Logical reasoning PrepTest 151 · Section 2 · Question 6

Incorrect. Sam's statements are about the relative worth of two opinions, not whether the information that one of the opinions is based on is trustworthy.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Misinterpretation

Stimulus Summary:
M: Patients are naturally curious about their conditions, so it's unfair for doctors to complain about WebMD.

S: Doctors go to school for a long time, so their opinion is worth more than someone who's done a bit of internet research, and thus their criticism is fair.

Answer Anticipation:
Michaela explains why a group might do something. Sam hits back about the relative worth of different opinions. That's a huge jump—understanding the motivation behind an action doesn't do anything to value that action. Michaela could absolutely agree that a doctor's opinion is more valuable than someone who's read a few websites, while still understanding why someone would read those websites.

Sam seems to think Michaela believes the office chair "doctor" has an opinion valued at least as highly than a trained doctor's, but that's not what she states.

Answer Explanation:
Here's our answer. Sam took Michaela's statements to mean that she was committed to valuing a certain opinion at a certain level, when all she stated was that she understood a group's motivations.

Key Takeaway:
For these misinterpretation questions, it can sometimes be easier to read the second speaker's argument to see what argument they think they're rebutting, forgetting about the first speaker for a second. Then, compare that hypothetical argument to what the first speaker actually says to see where the misinterpretation is.

Incorrect. Sam's statements compare a patient's web-informed opinion with that of a doctor, not the opinion of two doctors.

Incorrect. This is similar to what Sam is stating, so it can't be what he's misinterpreting Michaela's statements to mean.

Incorrect. Both individuals here are talking about people who do research online, so this answer is out of scope.