Logical Reasoning

PT21 · S2 · Q4 The highest-ranking detectives

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The highest-ranking detectives in the city’s police department are also the most adept at solving crimes.

Given That ...

The highest ranking detectives are the ones who are best at solving crimes.

How Can It Be That ...

For the past ten years, the highest ranking detectives have had the same average success rate for solving crimes that the lowest-ranking detectives have had.

Evaluate / Goal

We need a way to explain why the highest ranking detectives are tied with the lowest-ranking detectives at solving crimes, even though the higher ranking ones are better at solving crimes.

Maybe the crimes have been really easy over the past ten years, so both high and low ranking detectives have been solving 100% of crimes.

Or maybe they've been hopelessly impossible, so both of them have been solving 0% of crimes.

Or maybe they're just giving the high ranking detectives the hardest crimes to solve, so their extra talent balances out with the extra difficulty of the cases they're assigned, leading to the same overall success rate as the less talented detectives who are solving easier crimes.

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?

The detectives who have the
Explains Background
This would offer a potential explanation for why the highest ranking ones are the most adept, but we're trying to explain the other idea, that the highest ranking detectives (the more talented ones) have the same success rate as the less talented detectives.
3% picked this
It generally takes at least
No impact
If anything, this is doing the same thing as (A), which is explaining the background fact -- the high ranking detectives are more adept because they've been there ten years. But like (A), it has nothing to do with explaining the confusing fact, that the success rate of the talented detectives matches the success rate of the less talented ones.
4% picked this
Those detectives in the police
Unclear Impact
This highlights a difference between the highest and lowest ranking detectives, which is what we want. But does the difference explain why their success rates are equal? If you're one of the most talented detectives, and thus you're most likely to remain in the police department, does that explain why your success rate is the same as a much less adept detective.
3% picked this
Correct
The police department generally gives
Why this is right
This highlights a difference between the highest and lowest ranking detectives, which is what we want. Does the difference explain why their success rates are equal? If you're one of the lowest-ranking detectives. you get given the cases that are easiest to solve. Does that explain why your success rate is the same as much more adept detectives? Sure. If you're given easy cases and the most talented ones are given harder cases, then it makes sense how the success rate could be similar.
Skill tested: Paradox · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
90% picked this
None of the lowest-ranking detectives
Explains Background
This answer gives a reason why the lowest-ranking detectives are less adept (they have less experience). But it doesn't give us any way to explain the surprising fact, that these less adept detectives have the same success rate as the more adept detectives.
1% picked this

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