Performance Athletics is company that aims to improve athletic performance. They
ID: 3265959 • Letter: P
Question
Performance Athletics is company that aims to improve athletic performance. They have been studying long distance runners for some time. They have found that a specific vegetable protein shake and stretching regimen improves times by up to 5% in just a matter of a few days (3-5 days is usually all it takes). When runners are extremely disappointed by their performance, they begin the shake and stretching regimen and their times are notably noticeably better in just a few days. Given that this result has been regularly found in 1,000 cases, it’s safe to say that the shake and stretching regimen works!
Supposing that there are no implicit elements to the argument in the passage, it is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that:
a. It fails to take into account the prior probability that someone would be disappointed by their performance.
b. The argument applies a statistical generalization to a particular case, but it relies on a reference class that fails to take into account all the available information that lowers the probability of the conclusion.
c. It fails to take into account that people tend to be extremely disappointed in their performance when they perform very badly relative to their normal performance. Since the time of any given attempt is partly due to luck, chance alone predicts that their next attempt(s) will be better than one they find extremely disappointing.
d. The details of the argument and the study upon which it is based are so vague that neither can evaluated at all. For example, consider the phrase “noticeably better in just a few days”. What counts as “noticeably better”? Exactly how many days is specified by “just a few”. Human beings are regularly beguiled when they deal with estimates and language as vague and ambiguous as what’s found in the passage.
Explanation / Answer
According to me the most approprate point of criticism is
The details of the argument and the study upon which it is based are so vague that neither can evaluated at all. For example, consider the phrase “noticeably better in just a few days”. What counts as “noticeably better”? Exactly how many days is specified by “just a few”. Human beings are regularly beguiled when they deal with estimates and language as vague and ambiguous as what’s found in the passage.