Logical Reasoning

PT110 · S2 · Q3 Restaurant manager: In response to

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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.

Conclusion (clearly, then)

Our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes.

Evidence

We recently introduced three vegetarian entrees: - eggplant and zucchini casserole w/ tomatoes - brown rice with mushrooms - potatoes baked with cheese

The first two are frequently ordered, but no one orders the potato dish, even though it costs less than the other two.

Evaluate

The evidence introduces an Asymmetric Comparison, also known as a Curious Fact. The author's conclusion is overconfident in assigning a causal explanation for that curious fact.

Curious Fact ... how come people aren't ordering the potatoes and cheese dish?

Author's Explanation ... people don't like potatoes.

Maybe that is the reason, but maybe not. Maybe there's an Alternate Explanation, such as .

Goal

On Flaw, when an author overconfidently concludes or assumes the causal explanation for some funky piece of evidence, the test usually just wants us to acknowledge that the author is too sure of one possible explanation.

And the correct answer is usually worded in a way that sounds like the author is "failing to consider Alternative Explanations".

3.

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

  1. concluding that two things that

    Bad Conclusion Match

    Is the conclusion saying that "two things have a common cause"? We know the author is saying that "people's dislike of potatoes is causing the potato and cheese dish to not sell well". Is it causing some second thing as well? No, the author is never saying that two things are caused by a dislike of potatoes. This answer is describing an argument that sounds like, "X and Y both started happening around the same time. Thus, the same thing must be responsible for both X and Y."

    2% picked this

  2. drawing a conclusion that is

    Not Self-Contradiction

    This answer alludes to one of the 10 Famous Flaws, Self-Contradiction, in which something the author says early on undermines something they say later on. The word "inconsistent" means contradictory. These answers are almost always wrong. The conclusion is that "our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes", so this answer is saying there was a premise that said, "Our patrons love to eat potatoes!", which of course there was not.

    3% picked this

  3. ignoring possible differences between what

    Irrelevant Distinction

    People said they wanted vegetarian entree options. And ever since the restaurant introduced three such options, people have "frequently" ordered two of them. So there isn't a mismatch between what people say they want and what they choose. It sounds like they said they wanted vegetarian entrees and have frequently been choosing vegetarian entrees.

    5% picked this

  4. attempting to prove a claim

    Bad Evidence Match

    The author is attempting to prove the claim that "our patrons prefer not to eat potatoes". Is the evidence stating that "a number of people claim that it's true that patrons prefer not to eat potatoes"? Definitely not. The evidence is that the potato meal is never ordered while the non-potato meals are frequently ordered.

    2% picked this

  5. Correct

    treating one of several plausible

    Why this is right

    This is another way of saying the author "failed to consider alternate explanations". How come no one orders the potato and cheese dish? - maybe they don't like potatoes - maybe they don't like cheese - maybe they don't like that combination - maybe the other two entrees simply look more enticing There are many potential ways to explain why no one is ordering this dish, but this author overconfidently acts like "potato-hating" is the only possible explanation.

    Skill tested: Flaw · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    88% picked this

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