Some/Most/Many/Few/etc. Answer choices in Strengthen/Weaken Questions

rakinalikhanrakinalikhan Alum Member
in Logical Reasoning 329 karma
i would like some understanding for the strengthening/weakening question types. if an answer choice contain "some/most/many/few" or similar, should i presume that the answer choice would be more likely wrong than right? i was thinking it would lean towards being wrong because since those are not "all" or "none", they allow for outliers.

also, if the conclusion of the stimulus explicitly says "All x..." or "No y..." would "some/most/many/few/etc." answer choices lean more towards being right than wrong?

any help would be appreciated!

Comments

  • MsM1998_MsM1998_ Alum Member
    117 karma
    Remember, all implies most which implies some. Also remember, many is equivalent to some. So when you see many, just mentally replace it with some.
  • apublicdisplayapublicdisplay Alum Member
    edited September 2016 696 karma
    No, don't presume that because an answer choice contains "some/most/many/few" that it is more likely wrong than right. It's not necessarily true. Why should you lean towards thinking it's right or wrong when in fact it may not be? You're taking superficial shortcuts which neglect a true understanding of why an answer choice is correct or incorrect, valid or invalid.

    The observation that "some/most/many/few" neglects outliers like "all" isn't even true. "Some/most/many" can include "all." Remember the lesson where JY pointed out that "some" and "many" is relatively subjective. However, we know at the very least that "some" and "many" mean "at least one," but it's still possible for it to include "all."

    Get a grip on the fundamental rules of logic and avoid trying to exploit some perceived quirks of the test. You're not after exploiting tendencies of the test, like strengthening/weakening answer choices being wrong by virtue of using the words "some/most/many/few." You're after exposing invalid reasoning. Yes, strengthening/weakening questions have peculiar faults that other question types may not be prone to commit, by virtue of their construction, which may justify your use of applying a model or shortcut approach to the question types. But, your focus is still on what makes an argument, whether under the strengthening/weakening question type, or otherwise, conclusively valid or invalid.
  • rakinalikhanrakinalikhan Alum Member
    329 karma
    @apublicdisplay i appreciate your answer. i always read all the answer choices so i dont automatically try to cross out any answer. to be more specific it is the trap answer choices that get me when i get to two possible answer choices. looking at my answers on questions that i did and review those questions, i had a tendency to answer the trap beacuse the answer choice would be on the reasoning of "even though few/some/most x (or subset of x) are y, it doesnt change the overall argument made by the stimulus". i guess what im really asking is that should i be more apprehensive of picking answer choices that contain such indicators because of the possibility that that answer choice may be an outlier answer is higher. its not really shortcut that im looking for (of course there is no shortcut to the test), its more about the mindset i should have when looking for the correct answer.
  • apublicdisplayapublicdisplay Alum Member
    edited September 2016 696 karma
    The line of reasoning you're employing with regards to when a statement logically addresses another is valid. For example "not all" statements ("not all dogs have fur") are not refuted by "some" statements ("X dog has fur"). But, the difference here is you don't have to presume anything to cross that answer choice off as wrong. Your original question "should i presume that the answer choice would be more likely wrong than right?" almost recognizes that you're taking a leap.

    In the example above, the reason I could cross off an answer choice that says "X dogs has fur" when I was supposed to weaken the statement "not all dogs have fur" was because I understood that "some" is not logically adequate to refute "not all" more so than because I saw the word "some" in a weakening question type. This conclusion is by virtue of the logic, not necessarily because the word "some" was included in a strengthening/weakening question type. Your conclusion about seeing the words "some/most/many/few" as either categorically right or wrong is too broad and ignorant of the logic and all its nuances.

    Eventually you'll be so good that you'll get to the point of seeing a "not all" conclusion, a "weakening" question type, and a "some" answer choice as an automatic wrong answer, but this arises from your mastery of the fundamental logic more so than any mental shortcut you have to memorize.
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