dentobizz wrote:
d)
offering alternative explanations consistent with the evidence that Joe cites ->> says that the explanation given is consistent ,but that is not the case Joe says
"no human has ever been caught in the act of creating one of these patterns" while Steve says "they are a means of communication for some
weird secret society Or perhaps they are all part of an
elaborate hoax by college fraternities" both of these alternate explanations have to be caused by human intervention. Hence Steve's explanation is NOT consistent with the evidence given by Joe.
while (a)
suggesting alternatives that refute Joe’s conclusion -> seems right since Steve has offered alternatives and refutes Joe's alien conclusion saying "
In any case, I
seriously doubt that these crop circles are the product of extra-terrestrial beings."
Hope someone from
Manhattan Gmat can confirm the OA and give an explanation as well.
Responding to a PM on this...
The correct answer is D and I will agree that this is a difficult question. It doesn't follow the format of common CR questions and answers A & D are very similar, making it difficult to decide which is correct.
Answer choice A states that Steve provides explanations to REFUTE the conclusion (aliens must be behind crop circles). However, in order to refute the conclusion, Steve would have to DISPROVE the conclusion. That means, he would have to provide evidence that makes Joe's conclusion invalid. Steve provides potential alternate explanations, but those explanations are based on conjecture and therefore do not disprove, but rather only cast doubt upon the conclusion (see how little words in CR play a significant role). The statement by Steve, "I seriously doubt that these crop circles are the product of extra-terrestrial beings", is definitely in opposition to Joe's conclusion, but it is an opinion - not evidence that could disprove the conclusion.
Answer choice D states that Steve provided alternate explanations, which he did (secret society, fraternities). These alternative explanations are said to be consistent with the evidence Joe cited, and they are. Joe states that no human has been "caught in the act" of creating a crop circle, not that humans don't create them. Secret societies and fraternities do their work in secret so as to avoid being "caught in the act".
KW