sunniboy007 wrote:
Advertisement: A leading economist has determined that among people who used computers at their place of employment last year, those who also owned portable ("laptop") computers earned 25 percent more on average than those who did not. It is obvious from this that owning a laptop computer led to a higher-paying job.
Which one of the following identifies a reasoning error in the argument?
(A) It attempts to support a sweeping generalization on the basis of information about only a small number of individuals.
(B) Its conclusion merely restates a claim made earlier in the argument.
(C) It concludes that one thing was caused by another although the evidence given is consistent with the first thing's having cause the second.
(D) It offers information as support for a conclusion when that information actually shows that the conclusion is false.
(E) It uncritically projects currently existing trends indefinitely into the future.
:madd
Pre-thinkingThe argument concludes that the ownership of computer led to higher paid jobs. The argument although leaves scope for another scenario: The higher paid job might have led to the ownership of the computer.
Option C, although it is not a must be true statement, suggests that there might be another scenario in line with our pre-thought alternative scenario.
POE(A) It attempts to support a sweeping generalization on the basis of information about only a small number of individuals.
No generalization(B) Its conclusion merely restates a claim made earlier in the argument.
The conclusion talks about a cause-effect relation while the previous sentence describes a fact. Hence the 2 entities are different(D) It offers information as support for a conclusion when that information actually shows that the conclusion is false.
Incorrect(E) It uncritically projects currently existing trends indefinitely into the future.
Conclusion is about the past, not the future