Although most builders do not consider the experimental building

Question

Although most builders do not consider the experimental building material papercrete to be a promising material for large-scale construction, those who regularly work with it, primarily on small-scale projects, think otherwise. Since those who regularly use papercrete are familiar with the properties of the material, it is likely that papercrete is indeed promising for large-scale construction.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction

(B) presumes that what the majority of builders thinks is promising must in fact be promising

(C) equivocates between two different meanings of the term, "promising"

(D) does not consider the views of the builders who have the most experience working with the material

(E) fails to consider that most builders might not regularly use papercrete precisely because they are familiar with its properties

Saasingh · Accepted Answer

Although most builders do not consider the experimental building material papercrete to be a promising material for large-scale construction, those who regularly work with it, primarily on small-scale projects, think otherwise. Since those who regularly use papercrete are familiar with the properties of the material, it is likely that papercrete is indeed promising for large-scale construction.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction

Hey, glad to help.

See the essence of the argument needs to be deconstructed because both A and E are extremely close and subtle.

Although most builders do not consider the experimental building material papercrete to be a promising material for large-scale construction, those who regularly work with it, primarily on small-scale projects, think otherwise.   
Author here states some difference of opinion between 2 groups.

Since those who regularly use papercrete are familiar with the properties of the material, it is likely that papercrete is indeed promising for large-scale construction. 
And here, the author provides the reasoning for that difference.

Now in such vulnerability questions, we need to find a flaw in the reasoning. So just focus on the latter sentence :  Since those who regularly use papercrete are familiar with the properties of the material, it is likely that papercrete is indeed promising for large-scale construction. .

Clearly the flaw is the assumption in E as the essence of his reasoning is the "familiarity with the properties of material". So, he assumes the large scale guys are  NOT familiar .

On the other hand, in option A = ( confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction ), I mean, that is not the essence of the passage. Option A is something I treat as a very generic statement. He does confuse it to be honest. And yes he does say some facts about small scale guys and generalize about large scale guys based on those facts. But if you look at E, it is bang on the money. I agree option A is also somewhat true, but very vague and not specific vulnerability. 
Also, is he simply confusing from small guys facts to large scale? I can clearly see a very troublesome assumption i.e. "familiarity with material". That is the primary flaw. He is very wrongly assuming that large scale guys are "not familiar".

I hope you see what A vs E is. A is very vague. E is right on the money. Honestly, A is true too. But if I see an option like E, I cannot choose A.

Regards,
Saakhi

DinoPen · Answer

Although most builders do not consider the experimental building material papercrete to be a promising material for large-scale construction, those who regularly work with it, primarily on small-scale projects, think otherwise. Since those who regularly use papercrete are familiar with the properties of the material, it is likely that papercrete is indeed promising for large-scale construction.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction

Workers that work on small-scale projects believe that the use of papercrete is promising building material.
Since they are familiar with the material, the material is promising for large-scale projects.
Weaken this...

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction
 Yes. What may work with small-scale projects may not work with large-scale projects.

(B) presumes that what the majority of builders thinks is promising must in fact be promising
 There is no sense of scale on how many people work on small vs large scale projects.

(C) equivocates between two different meanings of the term, "promising"
 There is no distinction between the different terms of 'promising'. In my mind, 'promising' is reliable.

(D) does not consider the views of the builders who have the most experience working with the material
 The passage specifically mentions that the workers do have experience working with the material.
 
(E) fails to consider that most builders might not regularly use papercrete precisely because they are familiar with its properties
 We don't need to consider how  most  builders might not use the material correctly. We only care about the workers who  have  used it and whether the material can be applied to large-scale projects.

Sumi1010 · Answer

Although most builders do not consider the experimental building material papercrete to be a promising material for large-scale construction,  those who regularly work with it,  primarily on small-scale projects , think otherwise(i.e. promising material). 
 Conclusion  - Since those who regularly use papercrete are familiar with the properties of the material,  it is likely that papercrete is indeed promising for large-scale construction .

Thus, the conclusion says that papercrete is indeed promising  for large-scale  construction, because builders who primarily work  on small-scale  projects work with it and think so. This is the major flaw. This belief should have come from the builders who work on large-scale rather.

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction
 This looks correct because this belief should have come from the builders who work on large-scale rather.  
(B) presumes that what the majority of builders thinks is promising must in fact be promising
 No question on the fact of being the material promising .  
(C) equivocates between two different meanings of the term, "promising"
 No two meanings of promising suggested. 
(D) does not consider the views of the builders who have the  most experience  working with the material
 We don't even know it. 
(E) fails to consider that most builders might not regularly use papercrete precisely because they are familiar with its properties.
 We can't infer from the argument.

IMO  A

Saasingh · Answer

For me its clearly E.

Reasoning author uses to extrapolate small-scale builders thoughts on large-scale builders thoughts is that scale-scale guys are familiar with the material.

So essentially it implies that since small scale guys are familiar with the material "because they use it daily", it is good.
It wrongly assumes that the large scales guys DO NOT use the material because they ARE NOT FAMILIAR with the material. However, it might very likely be the case that these large scale guys DO NOT use the material because they have already tried it and they hate it. Essentially what E says.

sssanskaar · Answer

Although I initially marked A as I got confused in the wordings of option E, I could later understand why E is the correct choice.
Also, can you help me explain how to eliminate option A?

sssanskaar · Answer

Thanks  Saasingh  for making this perfectly clear to me in such an elaborate and a nice way! A is close but chooses to be in the side-lines of the issue whereas E hits the target where it hurts the most.

unraveled · Answer

Although most builders do not consider the experimental building material papercrete to be a promising material for large-scale construction, those who regularly work with it, primarily on small-scale projects, think otherwise. Since those who regularly use papercrete are familiar with the properties of the material, it is likely that papercrete is indeed promising for large-scale construction.

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A) confuses what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction

The argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it

(A)  confuses  what is promising for small-scale construction with what is promising for large-scale construction - WRONG. It does not confuse in such manner rather reasoning present for that conclusion in the passage makes one get confused as this option says. The reasoning behind that conclusion is the clue to right answer but this option is not hitting the right notes as far as reasoning is concerned.

(B) presumes that  what the majority of builders thinks is promising must in fact be promising  - WRONG. Not at all ascertainable. Its the other way round.

(C)  equivocates  between two  different meanings  of the term, "promising" - WRONG. Not at all different in meaning.

(D)  does not consider the views  of the builders who have the most experience working with the material - WRONG. It does consider based on which conclusion is made.

(E)  fails to consider that most builders  might not regularly use papercrete precisely because they  are familiar with its properties  - CORRECT. The set of builders(the majority) is not the passage covers and that is where it falters. 
The conclusion is underlined and the reasoning behind that is highlighted in the passage. Only A and E are contenders. A is a trap answer.

Answer E.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Although most builders do not consider the experimental building

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Although most builders do not consider the experimental building

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