The new perfume Aurora smells worse to Joan than any comparably priced

Question

The new perfume Aurora smells worse to Joan than any comparably priced perfume, and none of her friends likes the smell of Aurora as much as the smell of other perfumes. However, she and her friends must have a defect in their sense of smell, since Professor Jameson prefers the smell of Aurora to that of any other perfume and she is one of the world’s foremost experts on the physiology of smell.

The reasoning is flawed because it

(A) calls into question the truthfulness of the opponent rather than addressing the point issue

(B) ignore the well-known fact that someone can prefer one thing to another without liking either very much

(C) fails to establish that there is widespread agreement among the experts in the field

(D) makes an illegitimate appeal to the authority of an expert

(E) misrepresents the position against which it is directed

TestPrepUnlimited · Answer

Correct answer: D

(A): Incorrect. The argument does not question whether Joan and her friends are telling the truth. Rather, the argument subordinates their judgment to the judgment of an expert. 
(B): Incorrect. The argument does not consider whether Joan and her friends like perfume  in general.  The argument tries to explain why she and her friends would like one perfume  more  than the other one. 
(C): Incorrect. While it could be true that there is disagreement among experts, the fact that there is disagreement does not negate the possibility that any expert could be more discerning than any layman. 
(D): Correct. Although Professor Jameson is an expert in the  physiology  of smell, she could still have a "defect" in her sense of smell. The argument illegimately appeals to her expertise in the field to make a judgment on her smell preferences. 
(E): Incorrect. The positions are accurately represented. Joan and her friend do not like the scent; Professor Jameson does.

unraveled · Answer

The new perfume Aurora smells worse to Joan than any comparably priced perfume, and none of her friends likes the smell of Aurora as much as the smell of other perfumes. However, she and her friends must have a defect in their sense of smell, since Professor Jameson prefers the smell of Aurora to that of any other perfume and she is one of the world’s foremost experts on the physiology of smell.

The reasoning is flawed because it

(A) calls into question the  truthfulness of the opponent  rather than addressing the point issue - WRONG. Irrelevant.

(B) ignore the well-known fact that someone can  prefer one thing to another without liking either very much  - WRONG. Covers only experts aspect and does not relate it to Joan and friends aspect.

(C) fails to establish that there is  widespread agreement among the experts  in the field - WRONG. Irrelevant.

(D) makes an  illegitimate appeal to the authority of an expert  - CORRECT. Takes a biased view and concludes.

(E)  misrepresents  the position against which it is directed - WRONG. "misrepresentation" is wrong.

There is a diversion in what Joan and friends feel and how it is rejected based on experts feeling. This where it falters; the choice that brings this into light is the right answer.

Answer D.

CountingBack · Answer

Or maybe she doesnt ,nowhere does the passage hint or infer that Professor could have a defect in her smell.
How can she be an expert authority if she has a defect in her smell?

Is this an official questions?Seems like a poor question..

BruhPoseidon · Answer

is "illegitimately" a good word here? Contextually it could mean wrongful but I don't think it's a good word here.

guddo · Answer

The new perfume Aurora smells worse to Joan than any comparably priced perfume, and none of her friends likes the smell of Aurora as much as the smell of other perfumes. However, she and her friends must have a defect in their sense of smell, since Professor Jameson prefers the smell of Aurora to that of any other perfume and she is one of the world’s foremost experts on the physiology of smell.
 
 The reasoning is flawed because it

The argument assumes that because Professor Jameson is an expert on the  physiology of smell , her personal preference for Aurora is authoritative evidence about how good the perfume smells. But expertise about how smell works does not make someone’s subjective preferences objectively correct.

(A) calls into question the truthfulness of the opponent rather than addressing the point at issue

Incorrect. The argument does not accuse Joan or her friends of lying.

(B) ignores the well-known fact that someone can prefer one thing to another without liking either very much

Incorrect. The issue is not how strongly Professor Jameson likes Aurora. The problem is treating her preference as authoritative.

(C) fails to establish that there is widespread agreement among the experts in the field

Incorrect. Agreement among experts would not solve the basic problem because perfume preference is subjective.

(D) makes an illegitimate appeal to the authority of an expert

Correct.   Professor Jameson’s expertise concerns the physiology of smell, not which perfume people ought to prefer. Her personal taste therefore does not establish that Joan and her friends have defective senses of smell.

(E) misrepresents the position against which it is directed

Incorrect. The argument does not distort Joan’s or her friends’ views.

Answer: (D)

guddo · Answer

Yes,  “illegitimate appeal to authority”  is standard reasoning terminology. Here  illegitimate  means unjustified or logically improper, not illegal.

The appeal is improper because being an expert on the physiology of smell does not make Professor Jameson an authority on which perfume should smell better to other people.

The new perfume Aurora smells worse to Joan than any comparably priced

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

The new perfume Aurora smells worse to Joan than any comparably priced

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