All the evidence so far gathered fits both Dr. Grippen's

Question

All the evidence so far gathered fits both Dr. Grippen's theory and Professor Heissman's. However, the predictions that these theories make about the result of the planned experiment cannot both be true. Therefore, the result of this experiment will confirm one of these theories at the expense of the other.

The argument above exhibits an erroneous pattern of reasoning most similar to that exhibited by which one of the following?

(a)Dave and Jane both think they know how to distinguish beech trees from elms, but when they look at trees together they often disagree. Therefor, at least one of them must have an erroneous method.

(b) Although David thinks the tree they saw was a beech, Jane thinks it was an elm. Jane's description of the tree's features is consistent with her opinion, so this description must be inconsistent with David's view.

(c) David and Jane have been equally good at identifying trees so far. But David says this one is an elm, whereas Jane is unsure. Therefore, if this tree turns out to be an elm, we'll know David is better.

(d)David thinks that there are more beeches than elms in this forest. Jane thinks he is wrong. The section of the forest we examined was small, but examination of the whole forest would either confirm David's view or disprove it.

(e) David thinks this tree is a beech. Jane thinks it is an elm. Maria, unlike David or Jane, is expert at tree identification, so when Maria gives her opinion it will verify either David's or Jane's opinion.

OA and OE will follow after the discussion

boeinz · Answer

IMO 'B'.

Same evidence  presented to Dr. Grippen and Professor Heissman but  different outcomes  (or outputs) from Grippen and Heissman.

Same tree  to David and Jane but David sees a  beech  (different output) while Jane sees a  elm  (different output).

getmba · Answer

I am down to C and E, and ultimately will go with E.
In C, conclusion does not confirm one alternative at the expense of other as Jane is unsure. If tree is not elm, then David is wrong but not on expense of Jane.

Choice E correctly states that when Maria gives her opinion, it will verify either David's or Jane's opinion. So this choice confirms one opinion at the expense of other.

gurpreet07 · Answer

OE A

Economist · Answer

Initially I chose B. But later on I realized that C is more apt.
"at the expense of" suggests that both theories are equally good but due to the results one theory will be rejected. Now, C says that Davids theory will be "better" than Jane's and hence Jane's theory will rejected inspite of being "good".

chetan2u · Answer

should be 'a'

mikeCoolBoy · Answer

OA is E. The argument proceeds as follows.

The conclusion of the author is that the experiment will confirm one of these theories at the expense of the other. In other words, one will be true whereas the other will be false. The flawed in the argument is that the author does not account for both theories to be false.

Option E contains the same flawed in reasoning. Maria is the experiment and David and Jane the theories.

+ 1 for getmba

BM · Answer

I picked E. My reasoning was that both Dave and Jane have the same evidence: the tree. However, both arrive at different results based off of the evidence. Maria acts as the "result of the experiment" in the passage.

I was torn between A and E, and took too much time to answer this one.

I was torn between A and E, and took too much time to answer this one.

gmatjon · Answer

I still was not able to get the reasoning behind the answer choice. I thought the answer need to be B.

x2suresh · Answer

All the evidence so far gathered fits both Dr. Grippen's theory and Professor Heissman's. However, the predictions that these theories make about the result of the planned experiment cannot both be true. Therefore, the result of this experiment will confirm one of these theories at the expense of the other.

In original sentence. "result of this experiment confirm one of the theories" -->
Experiment (Z - Third Party Expert) will tell you which one is better ..Is it X or Y.

in B) this part is mssing. Janes(Y) description of tree's features is consistent with her opinion. that means.. Y is saying.. Y is correct.. there is no third party "Z" involved.

in E) Z ( Maria) will tell you which one is good .. is it X( or Y

Is it clear?

gmatjon · Answer

Ok, now I got it, thank u!

SudiptoGmat · Answer

Main passage has an erroneous reasoning: the predictions that these theories make about the result of the planned experiment cannot both be true. Both can be false or one each can be false at a time. Conclusion assumes that one theory will be tru and other will be false.

Only option E has similar erroneous logic: when Maria gives her opinion it will verify either David's or Jane's opinion. Maria can nullify both of them.

silasaaa2 · Answer

what is the OA and source

All the evidence so far gathered fits both Dr. Grippen's

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards