PT 5 S1 Q15- can someone explain this to me?

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• 1 Like

  canihazJD Alum Member Sage ⭐

  October 2020 edited October 2020 8491 karma

  That's a f'ed up stem. I don't think this is representative of anything you'll see on a test now. Let me give it a shot:

  M: It is almost impossible to find someone 85-90 who primarily uses their left hand

  Q: 70-90 years ago children were punished for using their left hands to at or write, and were forced to use their right hands.

  Q’s response serves to counter any use by M of the evidence about 85-90 year olds in support of which one of the following hypotheses?

  I think this stem is asking "What does Q preclude M from saying?", so I thiiink this is a MBF question.

  So, M says no one 85-90 is left handed.

  Q responds well when they were kids they were forced to be right handed.

  Why else wouldn't you see left handed old people?

  More people were just born right handed 85-90 years ago? That would not be precluded by Q's response.

  Left handed people all die before they turn 85-90? That would conflict with Q... no they're just as much still around, they were just forced to be right handed.

  Answers:

  A - Being born right handed confers a survival advantage

  I think this is it. M cant say right handed people just survive because they're right handed. This is excluded because the left handed people are still here, just made to be right handed.

  B - Societal attitudes toward handedness differ at different times

  This isn't excluded. Seems to somewhat supported since we don't force people to be right handed nowadays.

  C - Forcing a person to switch form a preferred hand is harmless

  M could still say this without conflicting with Q. Harm or lack thereof isn't addressed

  D - Handedness is a product of both genetic predisposition and social pressures

  Similar to B I think this is actually supported. Social pressure - they made the kids switch hands.

  E - Physical habits learned in school often persist with old age.

  Again supported. They persist, which is why they continued to be right handed into old age instead of switching back.

  Thoughts

  I think the primary issue with this question is the stem. You could look at it as a weakening question by saying if M made this AC their conclusion, it would be weakened by Q's response.

  M: There are no old left handed people. So, right handedness must provide a survival advantage.

  Q: No, they just made all the lefties switch when they were young.

  Wait... in that case maybe this is a strengthen question? I suppose it just depends on how you put the convoluted stem into practice.

  I hope I never see something like that on a test. If anyone can see any holes in my reasoning, please let me know! @julianadm825 let me know if this helped!
• VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  October 2020 edited October 2020 2054 karma

  @canihazJD You are correct in that the answer is A. The stimulus is basically saying "which of the following assumptions that could be made by M is proven false by Q's claim?"

  If M were to use their initial statement to assume that handedness leads to a survival advantage Q's statement serves as an excellent rebuttal.

  I did not check the answer mind you, but I am confident in it.

  @julianadm825
• julianadm825 Core Member

  November 2020 8 karma

  @canihazJD thank you that actually helped so much! I was definitely interpreting the question wrong actually and your breakdown of the stimulus and question helped me figure it out.