The number of automobile thefts has declined steadily during the past five years, and it is more likely now than it w...

SamA on October 11, 2019

Hello @sadaabrahman,

This is not necessarily a paradox, but we will use a similar process to get the right answer. What we have are two premises, and we are asked to find an answer choice that explains how each of them could occur.

Premise 1: The number of automobile thefts has declined steadily during the past five years.

Premise 2: It is more likely now than it was five years ago that a car thief is convicted.

Answer choice A says that there are fewer car thieves than there used to be, which explains premise 1. It also says that a lower percentage of thieves abandon the cars before the owners notice, which suggests that they are more likely to be caught than they were five years ago. This explains premise 2.

Unlike a resolve the paradox question, these statements don't seem to conflict at first. However, answer choice A still gives us enough information to explain both phenomenon. This is the type of answer we will need to resolve a paradox as well.