Naturalist: Different nonhuman primate

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Strong: the most1% picked this

   Orangutans are the most intelligent of

   This is an extreme language freebie. We only read about two nonhuman primates. Just because orangutans seemed like the more clever of the two doesn't mean we crown them #1 among all and say they're the most intelligent.

   1%
2. B

   Unsupported Comparison1% picked this

   Orangutans have better memories than chimpanzees

   The fact that some orangutans (at least one) initially ignored the screwdriver and "remembered" to go back to it later for the sake of dismantling the cage is not support for a global comparison between chimp memories and orangutans.

   1%
3. C

   Correct83% picked this

   Some nonhuman primates are capable of

   Why this is right

   This has very provable language. To support "some" we only need one example of something. Do we have an example of a nonhuman primate committing an act of deception? Does it qualify as deception when an orangutan pretends to ignore a tool and then later tries to sneakily grab the tool and plot an escape? Yes, definitely. In particular, we're guaranteed that it's an act of deception because the orangutan "pretends to ignore the tool". That means that the orangutan does notice the tool but is sending to zookeepers the deceptive impression that it doesn't notice it / isn't interested.

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

   83%
4. D

   Unsupported Comparison1% picked this

   Orangutans dislike being caged more than

   The fact that some orangutans (at least one) used the screwdriver to dismantle its cage does not support a global comparison between chimps and orangutans, in terms of who dislikes imprisonment more. Not only would one data point (an orangutan may) not support a broad comparison, but you also can't judge how much someone dislikes being caged based on whether or not they attempt a prison escape. Prisoners who aren't plotting an escape don't necessarily like being caged more than others. It's more likely that they are just more pessimistic or clueless about plotting a successful escape.

   1%
5. E

   Out of Scope: understand tool use14% picked this

   Not all nonhuman primates understand tool

   This answer is pretty tempting since it has very weak language. We only need one example of a nonhuman primate that doesn't understand tool use. Can we say that the chimps are examples of a primate that doesn't understand tool use? No, not really. The chimps actually pick up the screwdriver and "play with it for a time", which could easily indicate an understanding of tool use. Overall, it's a pretty extreme claim to say that a species "doesn't understand tool use", so we wouldn't want to extrapolate that big claim just from this screwdriver example.

   14%