vishalsinghvs08
(C) A population remains settles only where the climate is fairly stable.
I would like to respectfully disagree with the OA. I feel all the answers are incorrect. For option C, here's my take.
Argument says -
Drastic changes in climate always results in XYZ.....We dont know anything about "not-drastic" changes. It may/may lead to migrations.
Also, the argument doesn't say that only drastic changes lead to migrations. It could very well be that the climate is stable but some random factors cause migration. We cannot pin down with certainty that the population will not migrate (or remain settled) if the climate is stable.
Please correct me if my approach is wrong. Thank you
Another question I have is for such question stems as " most strongly support", should I be looking for mere support or a must-be-true statement? I ask this because if it's mere support than I can live with option C, but if it's a must-be-true statement, then I feel option C wouldn't/shouldn't qualify.
AndrewN KarishmaB(C) is the most appropriate option and not because we don't have any other choice. It says 'fairly stable' as in no drastic changes. Some changes here and there are fine but overall we would say that the climate is stable. The test writer will convey his intent through his choice of words and you must learn to pick those up.
He says: Drastic shifts in climate always result in migrations.
So we know that drastic shifts are sufficient to cause migration. They will cause emigration.
So then when may there be no migration? Only when there are no drastic shifts (when it is fairly stable). Does it mean that if the climate is fairly stable, migrations will certainly not happen. No, it doesn't. They could happen for other reasons, correct.
But here is what (C) says: A population remains settled only where the climate is fairly stable.
It uses "only where" - the marker for necessary condition.
It says that fairly stable climate is necessary for no migrations and that is what we concluded too. We said that the climate condition is necessary. It may not be sufficient to lead to no migration, and we get that.
Hence (C) is in line with the argument.
Also, "most strongly supports" means provides maximum support but the support may not be perfect. So I wouldn't worry about ensuring that the option must be true. I would just look for one which makes sense given the premises.