M: It is almost impossible to find a person between the ages of 85 and 90 who primarily uses the left hand.Q: Seventy...
ShirnelMay 8, 2020
I don't understand this stimulus and question at all
How can I assume that M was stating that people who are left-handed don't survive? I also don't understand this question stem. Please explain this in layman's terms.
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Happy to help! This is definitely a confusing question stem; it took me a minute to fully parse it out as well!
The question is asking us which hypothesis (or theory) Q's response counters.
When going through the answer choices, we are to imagine that each is a hypothesis suggested by M to explain why it is hard to find any 85 to 90-year-olds who are left-handed.
The question stem suggests that Q's response counters M's evidence, thereby weakening M's hypothesis as presented in each answer choice.
M's evidence is that it is hard to find anyone aged 85 to 90 who is primarily left-handed.
Q counters that 70 to 90 years ago, children who used their left hand were punished and forced to use their right hand. This suggests that those 85 to 90 who were left-handed at one point were forced to switch to using their right hand.
Now that we have gone through the stimulus and the question stem, let's work our way through the answer choices.
Answer choice (B) suggests that M hypothesizes that societal attitudes toward handedness differ at different times. This answer choice is incorrect because this conclusion is suggested by Q; therefore, their evidence would not be used to counter this hypothesis.
Answer choice (C) suggests that M hypothesizes that it is harmless to force a person to switch from a preferred hand. This answer choice is incorrect because it is out of scope. Neither party discusses the harm(s) caused or not caused by forcing a person to switch from a preferred hand.
Answer choice (D) suggests that M hypothesizes that handedness is a product of both genetic predisposition and social pressures. This hypothesis cannot be supported by M's evidence regardless of Q's impacts on it.
Answer choice (E) suggests that M hypothesizes that physical habits learned in school often persist in old age. This answer choice is incorrect because it is suggested by Q; therefore, their evidence would not be used to counter this hypothesis.
Answer choice (A) suggests that M hypothesizes that being born right-handed confers a survival advantage. This is a possible hypothesis based on M's evidence:
It is hard to find anyone aged 85 to 90 who is left-handed; therefore, being born right-handed must confer a survival advantage because few, if any, people who were born left-handed survive to an old age.
M's ability to support this hypothesis is contradicted by Q's evidence. It is hard to find anyone aged 85 to 90 who is left-handed because, when they were children, it was common practice to punish children who used their left hand and force them to use their right.
Therefore, we cannot theorize that being born right-handed confers a survival advantage because we can assume that some people aged 85 to 90 were actually born left-handed and forced to switch to using their right hand.
Hope this is helpful! Keep up the good work and please let us know if you have any further questions.
Ryan-WhyteJune 15, 2020
So is this really a weaken question?
123June 16, 2020
So why is this question under the "weaken" questions?
eli918July 27, 2020
Hello, I am not an instructor but I saw that your question was not answered yet. It is a weaken question because Q's response to M would weaken M's argument. In this, we are working backwards to see which statement would M's argument support but Q would weaken. Hope that helps!
