Most doctors dismiss male pattern baldness as a problem of heredity.

Question

Most doctors dismiss male pattern baldness as a problem of heredity. A new theory, however, postulates that baldness can also result from number of external factors, such as a stressful urban lifestyle. Supporters of this new theory point out that baldness is twice as common among male who live in cities as it is among those who live elsewhere.

Which of the following most weakens the new theory described above?

Which of the following most weakens the new theory described above?

A. Scientists have developed several drugs that halt baldness in men and can be taken internally
B. Census reports show that most men who are born in large cities live almost their entire lives within the city of their birth to remain close to their families
C. Most men do not develop male pattern baldness until they reach the age of 55, at which point their thoughts turn to pursuing a more restful lifestyle
D. Men who never lived in large cities are those who are least likely to develop male pattern baldness
E. A study determined that bald men are less likely to marry and reproduce

AndrewN · Accepted Answer

Here is my take on this question. I hope others may find it useful.

I often talk to my students about the role of  linear thinking  in the problem-solving process for CR and RC questions. That is, what is the  exact  argument, and on what pillars or premises may it stand? To knock down the argument, you need to take out a pillar. Here, the  new theory  in question correlates   external factors, such as a stressful urban lifestyle   to  baldness in males . The evidence (i.e. pillar)? Again, stick to the  exact  phrasing of the passage:   baldness is twice as common among male  who live in cities as it is among those who live elsewhere  . Thus, in order to weaken this new theory, it is necessary to take into account  where bald men live  to test whether heredity or external factors may be leading to the condition.

Full confession: That is typically about as far as I go with pre-thinking. I used to do more, but too often, my brainstormed ideas did not fall in line with the responses, and I ended up spending too much time on the questions. For me,  linear thinking  started to lead to the answers much more efficiently, so I adapted my approach. On to the responses, then, with an eye on disproving what we can, rather than looking to find the one correct response.

Analysis: As others have pointed out, this has  nothing to do with what causes baldness , not to mention that it does not take into account where bald men live, a necessary condition to weaken the argument.  Red light.

Analysis: Do we have bald men living in large cities here? Yes, we do, at least by extension. If  most  men in general who are born in large cities live out their days there, then that would include bald men, our target group. This does touch on the evidence cited that, again,  baldness is twice as common among male  who live in cities... . What are we to make of the part about their reason for staying in those cities,  to remain close to their families . This could provide an alternative to what the new theory proposes, namely that a  stressful urban lifestyle  is causing city-dwelling men to lose their hair. It could be true instead that bald men have offspring who stay close to home and, in turn, pass along their genes for baldness to their offspring, who, if this reason provided at the end of the response holds true, will also likely stay close to home and produce the next generation of bald men. Is this the answer I was expecting? No. Can I find a reason to dismiss it outright? No, I cannot, and that is the crucial part.  Yellow light.

Analysis: Ah, the tempting answer. The problem is, the response says  nothing about where any of these men live , nor does it offer where they may move to pursue this  more restful lifestyle . You cannot assume that the city-dwelling population in the survey or whatever observation has established that city folk versus those from less urban environments comprised mostly men in the 55+ category. Moreover, if you assume that they move away from the city to retire and rest, then why would more bald men be found in the city, by proportion, as opposed to  those who live elsewhere ? Finally, since when do  thoughts  dictate where people actually live? I wish I could live in Hawai'i, and I can even dream about it, but that thought will not somehow affect a survey result or an observation about the male population of Hawai'i. At least choice (B) provided an action in addition to the thought.  Red light.

Analysis: The evidence cited suggests as much. Read in an altered manner, it says that  males who live outside cities have half the rate of baldness as those who live in cities . Of note is that there is a comparison between men who live in cities and those who live outside them, but what is presented does little to weaken the new theory that male pattern baldness can be explained by external factors rather than hereditary factors.  Red light.

Analysis: I kind of like the way this one ties into the hereditary notion of reproduction. On the other hand, it does  not even attempt to separate the bald men into the two necessary camps of city-dwellers versus non-urbanites . If it deviates from the linear-thinking pathway, then it does not satisfy the given task. This response applies equally to all bald men, regardless of where they live.  Red light.

The term  process of elimination  is bandied about ad nauseam in the tutoring realm, and it means very little until you can connect the strategy to something meaningful. You have to rewire your thinking with these GMAT™ questions and  stop looking for the correct answer all the time . Instead of searching for the needle in the haystack, I suggest burning the chaff and finding the needle. Go into these questions with  linear thinking  in mind, and it becomes easier not to fall for a distraction.

Good luck to all of you in your studies.

- Andrew

dj · Answer

C. this suggests that it is not the stessed envn that causes baldness. men start shedding :wink:

only after 55, when they are out of stressed city atmosphere. 1. who cares 2.out of the way..indirectly supports, anyway. 4.strengthen it 5.ho ho...!

surat · Answer

i also voted for  c , but it is  b  and here is the explanation:
the conclusion of this weaken argument is that baldness is caused by external factors (and not internal ones), and it states that there are more bald guys in big cities. (b) turns this premise on its head by saying that many bald guys in cities are related to other bald guys in the same city, so the cause might be heredity after all. treating baldness is utterly irrelevant, so you can get rid of (a). (c) is too general, because it talks about all men rather than just those who live in big cities. (d) strengthens the argument by saying that guys who don't live in cities don't go bald. (e) also lessens the chance baldness is hereditary.

prabsahi · Answer

Here is my attempt to explain why B is right..The argument makes an assumption that people who live in large cities lead a stressful urban lifestyle...and this basically implies that large city people have work related stress etc..Now ...consider a weakner ...what if some people are born here in large cities and its a just a normal home to them like it is for not so large cities..In that case the conclusion falls..

Hope it helps!!

Hope it helps!!

TheGraceful · Answer

Most doctors dismiss male pattern baldness as a problem of heredity.  <==== Premise 
A new theory, however, postulates that baldness can also result from number of external factors, such as a  stressful urban lifestyle .  <====Conclusion 
Supporters of this new theory point out that baldness is  twice as common  among male who live  in cities  as it is among those who live  elsewhere . <===== Assumption

A. Scientists have developed several drugs that halt baldness in men and can be taken internally  <=== out of scope and not a weakner 
B. Census reports show that most men who are born in large cities live almost their entire lives within the city of their birth to remain close to their families   <==== Let's keep this  
C. Most men do not develop male pattern baldness until they reach the age of 55, at which point their thoughts turn to pursuing a more restful lifestyle  <=== That means, more bald people switch to restful lifestyle and not the stressed urban lifestyle. In fact a  Strengthener  
D. Men who never lived in large cities are those who are least likely to develop male pattern baldness  <=== People in non urban area don't get bald/get less bald.  Strengthener .  
E. A study determined that bald men are less likely to marry and reproduce  <=== out of scope

shubangini · Answer

Ok I don't understand.

If external factors cause baldness and If men start balding at 55, but switch to restful lifestyle they shouldn't bald according to the conclusion by according to C, that's what happens but the problem is still there. So C should be right.

And for D, If men stay in cities all their life you don't know if it's hereditary or the lifestyle causing baldness. How does this weaken the argument?

Posted from my mobile device

TheGraceful · Answer

==> I think, its not the argument(option), but you, who is assuming that process of baldness will stop. In fact, it's the result(baldness) that make people realise about the lifestyle(cause) and switch to better one. (of course without any change in result that has already occured- baldness)

==>option D simply says, that people outside cities have least/lesser chances of getting bald. Just rephrase this - and that means people living in urban areas have higher chances of getting bald. So this option supports conclusion and becomes strenghner and NOT the weakener.

vishwajeet112 · Answer

In option B All cities men confined within city with there father(i.e family) so there is logic high numbers of men are there by in the same family having bladness problem so therefore chances having baldness by genetically are increases

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

Most doctors dismiss male pattern baldness as a problem of heredity.

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

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Most doctors dismiss male pattern baldness as a problem of heredity.

Prep Toolkit

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