OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The paradox in this problem is that alcohol drinkers who surpass the threshold for calorie intake should gain weight, but they do not. Most people, upon reading the stimulus, prephrase an answer involving exercise or some other way to work off the expected weight gain. Unfortunately, a perfect match to this prephrase does not appear, and instead students are faced with a tricky answer that preys upon this general idea while at the same time it fails to meet the circumstances in the stimulus.

Answer choice (A): Read closely! The stimulus specifies that people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day thereby exceed the necessary caloric intake. This answer, which discusses individuals who avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary, therefore addresses a different group of people from that in the stimulus. Since information about a different group of people does not explain the situation, this answer is incorrect.

This answer is attractive because it uses the idea of getting rid of or avoiding calories, but it violates one of the precepts of the stimulus. Remember, you must look very closely at the circumstances in the stimulus and make sure that the answer you select matches those circumstances.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. If the excess calories are dissipated as heat, then there would be no weight gain. Hence, alcohol drinkers can consume excess calories and still not gain weight.

Some students object to this answer because the situation seems unrealistic. Can heat dissipation actually work off dozens if not hundreds of calories? According to the question stem, yes. Remember, the question stem tells you that each answer choice should be taken as true. Since this answer choice clearly states that the excess calories tend to be dissipated, you must accept that as true and then analyze what effect that would have.

Answer choice (C): The stimulus discusses “people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day and thereby exceed the caloric intake necessary.” This answer choice addresses a different group of people than those discussed in the stimulus.

Answer choice (D): The first flaw in this answer is that it simply states that individuals consuming alcohol do not gain weight but it offers no explanation for why these people have no weight gain. The second flaw in the problem is that it addresses the wrong group of people. The stimulus discusses people who drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day; this answer addresses people who drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day.

Answer choice (E): Again, this answer discusses a different group of people than those in the stimulus. The stimulus discusses people who exceed the necessary caloric intake; this answer addresses people who do not meet the necessary caloric intake.
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Let me try -

Alcoholic beverages are laden with calories however regular drinkers who exceed the caloric intake do not in gain weight.

Why , there must be something special with those habbitual drinkers ?

Options with some and many can be eliminated , since the stimulus talks about Regeular Drinkers in general , hence only (B) remains.

Hence Correct answer is (B)
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An easy B if we put B into said scenario. then both part of the prompt exist together

A is clearly wrong b/c even if "decreasing the amount" does take place, excessive calories are already present in the body.

Hi everyone,

Paradox question

Pre-thinking

Our task is to find new information that would solve the paradox at hand.

The argument expresses a Contrast that is about people who drink 2 or 3 alcoholic drinks and the fact that such people do not gain weight as they should be supposed to since alcoholic drinks are full of calories.

Explanation example #1: What if people who drink that much don't eat a lot for the following period. This option would explain the lack of gain weight.

Explanation example #2: What if alcohol has some sort of side effects on people such as hyperactivity.....?


POE:

(A) Some people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight by decreasing caloric intake from other sources.

While this option seems to be in line with our pre-thought explanation, the presence of SOME (from 1 person to ALL) makes the impact of this choice null. Let's assume that only 1 person falls into this category. Then this option does not solve the paradox. OUT

(B) Excess calories consumed by people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day tend to be dissipated as heat.
This option is in line with our pre-thought explanation #2 and solves the paradox.


(C) Some people who do not drink alcoholic beverages but who eat high-calorie foods do not gain weight.
Irrelevant


(D) Many people who regularly drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day do not gain weight.
Irrelevant


(E) Some people who take in fewer calories than are normally necessary to maintain their weight do not lose weight.
Irrelevant

Is there some good content about these words some / many ? I read about these words in Power score.

I feel like this is an important aspect of the CR that I'm trying to discover. Using these quantifiers that describe part of a group and that usage isn't correct. I'm not understanding why you can't describe part of a group and have that make sense as a whole. It seems if part of the group is changing the group as a whole is also.

This is one of those questions you can quickly solve (<60 seconds) and use the saved time on other questions. The reason is 4 of the answer choices bisect one of the groups that are in paradox.




The two paradoxes are:

1. a group of people who consume excess calories and gain fat weight as a result
2. a group of people consume excess calories in alcohol, but do not gain fat weight

4 of the answer choices divide either group 1 or 2.

(A) Some people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight by decreasing caloric intake from other sources.

(B) Excess calories consumed by people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day tend to be dissipated as heat.

(C) Some people who do not drink alcoholic beverages but who eat high-calorie foods do not gain weight.

(D) Many people who regularly drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day do not gain weight.

(E) Some people who take in fewer calories than are normally necessary to maintain their weight do not lose weight.

E is the opposite of the non drinking group but it is the same principle.


The problem with dividing the groups is there is still the other part of the group that can't be explained.

In Power Score this is the first type of causal error. Two causes pointing to the same effect. Pick up that book, it's in chapter 7 on pg. 200.

Calories consumed in excess of those with which the body needs to be provided to maintain its weight are normally stored as fat and the body gains weight. Alcoholic beverages are laden with calories. However, those people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day and thereby exceed the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight do not in general gain weight.


Main Group: People who drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day and thereby exceed the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight
Main Issue: They don't gain weight

That's odd! How is that possible?



Wrong Group. This group avoid exceeding the caloric intake. (A) is out.


Hmm.. Excess calories are dissipated as heat -> explains why they did not gain weight. This is promising. Hang on to this.


This group doesn't drink alcohol— what a waste of life. Wrong group. (C) is out.


This group —alcoholic group— drinks more than the main group. (D) is out.


This group takes fewer calories than the main group. (E) is out.


Only (B) is left. (B) is our correct Answer.

Take away: Most wrong answer choices presented in Paradox question type usually discuss the WRONG GROUP, the WRONG ISSUE, or BOTH. This particular question, as long as you can identify the Main Group, you can eliminate all the wrong answer choices . Hence, saving time.
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Calories consumed in excess of those with which the body needs to be provided to maintain its weight are normally stored as fat and the body gains weight. Alcoholic beverages are laden with calories. However, those people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day and thereby exceed the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight do not in general gain weight.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy?


(A) Some people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day avoid exceeding the caloric intake necessary to maintain their weight by decreasing caloric intake from other sources. - WRONG. Logic may be right but how impactful is 'some' here is the BIG question.

(B) Excess calories consumed by people who regularly drink two or three alcoholic beverages a day tend to be dissipated as heat. - CORRECT. Point blank. Gives a reason for not gaining weight.

(C) Some people who do not drink alcoholic beverages but who eat high-calorie foods do not gain weight. - WRONG. Not relevant.

(D) Many people who regularly drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day do not gain weight. - WRONG. Of course some exception would always be there. However, most importantly, it does not address the issue at all, rather complexes situation somewhat.

(E) Some people who take in fewer calories than are normally necessary to maintain their weight do not lose weight. - WRONG. A ----> B. Then Not A ----> Not B. Not necessarily.

Answer B.
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