Critical Reasoning

For the safety-conscious Swedish market, a United States manufacturer of desktop computers developed a special display screen that produces a much weaker electromagnetic field surrounding the user than do ordinary screens. Despite an advantage in this respect over its competitors, the manufacturer is introducing the screen into the United States market without advertising it as a safety improvement.
Which of the following, if true, provides a rationale for the manufacturer's approach to advertising the screen in the United States?
(A) Many more desktop computers are sold each year in the United States market than are sold in the Swedish market.
(B) The manufacturer does not want its competitors to become aware of the means by which the company has achieved this advance in technology.
(C) Most business and scientific purchasers of desktop computers expect to replace such equipment eventually as better technology becomes available on the market.
(D) An emphasis on the comparative safety of the new screen would call into question the safety of the many screens the manufacturer has already sold in the United States.
(E) Concern has been expressed in the United States over the health effects of the large electromagnetic fields surrounding electric power lines.

Experts please suggest why is C wrong and D correct .

jainrahul1985 wrote:For the safety-conscious Swedish market, a United States manufacturer of desktop computers developed a special display screen that produces a much weaker electromagnetic field surrounding the user than do ordinary screens. Despite an advantage in this respect over its competitors, the manufacturer is introducing the screen into the United States market without advertising it as a safety improvement.
Which of the following, if true, provides a rationale for the manufacturer's approach to advertising the screen in the United States?
(A) Many more desktop computers are sold each year in the United States market than are sold in the Swedish market.
(B) The manufacturer does not want its competitors to become aware of the means by which the company has achieved this advance in technology.
(C) Most business and scientific purchasers of desktop computers expect to replace such equipment eventually as better technology becomes available on the market.
(D) An emphasis on the comparative safety of the new screen would call into question the safety of the many screens the manufacturer has already sold in the United States.
(E) Concern has been expressed in the United States over the health effects of the large electromagnetic fields surrounding electric power lines.

Experts please suggest why is C wrong and D correct .

Question: Why in the US isn't the manufacturer advertising the safety ADVANTAGES of the new screen?
Prediction: Advertising the safety advantages will cause a PROBLEM.

Answer choice D offers just what we need: An emphasis on the comparative safety of the new screen would call into question the safety of the many screens the manufacturer has already sold in the United States. This explains why the manufacturer would want to avoid advertising the safety advantages of the new screen.

The correct answer is D.

Answer choice C does not explain why the manufacturer would want to avoid advertising the safety ADVANTAGES of the new screen to the business and scientific purchasers discussed in C. Note also the change in scope: whereas answer choice C is only about most business and scientific purchasers, the passage is about the ENTIRE US market.

C) is not correct because eventually any equipment can be replaced when better technology is available. this doesn't mean that now he shouldn't advertise it as safety improvement.
a) irrelevant
b) he is not advertising the means or process.. just the feature
e) if this is true, it should advertise.
d) true
IMO D

We should find why US manufacturer does not want or does not advertise its new product?
there may be several reasons: if he advertises, something unfavourable may occur, or without advertisement, the manufacturer sells its new product as freely as he sold its previous products, then advertisement of new product will call new expenditures, inticing the manufacturer not to advertise or smth else.

Answer D reveals one of the reasons

A-> irrelevant;
B-> by advertising, the manufacturer shows its new product, not how it produced this new product;
C-> this does not neseccarily mean that these purchasers get the new tech readily.
E-> this criticizes the manufacturer's intend not to advertise

We need to defend the manufacturer. D defends it best

C - narrows the scope.

@gmatguru NY : One doubt

in Choice C . It is possible that the manufacturer has sufficient stock of older technology desktop and the manufacturer may suffer by most business and scientific purchasers of desktop computers expect to replace such equipment eventually as better technology becomes available on the market. Therefore the manufacturer cannot sell his older technology desktops.

What is wrong with this rational

For me B and D seemed correct though D wins over B as in B advertising a feature does not mean showing how the technology works.

Or is there any other way to eliminate B ?

1947 wrote:For me B and D seemed correct though D wins over B as in B advertising a feature does not mean showing how the technology works.

Or is there any other way to eliminate B ?

B is out of scope here. The prompt does not directly discuss the company's competitors and you would have to make too many leaps in order to justify answer choice B. One mental check that you can use is if you find yourself having to take multiple steps and make multiple assumptions in order to make an answer true, that answer is wrong.

(C) Most business and scientific purchasers of desktop computers expect to replace such equipment eventually as better technology becomes available on the market.

<-- This talks about continuous improvement in the desktop screen manufacturing doman. why should we assume that the company in question will not improve its product line? (D) An emphasis on the comparative safety of the new screen would call into question the safety of the many screens the manufacturer has already sold in the United States.


<-- This says tha although the new sales might improve. The older products of the company might face a free replacement or .... Hence this makes a logical sense.

Make sure to always post your notes for CR questions -- otherwise it makes me feel like you aren't taking any.

Conc: Not advertising safety in US market
Evid: Screen developed for safety for Swedish market

Assumption: Some sort of (-) impact if safety was advertised in US

Rephrase: Why would they NOT advertise?
Prediction: There would be a consequence; safety is a turn-off for US consumers

A - irrelevant
B - how would the "means" be revealed in an advertisement
C - too specific; the fact that a specific kind of purchaser is planning to replace them eventually does not give a consequence -- even if the product was going to be soon replaced, the company would not put it on the market unless it expected a profit
D - this shows a consequence, since it would reflect poorly on the company
E - If the US is concerned then safety is probably something that would interest them