Cats spend much of their time sleeping; they seem to awaken only to stretch and yawn. Yet they have a strong, agile musculature that most animals would have to exercise strenuously to acquire.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
How are cats so strong and agile when they seem to spend so much time sleeping, stretching, and yawning?

Objective
A hypothesis resolving this paradox must either state a discrepancy between cats and the author’s perception of cats or state a key difference between cats and most other animals that allows them to build muscle despite spending most of their time leisurely.

A
Cats have a greater physiological need for sleep than other animals.
This does not address how cats acquire their muscular build. There is no indication that sleep being a physiological need eliminates the need for exercise to build strong muscles.
B
Many other animals also spend much of their time sleeping yet have a strong, agile musculature.
This does not address the apparent paradox—how cats build such musculature. It introduces a similarity between cats and other animals that extends the paradox beyond the current context but does not resolve it.
C
Cats are able to sleep in apparently uncomfortable positions.
This characteristic does not address cats’ apparent ability to build muscle with little exercise. There is no indication that the ability to sleep in uncomfortable positions changes the need for exercise to build muscle.
D
Cats derive ample exercise from frequent stretching.
This introduces a discrepancy between cats and the author’s perception of cats that resolves the paradox. Though the author apparently perceives stretching as purely leisure, stretching is in fact a form of exercise that helps cats build muscle.
E
Cats require strength and agility in order to be effective predators.
This does not address the discrepancy between cats’ activity and their build. There is no indication this requirement changes the effects of a leisurely lifestyle.

18 comments

The human brain and its associated mental capacities evolved to assist self-preservation. Thus, the capacity to make aesthetic judgments is an adaptation to past environments in which humans lived. So an individual’s aesthetic judgments must be evaluated in terms of the extent to which they promote the survival of that individual.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes aesthetic judgments are good to the extent they help a person survive. Why? Because the brain evolved to help humans survive, so the ability to make aesthetic judgments developed in response to environments where past humans lived.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes aesthetic judgments should be evaluated based on their ability to fulfill the original purpose for which they evolved: to assist survival. He assumes there’s no better basis for determining the value of those judgments. In addition, he assumes each individual mental capacity in the human brain could only have evolved as an adaptation to a past environment.

A
All human adaptations to past environments were based on the human brain and its associated mental capacities.
This gets the desired reasoning backward. If the reverse were true—and all human mental capacities were adaptations to past environments—then the author could more easily conclude the capacity for aesthetic judgments was such an adaptation.
B
Human capacities that do not contribute to the biological success of the human species cannot be evaluated.
This is irrelevant. Since the author concludes the ability to make aesthetic judgments is a past adaptation that helped humans survive, this principle does not apply to that ability.
C
If something develops to serve a given function, the standard by which it must be judged is how well it serves that function.
This helps justify the author’s conclusion. It implies aesthetic judgments should be judged by how well they help humans survive—and not by some other standard—since they apparently evolved for that purpose.
D
Judgments that depend on individual preference or taste cannot be evaluated as true or false.
This rules out only one implausible way aesthetic judgments could be evaluated, out of many possibilities. It doesn’t help the author reach the particular conclusion that aesthetic judgments should be evaluated based on how well they help people survive.
E
Anything that enhances the proliferation of a species is to be valued highly.
This is irrelevant. The author is concerned with evaluating individuals’ aesthetic judgments, not their ability to make those judgments.

38 comments

Letter to the Editor: Your article on effective cockroach control states that vexone is effective against only one of the more than 4,000 cockroach species that infest North America: the German cockroach. In actuality, vexone has been utilized effectively for almost a decade against all of the species that infest North America. In testing our product, Roach Ender, which contains vexone, we have conducted many well-documented studies that prove this fact.

Summary

The letter writer claims that vexone is effective against all cockroach species in North America.

Notable Valid Inferences

This is a MBF Except question. This means all the wrong answers cannot be logically inferred from the stimulus. The right answer can be logically inferred from the stimulus.

A valid logical inference from the stimulus is that either the Editor’s article or the letter writer is incorrect about vexone’s effectiveness against cockroaches in North America.

A
Vexone is effective against only two species of cockroach that infest North America.

This conflicts with the letter writer’s view. He believes vexone is effective against the more than 4,000 cockroach species in North America.

B
Not all of the major species of cockroach that infest North America can be controlled by Roach Ender.

This conflicts with the letter writer’s view. He believes Roach Ender is effective against all cockroach species in North America.

C
Every species of cockroach that infests North America can be controlled by vexone.

This does not conflict with the letter writer’s view. He believes vexone is effective against all cockroach species in North America.

D
The cockroach infestations that have been combated with vexone have not included all of the cockroach species that infest North America.

This conflicts with the letter writer’s view. He claims that many well-documented studies demonstrate that vexone is effective against all cockroach species in North America.

E
Roach Ender was tested against exactly 4,000 cockroach species that infest North America.

This conflicts with the letter writer’s view. The letter writer believes that studies show vexone is effective against all cockroach species in North America, of which there are more than 4,000.


40 comments