#19 - Leslie: I'll show you that your quest for the treasure

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Main Point. The Correct Answer is (E)

Despite the unusual nature of the stimulus, this question is relatively easy. In the first sentence,
Leslie states her intention to show Erich that his quest for the treasure is irrational. What follows is
a fairly convoluted argument intended to show that the cost of pursuing the treasure (risk of bodily
harm) outweighs the benefit (finding the treasure). Focusing on Leslie’s conclusion is crucial, and
immediately shows that answer choice (E) is correct.

Answer choice (A): This answer choice contains Erich’s conclusion, not Leslie’s (when asked
whether he would sacrifice his hand to possess the world, he responds, “Certainly not”). When
solving Main Point questions whose stimuli contain multiple arguments, be careful to differentiate
between them and pay attention to the question stem.

Answer choice (B): Leslie’s argument provides no evidence to support such a definitive, imperative
judgment. Her conclusion only addresses the issue of whether or not Erich’s quest for a treasure is
rational, not whether Erich should risk his physical well-being.

Answer choice (C): Leslie never claimed that the treasure is of no value whatsoever. Her premise is
simply that the potential risk (bodily harm) outweighs the benefit (value of the treasure).

Answer choice (D): Even if Leslie can convince Erich that his quest for the treasure is irrational,
this is not the conclusion of her argument. Just because his response to her question was predictable
(“Just as I expected!”) does not mean that Leslie is convinced of her powers to convince Erich.

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. Since Leslie’s entire argument seeks to
support her initial observation that Erich’s quest for the treasure is irrational, this answer choice
agrees with our prephrase and is provable by the information contained in the stimulus.

[po1016]

I have a question about the quest for treasure question.

Can someone explain to me why answer choice B is wrong?

Thanks in advance!

[Steve Stein]

Hi,

That's a good question. Leslie's argument is basically as follows:

Premise: Based on your answer to the hand question, your hands are more important than wealth.

Premise: Your entire body is more important than your hands

Conclusion: Your quest for treasure is irrational.

Correct answer choice (E) changes around the wording a bit, but expresses the same sentiment as the conclusion above.

Note, though, that the argument is based on Erich's answer to the hand question. Since he wouldn't give up his hand for the whole world, it's irrational that he's ruining his health in search of treasure.

The problem with answer choice (B) is that it is too broad to be supported by the stimulus: Leslie isn't saying that no gain of any kind would justify even a risk to Erich's physical well-being. Her argument is much more limited: to the extent that Erich would not be willing to give up a hand in exchange for the whole world, it is irrational for him to ruin his health (not just risk his physical well-being) in (specifically) his quest for treasure.

Please let me know whether this is clear--thanks!

~Steve

[po1016]

Got it!

I just didn't identify the conclusion first, that's what tripped me up.

Thanks for your help.

[Desperatenconfused]

I got the right answer of E but D definitely confused me and I’m still unsure why it’s completely wrong.

When Leslie says “I’ll show you that your quest for the treasure is irrational.” (Which I see as the main conclusion) I can see why it could be interpreted as “I’ll convince you that your quest for the treasure is irrational.” Then, wouldn’t Leslie’s main conclusion be that Erich can be convinced that his quest for the treasure is irrational?

[Luke Haqq]

Hi Desparatenconfused!

Even that rewording wouldn't clearly make (D) the best answer choice. Her conclusion isn't about whether or not he can be convinced, but rather it's that he's being irrational. There'd need to be something more explicit for (D) to make sense--e.g., "I'll show you that you can be convinced...," something like that more explicitly and directly making her conclusion to be about his ability to be convinced.