Logical Reasoning

PT139 · S1 · Q8 When weeding a vegetable garden

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When weeding a vegetable garden, one should not try to remove all the weeds.

Conclusion (should)

When weeding a garden, one should not try to remove all the weeds.

Evidence

Even though, fewer weeds would make a garden more productive, the slight productivity loss you get from leaving those last few weeds in pales in comparison to how annoying it is to find and remove every single one.

Evaluate

We need to ask ourselves what principle underlies this argument. The author seems to be Weighing Tradeoffs. One the one hand, the more weeds you remove, the more productive a garden you have. On the other hand, leaving a few of them doesn't hurt productivity much, and it allows you to avoid the painstaking effort of finding and pulling every single one.

The author seems to be citing a general principle of Diminishing Returns. When you compare the effort invested to the return on investment, you're getting diminishing returns by the time you hit those last few weeks, so just leave them.

Goal

Let's look for something like: Even though an A+ job is better than an A, the extra effort to get from A to A+ isn't worth it, so one should not try to get the A+.

The principle underlying which one of the following arguments is most similar to the principle underlying the argument above?

It is a mistake to
Bad Evidence Match
The conclusion seems to match, since it's advocating that we don't try to remove 100% of imperfections from one's personality. But the evidence has nothing to do with Diminishing Returns, with comparing the high cost / low value of going from 99% to 100%. Instead, it says that something bad would result if we got to 100% (you wouldn't be truly happy).
2% picked this
One should not try to
Bad Evidence Match
The conclusion seems to match, since it's saying we should not go for 100%. But the evidence has nothing to do with Diminishing Returns, with comparing the high cost / low value of going from 99% to 100%. Instead, it says that something bad would likely result if tried to go for 100% (more likely worse off than better off).
3% picked this
Correct
If one is trying to
Why this is right
The conclusion seems to match, since it's advocating that we don't try to shoot for removing all imperfections. And the evidence has a similar Weighing Tradeoffs / Diminishing Returns feel. The more imperfections we remove, the better, but the last few aren't worth it.
Skill tested: Principle-Conform · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
86% picked this
One who is trying to
Weak Evidence Match
This is the same as (C) until the very last ingredient. We want the author to say, "Don't shoot for 100%. Granted, the closer you get, the better things are. But ... for those last few, the small benefit you get is dwarfed by the painstaking effort." (C): if there's only a few left, it's no longer worth it (D): it's impossible to get to 100% The original argument was never saying we shouldn't try to remove all the weeds because it's impossible to remove all the weeds.
6% picked this
When one is trying to
Bad Conclusion / Evidence Match
This conclusion is not talking about "whether you should try removing 100% of imperfections". It's talking about whether you should try removing certain types of imperfections. And the evidence isn't weighing tradeoffs and considering diminishing returns. Instead, it's talking about unanticipated negative consequences.
3% picked this

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