Explanation
Reading the question: As in Drivers Over
30, here we have a couple short statements of evidence and then a statement of
opinion--a conclusion. Here, the conclusion statement is introduced by the word
"clearly," which is almost invariably used when a statement isn't clear, in which case that
statement is an opinion. These brief arguments resemble syllogisms. The most
famous syllogism is: "All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates
is mortal." When you confront a
syllogistic or pseudo-syllogistic argument, you can build your filter using
term matching.
Creating a filter: as in Drivers over 30, we can match
terms by sketching or imagining a table:
The worst mismatch of terms here is
the last one. The argument appears to equate economic growth and technological
advancement. Or, possibly, it assumes that advanced tech is the cause of the
economic growth and not something else, like lower taxes. Either one of these
views is not stated or supported in the argument as it stands, so we have found
a major weakness in the argument.
Applying the filter: The key is that there could be
something else that has caused economic growth. That notion is conveyed by answer
choice (C). Choice (A) isn't true; the conclusion is not a paraphrase, since,
as we've said, it comes out of nowhere with the new terms "technology" and
"advancement." Similarly, choice (B) is off because the argument is missing
connections, not offering contradictory connections. Skipping to choice (E):
this answer choice, like (A), would require mentioning "technological
advancement" earlier in the argument. Similarly, (D) means there is a logical
loop, but tech advancement is not referred to earlier. Note that, given the
format of the answer choices, a logical test such as the negation test is not
possible, so we have had to rely solely on our filter to get to the answer. The
correct answer is (C).
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