Comments

• rzee0913 Alum Member

  September 2022 64 karma

  Hey, my interpretation is as follows: the argument's main conclusion is that the government should provide the money for the networks. Given that this is a weakening question, the correct answer should make this conclusion questionable, so we're probably expecting a choice that implies that the government isn't the only option to fund the networks. E does this by stating that businesses/universities could cooperate together to build the networks, making the conclusion weaker since if businesses/universities could work together, then why should the government get involved?

  I believe C is wrong because even though it's true the stimulus doesn't explicitly state who handles the network, an answer being descriptively accurate isn't enough for it to be correct. It also needs to be relevant to the exact premises, conclusion and support structure given. C doesn't address the conclusion of whether the government should or shouldn't fund the networks, only a potential problem that may arise in the future which is irrelevant in this case.
• moonstars5678 Member

  September 2022 166 karma

  @rzee0913 This is really helpful, as I also chose C. Would it be fair to say that C is almost like an additional consideration or issue once the government theoretically already provided the money, but doesn't actually do anything to weakening the main conclusion that "the govt should be the sole provider of funds"?

  help
• rzee0913 Alum Member

  September 2022 64 karma

  Absolutely! To weaken an argument, the answer has to undermine the main conclusion somehow, which only E does. C is an additional consideration which doesn't weaken the specific conclusion that it must be the government to provide money for supercomputers.