Logical Reasoning

PT118 · S3 · Q17 An antidote for chicken pox

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An antidote for chicken pox has been developed, but researchers warn that its widespread use could be dangerous, despite the fact that this drug has no serious side effects and is currently very effective at limiting the duration and severity of chicken pox.

GIVEN THAT ...

This chicken pox antidote has no serious side effects and is very effective at limiting the duration / severity of chicken pox.

WHY IS IT THAT ...

Researchers are warning that widespread use of this antidote could be dangerous.

GOAL

We basically need to look for an answer that gives us some story to tell where lots of people take this antidote and bad stuff happens.

If you have outside knowledge about how chicken pox is mild if you have it when you're young but can be much more severe if you get it as an adult, you might be having some premonition here that the "bad stuff" could relate to that.

17.

Which one of the following, if true, helps most to reconcile the apparent discrepancy indicated above?

  1. The drug is extremely expensive

    Unrelated to Goal: expensive vs. dangerous

    The fact that it would be difficult to make this widely available doesn't answer the question of why it would be dangerous if it were widely available. This answer sounds like reasons why we shouldn't plan to make this drug widely available, but it doesn't relate to why it would be dangerous (assuming we had the money / ability to do so).

    0% picked this

  2. The drug has to be

    Unrelated to Goal: nothing about danger

    This, like (A), relates to the feasibility of whether we could have widespread use of this antidote. But we're seeking an answer that explains the danger of widespread use. There's no common sense story that "if patients don't follow the dosing instructions (they tend to not take it as much as they should), then something dangerous will happen".

    1% picked this

  3. The drug does not prevent

    Unrelated to Goal: nothing dangerous

    The status quo is that chicken pox is a highly contagious and also miserable to get through. This answer is basically saying "the new drug would make it less miserable to get through, but it would still be highly contagious." Wouldn't that be an improvement over the status quo? Where is the danger that researchers are worried about?

    10% picked this

  4. When misused by taking larger-than-prescribed

    Weaker Impact

    This answer definitely relates to danger, but the danger only comes into play if people misuse the drug by taking larger-than-prescribed doses. Should we be worried about people taking larger-than-prescribed doses? Do people often do that? There's definitely some risk that people will overdose (especially if they have itchy chicken pox and want quicker relief). But that risk is true of almost any drug. If you overdose on Advil or Tylenol, it can be fatal. The correct answer presents a danger that isn't limited to edge cases, or that isn't inherent to any drug.

    16% picked this

  5. Correct

    Use of the drug contributes

    Why this is right

    This answer allows us to say, "If there is widespread use of this drug, it will lead to deadlier chicken pox that can't be treated with this drug." That sounds like a broader health concern than (D). This answer deals with potentially creating new strains of a disease that could endanger everyone, whereas (D) only dealt with endangerment for the few people who overdose on the drug. This answer is similar to the common sense idea that widespread use of antibiotics is dangerous because it can lead to superbacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

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

    73% picked this

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