Logical Reasoning

PT119 · S4 · Q10 Charlene: Environmental cleanup increasinglyrelies

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Charlene: Environmental cleanup increasingly relies on microorganisms to metabolize pollutants.

Charlene's Conclusion

Using microorganisms to metabolize pollutants has limitations.

Charlene's Evidence

Microbes are less active when a region's temps are below normal.

Olaf's Rebuttal

No. The activity level of microbes is basically the same whether they live in Arctic or subtropical regions.

Evaluate

The problem with Olaf's rebuttal is he's acting like Charlene said "microbes don't work as well in cold climates", and thus rebutting that by saying

But Charlene was just saying that microbes don't work as well when the local temperature is lower than average.

So if the average temperature in the Arctic is 0 degrees Celsius, then arctic microbes won't work as well when the temperature drops to -10 degrees.

If the average temp in the subtropics is 27 degrees Celsius, then subtropical microbes won't work as well when the temperature drops to 17 degrees.

Goal

Olaf's flaw was thinking in Absolute terms of "low temp" when Charlene was talking about a Relative sense of "low temp".

10.

Olaf's reply suggests that he misinterprets Charlene's use of the term

  1. relies

    Unrelated to Goal

    This doesn't have anything to do with whether we're talking about "temperature is low" vs. "temperature is lower than normal".

    2% picked this

  2. Correct

    normal

    Why this is right

    By "normal", Charlene meant "what a normal temperature for this region would be" (relative). Olaf seems to think that Charlene means "normal" like "an average temperature, globally". We certainly think of the equator as hot and the poles as cold, and so stuff that's more temperate would probably be thought of as "normal" by Olaf. But Charlene was talking about "whatever is a normal temperature for that reason".

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

    61% picked this

  3. cleanup

    Unrelated to Goal

    This doesn't have anything to do with whether we're talking about "temperature is low" vs. "temperature is lower than normal".

    2% picked this

  4. limitations

    Unrelated to Goal

    This doesn't have anything to do with whether we're talking about "temperature is low" vs. "temperature is lower than normal". Olaf is thinking of limitations in the same way, insisting that there shouldn't be limitations since, in his distorted understanding, the activity rate of microbes is the same whether it's a hot climate or a cold climate.

    8% picked this

  5. active

    Unrelated to Goal

    This doesn't have anything to do with whether we're talking about "temperature is low" vs. "temperature is lower than normal". Olaf is thinking about "active" just as Charlene is -- how quickly a microorganism would be metabolizing pollutants.

    27% picked this

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