Advertisement: HomeGlo Paints, Inc., has won the prestigious Golden Pa

Question

Advertisement: HomeGlo Paints, Inc., has won the prestigious Golden Paintbrush Award—given to the one paint manufacturer in the country that has increased the environmental safety of its product most over the past three years—for HomeGlo Exterior Enamel. The Golden Paintbrush is awarded only on the basis of thorough tests by independent testing laboratories. So when you choose HomeGlo Exterior Enamel, you will know that you have chosen the most environmentally safe brand of paint manufactured in this country today.

The flawed reasoning in the advertisement most closely parallels that in which one of the following?

(A) The ZXC audio system received the overall top ranking for looks, performance, durability, and value in Listeners’ Report magazine’s ratings of currently produced systems. Therefore, the ZXC must have better sound quality than any other currently produced sound system.

(B) Morning Sunshine breakfast cereal contains, ounce for ounce, more of the nutrients needed for a healthy diet than any other breakfast cereal on the market today. Thus, when you eat Morning Sunshine, you will know you are eating the most nutritious food now on the market.

(C) The number of consumer visits increased more at Countryside Market last year than at any other market in the region. Therefore, Countryside’s profits must also have increased more last year than those of any other market in the region.

(D) Jerrold’s teachers recognize him as the student who has shown more academic improvement than any other student in the junior class this year. Therefore, if Jerrold and his classmates are ranked according to their current academic performance, Jerrold must hold the highest ranking.

(E) Margaret Durring’s short story “The Power Lunch” won three separate awards for best short fiction of the year. Therefore, any of Margaret Durring’s earlier stories certainly has enough literary merit to be included in an anthology of the best recent short fiction.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

(A) No. Over the past three years, HomeGlo paint increased in environmental safety more than any other competitive product. However, the argument invalidly concludes that this means HomeGlo Exterior Enamel is the safest brand of paint on the market. Perhaps HomeGlo was so environmentally toxic three years ago that these improvements did not bring it up to the level of other environmentally benign products. In other words, the argument is flawed because it equates the improvement of a product with its final status. However, this answer-choice does not do this. Instead, it says that because ZXC audio system was rated top in areas such as performance it should have better sound quality than any other system.

(B) No. Over the past three years, HomeGlo paint increased in environmental safety more than any other competitive product. However, the argument invalidly concludes that this means HomeGlo Exterior Enamel is the safest brand of paint on the market. Perhaps HomeGlo was so environmentally toxic three years ago that these improvements did not bring it up to the level of other environmentally benign products. In other words, the argument is flawed because it equates the improvement of a product with its final status. This answer-choice also presents a flawed argument because it cites evidence comparing Morning Sunshine to other cereals but then concludes that Morning Sunshine is more nutritious than any other type of food. However, this flaw is not logically similar to the original passage.

(C) No. This is the second-best choice. It does have the same structure as the original argument. However, in the original the argument the conclusion stays within the context of the evidence:  the most environmentally improved, therefore the most environmentally safe.  Whereas this answer-choice says:  the greatest increase in customers, therefore the greatest profit.  This answer-choice would have been correct if it had said  the greatest increase in customers, therefore the greatest number of customers.

(D) Yes.  Over the past three years, HomeGlo paint increased in environmental safety more than any other competitive product. However, the argument invalidly concludes that this means HomeGlo Exterior Enamel is the safest brand of paint on the market. Perhaps HomeGlo was so environmentally toxic three years ago that these improvements did not bring it up to the level of other environmentally benign products. In other words, the argument is flawed because it equates the improvement of a product with its final status. Similarly, suppose Jerrold improved his grades from a D average to a B average and that this was the greatest improvement in his class. However, if anybody in Jerrold’s class had an A average, Jerrold would not hold the highest ranking.

(E) No. The original argument is based on the false assumption that something is best if it is most improved. However, this answer-choice concludes that something that is best (Margaret Durring’s short story) has predecessors which are also best in their category. Although this is not a valid conclusion, the structure of the argument differs from the original passage.

IanStewart · Answer

The Golden Paintbrush award is given to the product that has improved the most. That does not mean the product is the best -- the product might have been absolutely terrible a year ago, and merely average now. But the advertisement reaches the flawed conclusion that the product is the best. We want to find an answer choice that similarly confuses "most improved" with "best". Answer D does exactly that: in that answer, Jerrold has improved the most, and the answer choice then concludes he will rank ahead of all of his classmates.

Some of the other answers are vaguely close to right (e.g. in answer A, the argument confuses one set of qualities, durability and so on, with another, sound quality, and the original argument is also guilty of confusing one quality with another) but D is such a close parallel to the original argument that it is clearly the best answer.

Kritisood · Answer

Golden Paintbrush Award—given to the one paint manufacturer in the country that has  increased the environmental safety of its product most over the past three years

So when you choose HomeGlo Exterior Enamel, you will know that you have chosen the most environmentally safe brand of paint manufactured in this country today.

Lets say HomeGlo Paints was only 10% safe in terms of env safety 3 years back and another brand X was 80% safe. Now after three years Homeglo paints has increased its safety level by 50% (highest increase in the market place of paints). This very impressive increase still doesn't make Homeglo the most environment safe brand of paint as there are other brands who had already achieved this % and might not have become 85% safe(% increase is less but overall safety is higher) D correctly matches the reasoning.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Advertisement: HomeGlo Paints, Inc., has won the prestigious Golden Pa

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