Logical Reasoning

PT113 · S2 · Q7 Newtonian physics dominated science for

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Newtonian physics dominated science for over two centuries.

Statements

Newtonian physics dominated for over two centuries, being applied successfully consistently and becoming one of the most highly substantiated and accepted theories ever.

Pivot (nevertheless)

Einstein's theories came to show the limits of Newtonian physics and they surpassed his view in the early 1900s, giving rise again to a physics that has so far enjoyed wide success.

Evaluate

When we're reading an Inference paragraph and the final claim begins with some Pivot idea (but, yet, however, nevertheless), it usually creates some tension that the correct answer addresses.

Here, the tension is simply that Newtonian physics dominated and was one of the most accepted theories of science ... until it wasn't. Einstein came along and now his theories are accepted and super successful.

Goal

Let's look for a safely worded takeaway that combines what we know from the Newton / Einstein situation.

Which one of the following logically follows from the statements above?

The history of physics is
Too Strong/Broad: history of physics
We only know about Newton and Einstein. We can't derive a must be true inference that what we were told about them represents some pattern that has characterized the whole history of physics.
12% picked this
Correct
Long-standing success of substantiation of
Why this is right
We're super attracted to the soft wording here: X is no guarantee that Y can be proven with one data point in which X occurred and Y didn't. Do we have an example in which "a theory of physics had long-standing success of substantiation" but "it did not continue to be dominant indefinitely"? Sure, Newtonian physics is an example of that. If was successfully applied on a consistent basis for over two centuries. It was one of the most highly substantiated theories in the history of science. But, it is no longer dominant today. It stopped being dominant in the early 1900s when Einstein's theories came to show the limits of Newtonian physics and to surpass the Newtonian view.
Skill tested: Must be True · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
82% picked this
Every theory of physics, no
Too Strong: every theory
We have one example in which a successful theory (Newton's) was surpassed by another successful theory. We can't derive from one example that this sort of thing happens to every single theory of physics.
1% picked this
Once a theory of physics
Too Strong: all accepted theories
We know of one theory (Newton's) that, once accepted, remained dominant for centuries. We can't derive from one example that this same thing would happen to every single theory of physics that gets accepted. Maybe some of them are only dominant for a few decades, or for just one century.
1% picked this
If a long-accepted theory of
Too Strong: must be equally successful
We have one example of a long-accepted theory (Newton's) that got surpassed by another successful theory. We were never told that Einstein's theory was equally successful, so we can't even justify the wording in this answer choice for one data point. But this answer is also making a sensational, categorical claim that every single time a long-accepted theory is surpassed, it is a theory that is equally successful.
4% picked this

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