Logical reasoning PrepTest 149 · Section 1 · Question 20

Incorrect. The argument doesn't discuss the difficulty of performing tasks being modeled, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. The stimulus never discusses understanding the computer's ability to perform a task, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. True intelligence is out of scope of the argument, as it's never mentioned or directly related to key terms.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
It's easier to build a computer program that reasons than that senses things, so we understand how our brains reason better than how we sense things.

Answer Anticipation:
Strengthen (Principle) questions draw a judgment in the conclusion based on the details in a scenario, and we generally need to cut through the relevant and irrelevant details to connect the author's key points.

Here, though, there's not much in the way of premise. We can skip over the example (chess/seeing) since it only highlights what was already established, and the argument has a single premise justifying the conclusion.

That conclusion is that we understand one thing better than another. Why does the author believe that? Because we are able to create a computer model for the thing the author concludes we better understand. The principle should therefore connect the ease of modeling with understanding:

The easier it is to model something on a computer, the more that thing is understood.

Answer Explanation:
This answer connects the ease of modeling something (premise) with the level of understanding (conclusion), so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
When a question is asking you to work with the logic of a question and not the structure of it or the purpose of individual statements, examples rarely factor into the correct answer. This is because they're there to highlight a generalization that has already (or will be) established. Use the example to help you understand the generalization and to be aware of it for the rare case where it does factor into the correct answer, but anticipate an answer that addresses the generalization directly instead of the example(s) provided.

Incorrect. While many Principle (Strengthen) questions discuss what "should" happen in the conclusion, this one doesn't, so an answer talking about what we "should not" do is out of scope.