Can you break down and categorize the overall flaw? Thanks
shunheJanuary 9, 2020
Hi @Kristen-Aust and @zgnewquist,
Thanks for the question! Let’s take a look at the stimulus first. We’re told that a prediction about a significant role for PCs in the classroom is wrong. Why? Because there’s been a dramatic decline in sales of computers for classroom use in the past year. Before looking at the answer choices, let’s think about what could be wrong with this argument. One thing that immediately jumps to mind is that computers aren’t the type of thing you buy every year. It takes a long time before you need to replace them. Thus, it’s possible that a lot of computers were bought the year before, and the sales have gone down because now all the classrooms have computers, and don’t need to buy any more.
Skimming the answer choices, we see that this is a similar flaw to what (D) tells us. (D) concludes that consumers have tired of microwave ovens. Why? Because microwave ovens sold well for a few years, but then began to sell less well, so consumers aren’t using them. Microwave ovens, however, are like computers in that you don’t buy a new one every year. They’re pretty durable devices. Thus, it’s possible that consumers bought a microwave oven, and plan to use the same one for a number of years, so once everyone got one, the sales went down. Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any further questions you may have.
