Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Apr 2610:00 AM EDT
-11:00 AM EDT
The Target Test Prep course represents a quantum leap forward in GMAT preparation, a radical reinterpretation of the way that students should study. Try before you buy with a 5-day, full-access trial of the course for FREE!
Apr 2711:00 AM EDT
-12:00 PM EDT
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors
Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
14 Jan 2020, 05:11
Kudos
Bookmarks
B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
15%
(low)
Question Stats:
84% (01:24) correct
16%
(01:40)
wrong
based on 143
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
In The Adventure of the Bruce-Partingon Plans, Sherlock Holmes explained to Dr. Watson that the body had been placed on the top of the train while the train paused at a signal.
“It seems most improbable,” remarked Watson.
“We must fall back upon the old axiom,” continued Holmes, “that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Which of the following is the most effective criticism of the logic contained in Holmes’ response to Watson?
(A) You will never be able to obtain a conviction in a court of law.
(B) You can never be sure you have accounted for all other contingencies.
(C) You will need further evidence to satisfy the police.
(D) The very idea of putting a dead body on top of a train seems preposterous.
(E) You still have to find the person responsible for putting the body on top of the train.
“It seems most improbable,” remarked Watson.
“We must fall back upon the old axiom,” continued Holmes, “that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Which of the following is the most effective criticism of the logic contained in Holmes’ response to Watson?
(A) You will never be able to obtain a conviction in a court of law.
(B) You can never be sure you have accounted for all other contingencies.
(C) You will need further evidence to satisfy the police.
(D) The very idea of putting a dead body on top of a train seems preposterous.
(E) You still have to find the person responsible for putting the body on top of the train.
Source: Master GMAT
03 Feb 2020, 08:03
Kudos
Bookmarks
I have to give props to whoever wrote this question. I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and the Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans is actually my favorite Holmes short story.
That being said
TYPE: FLAW IN REASONING
Pre-thinking: We have to find why Holmes's axiom is logically incorrect. Paraphrasing it, the axiom goes, in short, like this
" If you go on eliminating alternatives, whatever you cannot eliminate, must be the right answer".
(A) You will never be able to obtain a conviction in a court of law. -------- Holmes's axiom has nothing to do with the enforcement of law.
(B) You can never be sure you have accounted for all other contingencies. ------- CORRECT. For the axiom to work, you must eliminate all the other alternatives, so you can be left with the one you cannot eliminate. However, if you cannot account for all those alternatives; in other words, if you can't know what those other alternatives are, or how many there are, then it is impossible to eliminate all of them.
(C) You will need further evidence to satisfy the police. --------- the police has nothing to do with the axiom
(D) The very idea of putting a dead body on top of a train seems preposterous. -------- this is not qualifying or evaluating the axiom.
(E) You still have to find the person responsible for putting the body on top of the train. -------- again, out of scope.
That being said
TYPE: FLAW IN REASONING
Pre-thinking: We have to find why Holmes's axiom is logically incorrect. Paraphrasing it, the axiom goes, in short, like this
" If you go on eliminating alternatives, whatever you cannot eliminate, must be the right answer".
(A) You will never be able to obtain a conviction in a court of law. -------- Holmes's axiom has nothing to do with the enforcement of law.
(B) You can never be sure you have accounted for all other contingencies. ------- CORRECT. For the axiom to work, you must eliminate all the other alternatives, so you can be left with the one you cannot eliminate. However, if you cannot account for all those alternatives; in other words, if you can't know what those other alternatives are, or how many there are, then it is impossible to eliminate all of them.
(C) You will need further evidence to satisfy the police. --------- the police has nothing to do with the axiom
(D) The very idea of putting a dead body on top of a train seems preposterous. -------- this is not qualifying or evaluating the axiom.
(E) You still have to find the person responsible for putting the body on top of the train. -------- again, out of scope.
05 Feb 2020, 06:17
Kudos
Bookmarks
My approach to this was - quickly read the question and understand what is asking for in the question:
Question is to find the best criticism of Holmes’ Logic
Holmes logic was - “ if all other contingencies fail, whatever is is given, even if it is improbable is true”
So we have to prove the above doesn’t make sense -
(A) You will never be able to obtain a conviction in a court of law. This is not included in the passage and gives additional info that is irrelevant
(B) You can never be sure you have accounted for all other contingencies. This Clearly states that all contingencies can’t be accounted so Holmes logic of eliminating “all other possible contingencies” doesn’t make sense as there are infinite no. Of contingencies of where the body could be placed....
(C) You will need further evidence to satisfy the police. Again adding other info in option which was not given in the passage
(D) The very idea of putting a dead body on top of a train seems preposterous. Feelings/ideas are not point of discussion rather the question is asking to analyse the logic of Holmes theory
(E) You still have to find the person responsible for putting the body on top of the train. Why? This has nothing to do with Holmes theory
Hope my method makes sense
Thanks,
Lasya
Question is to find the best criticism of Holmes’ Logic
Holmes logic was - “ if all other contingencies fail, whatever is is given, even if it is improbable is true”
So we have to prove the above doesn’t make sense -
(A) You will never be able to obtain a conviction in a court of law. This is not included in the passage and gives additional info that is irrelevant
(B) You can never be sure you have accounted for all other contingencies. This Clearly states that all contingencies can’t be accounted so Holmes logic of eliminating “all other possible contingencies” doesn’t make sense as there are infinite no. Of contingencies of where the body could be placed....
(C) You will need further evidence to satisfy the police. Again adding other info in option which was not given in the passage
(D) The very idea of putting a dead body on top of a train seems preposterous. Feelings/ideas are not point of discussion rather the question is asking to analyse the logic of Holmes theory
(E) You still have to find the person responsible for putting the body on top of the train. Why? This has nothing to do with Holmes theory
Hope my method makes sense
Thanks,
Lasya
