A recent newspaper feature story listed several factors as

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A recent newspaper feature story listed several factors as [#permalink]

03 Nov 2008, 23:17

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A recent newspaper feature story listed several factors as "predictors" of the likelihood of premature death. Two of these factors were a sedentary lifestyle without regular physical exercise, and sleeping more than 12 hours daily.
If a person, who is trying to avoid premature death, were to respond to this news by both joining an exercise club and buying an alarm clock, that person would probably be:

A) mistaking an explanation for an argument.
B) mistaking an argument for an explanation.
C) mistaking a premise for a conclusion.
D) mistaking a cause for an indicator.
E) mistaking an indicator for a cause.
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Re: CR : Premature Death [#permalink]

03 Nov 2008, 23:39

E.
"sleeping more than 12 hours daily" is an indicator and he is taking it as a cause.

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Re: CR : Premature Death [#permalink]

04 Nov 2008, 00:44

E (where do you get these!)

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Re: CR : Premature Death [#permalink]

04 Nov 2008, 02:56

Another E.

The person is assuming that since x --> y and hence not y --> not x

However, x is not a cause, but an indicator.

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Re: CR : Premature Death [#permalink]

04 Nov 2008, 04:11

OA is E.

(E) The given set of alternative responses indicates that the initial scenario is assumed to involve a mistake. The scenario doesn't involve any obvious argument, nor, for that matter, does it appear to propose an explanation for anything. (A), (B), and (C), therefore, seem unlikely. The argument does, however, say that certain things are "predictors," which essentially claims that they are indicators. And the reaction, buying an alarm clock, looks like the reaction of a person who takes something to be a cause which he can control to achieve (or avoid) a certain effect. (D) and (E), therefore, look like the most promising candidates. Which one? Remember, we are looking for a mistake. The person who buys an alarm clock and joins an exercise club appears to be treating something as a cause. If that is a mistake, then (E) is the correct response. He is probably mistaking an indicator for a cause (i.e., over-sleeping is probably not a cause of premature death, but rather a symptom of some deeper condition which shortens a life span).
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Re: CR : Premature Death [#permalink]

04 Nov 2008, 04:42

amitdgr wrote:

Re: CR : Premature Death [#permalink] 04 Nov 2008, 04:42

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A recent newspaper feature story listed several factors as

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