Bunuel wrote:
Of all the laptops available for sale in Ireland, laptops manufactured by Ivy Infotech must have the fastest processors. Over the last six months, Ivy Infotech has sold three times as many laptops as its closest competitor. Additionally, Ivy Infotech’s order books are full for the next 12 months.
Which of the following options, if true, most weakens the argument?
(A) Ivy Infotech was severely criticised last year for manufacturing laptops with slow processors.
(B) Apart from laptops, Ivy Infotech also manufactures desktops and tablets, sales of which have declined drastically in the last six months.
(C) At the same time last year, Ivy Infotech had sold 60% more laptops than it has this year.
(D) All the laptop manufacturers in Ireland, including Ivy Infotech, source their processors from the same company.
(E) Due to production bottlenecks, the production of laptops by Ivy Infotech’s rival companies fell by more than 60% in the last six months.
Project CR Butler: Critical Reasoning
For all CR butler Questions Click HereOfficial Explanation
Answer: E.
Since this is a weaken question, you know that the stimulus will be worded in the form of an argument. So, the first step is to identify the conclusion and the evidence of this argument.
Conclusion (What is the argument stating):Laptops manufactured by Ivy Infotech have the fastest processors.
Evidence (Why is the argument stating this):Ivy Infotech has sold the maximum number of laptops in the last six months in Ireland.
But does this make sense? Can’t there be some other plausible reason why the people in Ireland are buying Ivy Infotech’s laptops? Maybe these laptops have a very sleek design, maybe they have a very long battery life, or maybe they are the cheapest laptops in the market. There can be several other reasons (other than fast processors) why the Irish are buying laptops manufactured by Ivy Infotech. This brings us to the assumption. Remember that since the stimulus is in the form of an argument, it must contain an assumption.
Assumption (the unstated evidence):So let’s try to predict the assumption. It will be something on the lines of ‘the only difference among the different laptops available in Ireland is the speed of the processor; the laptops are the same in every other aspect’, because in that case if the people are still buying Ivy Infotech’s laptops then these laptops must have the fastest processors, else people would be buying some other company’s laptops.
Weakener:So, now that we have identified the conclusion, the evidence, and the assumption, the answer choice that best tells us that the assumption may NOT be true has to weaken the argument. In essence, this option will provide us with some other reason (other than faster processors) why the sales of Ivy Infotech’s laptops have been very high. E does this best and should be the correct answer. For clarity, let’s also take a look at the other answer choices:
(A) It is very much possible that because of this criticism that Ivy Infotech equipped its laptops with faster processors. So, by no stretch does this option weaken the argument.
(B) Desktops and tablets are outside the scope of the argument. The fact remains that Ivy Infotech’s laptops have outsold those of its rivals by a large margin. We need to show that this was not because of the faster processors and this option fails to do so.
(C) This option states that overall Ivy Infotech has performed worse this year than it did last year but we are not concerned with this. The fact remains that Ivy Infotech’s laptops have outsold those of its rivals by a huge margin. We need to show that this was not because of the faster processors and this option fails to do so.
(D) Looks good but doesn’t necessarily weaken the argument. The fact that all the companies in Ireland source their processors from the same company does not mean that the processors are all the same. Those sourced by Ivy Infotech could very well be faster than those sourced by its rival firms.
(E) This option gives you an alternative reason why Ivy Infotech has sold more laptops than its rivals. It was not because of demand side pull but because of supply side constraints. Because of the production bottlenecks at Ivy Infotech’s rival companies’ plants, Ivy Infotech’s laptops were probably available in the market in much larger numbers than those of its rivals, which is why they sold more. Hence, this option weakens the argument by providing you with an alternative explanation to the one mentioned in the stimulus.
Have a question re Option (E). Please help.
(E) Due to production bottlenecks, the production of laptops by Ivy Infotech’s rival companies fell by more than 60% in the last six months.
Isn't this too vague a sentence? Example : -60% of y can be anything and might still be more than the sales of Ivy Tech for all we know?
Is it because of "Over the last six months, Ivy Infotech has sold three times as many laptops as its closest competitor."