Logical reasoning PrepTest 154 · Section 4 · Question 9

Incorrect. No, not quite. That would be more like if Martin said "doctors should keep advising dieting and exercise, because a few people do lose weight." Remember, we're looking for other benefits besides the primary, intended one.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Parallel Reasoning (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
Martin says, sure, dieting and exercising don't usually lead to weight loss, but that's no reason for doctors to stop recommending these practices. They have other beneficial results.

Answer Anticipation:
When tackling a parallel, always summarize the reasoning in the stimulus as succinctly as possible, while removing the specifics of the stimulus topic (in this case, dieting). What's the reasoning, independent of the subject? In this case, the reasoning seems to be "even if something doesn't achieve the intended goal, it may still be valuable if it has other benefits." Expect a correct answer that uses the same reasoning.

Answer Explanation:
That's more like it! The engineers didn't produce the intended goal (solving a problem) but their work had other benefits (new insights). Matches Martin's thinking perfectly.

Key Takeaway:
Don't let the question prompt throw you when principle variants come up. Slow down, read it twice, and figure out what kind of reasoning it's actually asking you for. In this case, asking for a judgment based on the same implied principle (rule) is exactly the same thing as asking you to find an argument that uses parallel reasoning. All logical reasoning is based on rules and facts, so something that uses the same reasoning will always conform to the same principle.

Incorrect. This is quite different from Martin's reasoning. He didn't say "people get better at diet and exercise over time and eventually figure out how to lose weight." He focused on the other benefits of diet and exercise, besides weight loss.

Incorrect. This is also a much different line of reasoning. This would be equivalent to saying "but patients already know that most diets and exercise plans fail to produce weight loss, so doctors should keep recommending them"(nonsensical, yes).

Incorrect. Tempting trap for some, but this is a different kind of value judgment altogether. The parallel would be more like "Doctors should keep recommending dieting and exercise, because eating less and exercising more is inherently a commendable act."