Opposition leader: Our country has the least fair court system of any country on the continent and ought not to be t...

Ben on June 30, 2020

Hi Avif, thanks for the question.

B is correct because it commits the same error that the passage does, in that because these two majors are the toughest overall, then each course within it must be the toughest overall. It is arbitrary that in B they used an intro course and in the passage they used the highest court. The parallel is in the fact that they decided what is true of the entire entity is true of each part.

A is different in that it is making a comparison between two people who come from different cities, concluding that one must be smarter than the other, based on the average intelligence of people in one city being greater than the other. This doesn't commit the whole to part error. It never specifies the whole city is smartest, therefore each person is smartest.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Avi on July 1, 2020

Thanks for the response. I still don't get it though. A, seems to be a whole to part error too. The fact that on average (the whole) of the city is more educated that anywhere else therefore this specific person (the part) is more educated than someone else. What am I missing?

Victoria on July 9, 2020

Hi @avif,

There are a few different reasons why answer choice (A) is incorrect.

First, answer choice (A) is focused on average whereas the passage and the correct answer choice both speak in absolutes i.e. the least fair court system and the most demanding major. Answer choice (A) just says that, generally, people in medium-sized towns are smarter than those who do not live in such towns.

It would be closer to the correct answer if it compared two different cities e.g. Chicago is the smartest city in the country. Therefore, Maureen, who was born in Chicago, must be smarter than Monica who was born in Santa Fe.

Second, answer choice (A) compares two different people. The passage commits the whole to part error i.e. least fair court system therefore least fair highest court.

Answer choice (A) commits this error in part by saying town residents are more highly educated therefore Maureen is highly educated. However, it adds an additional step by comparing Maureen to Monica.

Finally, answer choice (A) commits an additional error in its understanding of averages. It assumes that Maureen, by virtue of being born in a medium-sized twin, must be more highly educated than Monica who moved to a medium-sized town as if one accrues a greater level of education the more time that one spends in a medium-sized town.

Hope this helps clear things up a little! Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Avi on July 9, 2020

Thanks!