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age and attire

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age and attire

by daretodream » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:20 pm
A particular phenomenon has been observed in the relationship between age and attire. The more formally a person is dressed, the older the average observer will gauge him or her to be. Thus, the average observer viewing two men, one wearing a business suit and the other wearing casual clothing, will generally estimate the man in the business suit to be five years older than the man wearing casual clothing.

The conclusion of the argument above would be more properly drawn if which of the following were true?

A. The age of the man wearing the business suit is greater than that of the man wearing casual clothing.
B. The older a man is, the more likely it is that he will wear a business suit.
C. The age of the man wearing the business suit is equal to the age of the man wearing casual clothing.
D. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding casually dressed people than formally dressed people.
E. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding formally dressed people than casually dressed people.
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by komal » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:22 pm
daretodream wrote:A particular phenomenon has been observed in the relationship between age and attire. The more formally a person is dressed, the older the average observer will gauge him or her to be. Thus, the average observer viewing two men, one wearing a business suit and the other wearing casual clothing, will generally estimate the man in the business suit to be five years older than the man wearing casual clothing.

The conclusion of the argument above would be more properly drawn if which of the following were true?

A. The age of the man wearing the business suit is greater than that of the man wearing casual clothing.
B. The older a man is, the more likely it is that he will wear a business suit.
C. The age of the man wearing the business suit is equal to the age of the man wearing casual clothing.
D. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding casually dressed people than formally dressed people.
E. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding formally dressed people than casually dressed people.
my pick is C
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by thephoenix » Thu Feb 18, 2010 11:27 pm
Premise: The more formal the dress the older the person will look.

Conclusion: Average observer will think that a man in business suit is 5 years older than a man wearing casual attire.

Based on the premise the argument reaches the conclusion, but it does not address the underlying weaknesses of the argument.

A. The age of the man wearing the business suit is greater than that
of the man wearing casual clothing
-->if true, this weaken the argument. The observer does not depend on the appearance of the 2 people but he knows this fact

B. The older a man is, the more likely it is that he will wear a
business suit
-->too ambiguous. from which time of his age will his oldness be calculated ?

C. The age of the man wearing the business suit is equal to the age of
the man wearing casual clothing
-->using negating technique: The age of the man wearing the business suit is not equal to the age of the man wearing casual clothing. this will weaken the argument: there's a possibility that the observer judges the ages of the two man by knowing that one is older than the other, not by depending on their appearances

D. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding casually dressed people than formally dressed people
-->no influence
E. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding formally dressed people than casually dressed people
-->no influence

imo c
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by komal » Fri Feb 19, 2010 10:45 am
komal wrote:
daretodream wrote:A particular phenomenon has been observed in the relationship between age and attire. The more formally a person is dressed, the older the average observer will gauge him or her to be. Thus, the average observer viewing two men, one wearing a business suit and the other wearing casual clothing, will generally estimate the man in the business suit to be five years older than the man wearing casual clothing.

The conclusion of the argument above would be more properly drawn if which of the following were true?

Since comparison between two men is based upon their attire, to come to the correct assumption we need an answer choice that states everything else is equal with both men except their attire. Lets see which answer choice does that for us.

A. The age of the man wearing the business suit is greater than that of the man wearing casual clothing.
Incorrect : Comparison is based on difference in attire of both men not their age. Eliminated.

B. The older a man is, the more likely it is that he will wear a business suit.
Incorrect : This answer choice again states that business suit is worn by older men. If this is true then the average observer's judgment is NOT based on the man's attire. Eliminated.

C. The age of the man wearing the business suit is equal to the age of the man wearing casual clothing.
Correct : This is exactly what we are looking for. If the age is same, we can assume that observer's judgment is based solely on the attire. This fills a gap in the argument above.

D. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding casually dressed people than formally dressed people.
Incorrect : Accuracy of the observer's estimates is irrelevant to the scope of the argument.

E. The average observer's estimates of age are generally more accurate regarding formally dressed people than casually dressed people.
Incorrect : same as D
my pick is C
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