Critic: Rock music is musically

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct88% picked this

   Digital music is not distributed with accompanying innovative

   Why this is right

   Since this has a "not", it's time to negate it (by removing the not) and asking ourselves if it's become an Objection. negation: digital music is distributed with accompanying innovative visual art. Does that weaken? Sure! The author was saying, "Rock used to have one good thing going for it: innovative visual art on the album cover. But now album covers are gone." He was assuming that this means that innovative visual art is gone as well, but when we negate this answer it's saying, "Nah, buddy, rock music still has that innovative visual art you like". This argument was Assuming a Difference, which often feels so obvious we don't even notice it enough to name it explicitly.

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

   88%
2. B

   Too Strong: most2% picked this

   Although very few LPs are produced today, most of these are

   The word "most" is wrong 99% of the time you see it on Necessary Assumption (it's only been correct when the word "most" is actually in the Conclusion). Why does the author need to assume that at least 51% of the scant LP's produced these days are rock LPs? Would it hurt the argument if we negated this and said, "No, only 49% of the tiny crop of LPs produced today are rock LP's"? Of course not. "Most" is (almost) always wrong because negating a "most" claim just takes you from believing something is true at least 51% of the time to believing it's true at most 49% of the time. That difference never weakens, so negating never weakens, thus the answer is never correct.

   2%
3. C

   Too Strong4% picked this

   In the 1960s and 1970s, only rock LPs featured innovative album

   Too Strong: only Only One Mentioned ? Only Thing This does what so many Necessary Assumption trap answers do. It acts like the only thing mentioned is the only thing. For example, if the argument said, "blue M&Ms are delicious", the trap answer would say, "red M&Ms aren't delicious". Affirming one thing doesn't mean you're saying it's the only thing possessing that trait (see also: Black Lives Matter vs. All Lives Matter)

   4%
4. D

   Weaken-ish3% picked this

   The LPs being produced today have innovative album

   We don't know what the author believes about LP art today. He only said art from the 60s and 70s was often innovative. He might still think that's true or might think that people don't care anymore and the album covers are boring. If we negate this and say, "the LPs produced today do not have innovative cover art", then that only strengthens his argument that rock music has nothing going for it.

   3%
5. E

   Out of Scope Comparison3% picked this

   Rock music is less sophisticated musically and more destructive socially now than it was in

   The author doesn't indicate that rock music's current state of being musically bankrupt and socially destructive is any different from before, so we have no way to say the author must believe this comparison. If we negated it and said "rock music is at the same level of low sophistication and high social destruction now that it was in the 60s and 70s", it wouldn't hurt the author.

   3%