produced?
If produced means, just completing, then it does not matter when the first copyist started and ended.

kutlee wrote:Hi Mitch, does the answer depend on the understanding of the word produced?
If produced means, just completing, then it does not matter when the first copyist started and ended.

To complete = to FINISH.
To produce = to MAKE.
Most of the CB was PRODUCED by the first copyist, who was responsible for 80% of the total number of pages.
Thus, to conclude that the CB was produced in 1148, the correct answer choice must strengthen the link between the first copyist and 1148.
Only the OA strengthens this link.

yes the answer D is correct.

But it may be possible that CB is produced in different year and writers stopped working due to different reasons.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

kutlee wrote:Hi Mitch, does the answer depend on the understanding of the word produced?
If produced means, just completing, then it does not matter when the first copyist started and ended.

To complete = to FINISH.
To produce = to MAKE.
Most of the CB was PRODUCED by the first copyist, who was responsible for 80% of the total number of pages.
Thus, to conclude that the CB was produced in 1148, the correct answer choice must strengthen the link between the first copyist and 1148.
Only the OA strengthens this link.

So produced here means inception, the year when it was started to be written?

richachampion wrote:So produced here means inception, the year when it was started to be written?

The production of the CB includes both its INCEPTION and its COMPLETION.
In other words, when the CB was MADE.
To support the hypothesis that the CB was produced in 1148, the correct answer choice must strengthen the assumption that all four copyists worked in 1148 to MAKE the CB.
Only the OA supports this assumption.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

richachampion wrote:So produced here means inception, the year when it was started to be written?

The production of the CB includes both its INCEPTION and its COMPLETION.
In other words, when the CB was MADE.
The support the hypothesis that the CB was produced in 1148, the correct answer choice must strengthen the assumption that all four copyists worked in 1148 to MAKE the CB.
Only the OA supports this assumption.

Timeline is like this -

80% work complete -------Some Disruption Happened-----the later 3 More writers added stuff.

Then according to your last answer, everything happened in 1148, including plague?

richachampion wrote:

GMATGuruNY wrote:

richachampion wrote:So produced here means inception, the year when it was started to be written?

The production of the CB includes both its INCEPTION and its COMPLETION.
In other words, when the CB was MADE.
The support the hypothesis that the CB was produced in 1148, the correct answer choice must strengthen the assumption that all four copyists worked in 1148 to MAKE the CB.
Only the OA supports this assumption.

Timeline is like this -

80% work complete -------Some Disruption Happened-----the later 3 More writers added stuff.

Then according to your last answer, everything happened in 1148, including plague?

Yes.
The OA supports the assumption that everything -- including the plague -- occurred in 1148.