Restaurant manager: In response to requests from our patrons for veget

Question

Competition Mode Question

Restaurant manager: In response to requests from our patrons for vegetarian main dishes, we recently introduced three: an eggplant and zucchini casserole with tomatoes, brown rice with mushrooms, and potatoes baked with cheese. The first two are frequently ordered, but no one orders the potato dish, although it costs less than the other two. Clearly, then, our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes.

Which one of the following is an error of reasoning in the restaurant manager’s argument?

(A) concluding that two things that occur at the same time have a common cause

(B) drawing a conclusion that is inconsistent with one premise of the argument

(C) ignoring possible differences between what people say they want and what they actually choose

(D) attempting to prove a claim on the basis of evidence that a number of people hold that claim to be true

(E) treating one of several plausible explanations of a phenomenon as the only possible explanation

ArunSharma12 · Answer

Restaurant manager: In response to requests from our patrons for vegetarian main dishes, we recently introduced three: an eggplant and zucchini casserole with tomatoes, brown rice with mushrooms, and potatoes baked with cheese. The first two are frequently ordered, but no one orders the potato dish, although it costs less than the other two. Clearly, then, our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes.

Which one of the following is an error of reasoning in the restaurant manager’s argument?

(A) concluding that two things that occur at the same time have a common cause

(B) drawing a conclusion that is inconsistent with one premise of the argument
 Conclusion is consistent to the premise - no one orders the potato dish

(C) ignoring possible differences between what people say they want and what they actually choose

(D) attempting to prove a claim on the basis of evidence that a number of people hold that claim to be true
 There is only a single claim and it is not explained. rest of the sentences are facts/observation.

(E) treating one of several plausible explanations of a phenomenon as the only possible explanation
 People may dislike potato or cheese, its not certain that they do not order the dish just because of the potatoes

Ans: E

Krishh9119 · Answer

Reasoning: As none of Patrons order the potato dish, they do not prefer potatoes. 
Pre thinking: Can there be other reasons??

(A) concluding that two things that occur at the same time have a common cause
 Irrelevant.

(B) drawing a conclusion that is inconsistent with one premise of the argument
 The conclusion is consistent.

(C) ignoring possible differences between what people say they want and what they actually choose
 People actually chose ' an eggplant and zucchini casserole with tomatoes, brown rice with mushrooms' . We can not conclude that patrons did not want/want potato.
But, we need a perfect reasoning error and this option may/may not serve our purpose. Let's keep it for time being.

(D) attempting to prove a claim on the basis of evidence that a number of people hold that claim to be true
 'Which claim' . Out of scope

(E) treating one of several plausible explanations of a phenomenon as the only possible explanation.
 This is better than 'option C' .explains the flaw in a better way.

Our answer is E.

exc4libur · Answer

=mgr created 3 dishes as req by clients
=2 sold more than the other dish
=thus, clients do not prefer the other dish

error
ans (E) maybe it wasn't the potato, it was the cheese, or maybe it was the seasoning - whatever it was, it could not have been only one possible explanation!

chaitralirr · Answer

Restaurant manager: In response to requests from our patrons for vegetarian main dishes, we recently introduced three: an eggplant and zucchini casserole with tomatoes, brown rice with mushrooms, and potatoes baked with cheese. The first two are frequently ordered, but no one orders the potato dish, although it costs less than the other two. Clearly, then, our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes.

Stimulus:The restaurant has introduced 3 veg dishes 1) egg plant, 2) brown rice and mushroom and 3 baked potatoes 
Though baked potatoes is less expensive still people do not order means they do not like potatoes.

The author fails to consider other plausible explanation for not ordering potatoes. IMO E

Which one of the following is an error of reasoning in the restaurant manager’s argument?

(A) concluding that two things that occur at the same time have a common cause

(B) drawing a conclusion that is inconsistent with one premise of the argument

(C) ignoring possible differences between what people say they want and what they actually choose

(D) attempting to prove a claim on the basis of evidence that a number of people hold that claim to be true

(E) treating one of several plausible explanations of a phenomenon as the only possible explanation

waytowharton · Answer

Hey Experts,

KarishmaB   ExpertsGlobal5   mikemcgarry   GMATNinja   AjiteshArun

Could you please help me in understanding why option C is incorrect?

Option C - ignoring possible differences between what people say they want  and what they actually choose

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  waytowharton ,

Here's what the restaurant manager says about "potatoes baked with cheese":
1. It costs less than the other two vegetarian main dishes.
2. No one orders it (even though the other two dishes are frequently ordered).
3. Therefore our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes.

This is like "  some people don't actually choose {something}  , so   some people don't want {something}  ". In other words, from   what they (don't) order  , we can say something about   what they want  .

Option C is about differences between  what people  say  they want  and   what they actually choose  . The second half, "  what they actually choose  ", is fine, but the manager isn't interested in  what people  say  they want . Instead, he or she discusses   what they actually want  . That is, the manager arrives at a conclusion about what people prefer, not about what they  say  they prefer.

waytowharton · Answer

AjiteshArun   KarishmaB   ExpertsGlobal5

Apologies, I did not get it again. For say, I purchase a Samsung mobile phone basis that store manager infers that i do not like Iphone. Hence, store manager is ignoring the difference between what i want/prefer and what i choose/buy.

Could you please help me understand the gap again. Thanks in advance!

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  waytowharton ,

Let's take the Samsung/iPhone example.

1. You bought a Samsung phone. ← This is what you choose/buy.
2. You don't like iPhones. ← This is what the store manager  thinks  about your preferences.

At no point do you  say  that you don't like iPhones.

KarishmaB · Answer

Of the three, people choose first 2, not the third.

There could be many reasons for this. 
They may not like potatoes.
They may like potatoes but could prefer eggplant/rice over potatoes. 
They my not like cheese.
They may like cheese but prefer mushrooms/tomatoes over cheese.
etc

The manager is assuming that the reason is that people do not like potatoes. But that is only one of the possible explanations. Hence (E) is correct.

(C) ignoring possible differences between what people say they want and what they actually choose

This is irrelevant. If "what people say they want" and "what they choose" are different things, we have no data on "what people say they want". We only know what they actually choose (first two dishes). The manager doesn't know what "people say they want". So he cannot ignore that difference. 
Only based on the data available to him about what people choose, he claims that people do not like potatoes.

Hence (C) is not correct.

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Restaurant manager: In response to requests from our patrons for veget

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