Critical Reasoning and Paradox Resolution
Test your ability to resolve paradoxes, explain contradictions, and analyze logical reasoning in various real-world scenarios.
Questions
According to a recent survey a majority of airline tickets in the US are purchased by women. This is in complete contrast to earlier statistics that show more than 70% of fliers in the US are usually men.
Which of the following best resolves the paradox in the above statistics?
- The figures are based on a study covering only one year.
- The findings of the statistics and the survey are for two entirely different periods.
- The study fails to take into account information about cancellations.
- The study fails to differentiate between the purchasers and the fliers.
- The study is based on only inland travel.
In 1995 health insurance earned revenue of $2 million. The revenue from health insurance doubled by the year 2005, and is projected to double again by 2011.
Each of the following, if true, may explain the rise in revenue except
- There are many companies now that offer health insurance.
- More and more persons are buying health insurance.
- Compared to 1995, the average person has at least 2.42 times the number of policies today.
- Health insurance cover offers several other benefits.
- In an effort to maintain and/or gain clientele, most companies have slashed the premium on health insurance cover.
To celebrate high school graduation, Pedro suggested that the group dine at Silva Steak House, the restaurant that is famous for the mouth-watering varieties of steak. Objecting to the same, Omar said “It is not the best hangout to visit especially if we have lot of vegetarian people in the group”.
What point is Omar trying to make?
- Silva Steak House is not so well known for vegetarian delicacies.
- Many of the vegetarians might not prefer going to Silva Steak House.
- Silva Steak House, though famous, is quite expensive and vegetarians in particular will prefer going to a cheaper restaurant.
- Veggies are not served in Silva Steak House.
HR: We need to hire an expert in English language as soon as we can.
Which of the following statements can best explain Martin's sarcastic response?
- Judge a person for what s/he will most likely do, not for what s/he cannot or need not do.
- The yardstick for judging others ought to be well-defined and uniformly applied.
- One must be realistic and not idealistic in one's appraisals.
- Count your mangoes, not your trees.
Late last year Mindmine Online Company organized seminars in various schools of a city, to promote a new online English learning program. As of the month end, there were 453 active subscribers of the program. However, a survey conducted recently among the active members found no significant improvement in English language skills among more than half of these. The other half, or less than half, on the other hand, showed great improvement in the language skills.
Which of the following options can best explain the possible reason for the results of the survey?
- Those that showed marked improvement were already well versed.
- A majority of active subscribers registered recently.
- Many of the active subscribers were intellectually weak.
- The program is a failure.
- English is a foreign language for the populace.
In a recent survey it was observed that consumption of alcohol among teenagers has decreased drastically over the past few years. This is because teenagers have now become aware about the ill-effects of drinking, more than they ever were. On the other, hand the number of accidents involving drunken drivers has increased manifold during the same period. The difference between the two findings seems paradoxical.
Which of the following statements can best resolve the paradox?
- Teenagers are but a component of the whole lot of drivers.
- In some cases the accidents occurred due to reasons other than those that could be ascribed to drunken driving.
- Drinking is not the same thing as drunkenness.
- The number of teenagers who drink has not come down; it is only the volume of drinking.
- The fatality rate in the accidents has not gone up as sharply.
The popular perception is that allergy is not organic in origin and is caused by dust and other allergens that we breathe in. A recent report, however, shows that irrespective of the type of allergens - organic or inorganic - allergy has not much to do with extraneous factors. It is not the exposure or the risk of exposure, but the lack of exposure that is primarily responsible for children and adolescents falling prey to allergies of various kinds.
Which of the following statements best explains the apparent paradox regarding exposure?
- Limited exposure helps build up the immune system.
- Allergy is internal, not external.
- Children and adolescents should be exposed to clean and hygienic environs.
- Some of the allergens do not come from the air we breathe.
Most of the schools, public or private, have turned school canteens into fast food joints. This is despite the fact that fast foods have been known to cause obesity and related problems among school children. Dieticians and child health specialists are alarmed at the trend, but the school administrations have so far turned a deaf ear to their advice.
Which of the following can best be a justification for the refusal of school administrations to heed the advice?
- In the absence of fast foods, children might not visit school canteens.
- Fast foods are easy to make, easy to serve and light on pocket.
- The schools can wean away the children gradually first by providing better quality, then by introducing subtle changes.
- All the schools have day scholars who like to go home for proper meals.
- The school canteens also serve health drinks.
Physical education, along with academics, is accorded top priority in Happy Valley School. Yet the students of Happy Valley School have been unable to win laurels at the annual district level sports meet, where students of Spring Dales School make almost a clean sweep year after year. While Happy Valley School has two full time physical education trainers, Spring Dales School has none.
Which of the following, if true, could be the most logical reason for the paradox?
- The physical education trainers emphasize normal drills.
- The Spring Dales School has a sporting tradition.
- The Happy Valley School has been doing better in academics.
- Spring Dales School has a tradition of getting its old students to train the current students.
- The Happy Valley School gets most of its students from rural areas.
Fish eating has long been associated with lower risk of cardiac problems. The port city of Logan is also known to be the fish capital of the state and residents can hardly imagine a diet without a helping of fish. Yet the city has a higher proportion of high-risk cardiac cases than the city of Morga where people are not so fond of fish and relish juicy meats.
Which of the following helps resolve the apparently paradoxical situation?
- Fish eating is one of the causes of lower risk of cardiac problems.
- Some other items may also be salutary for health.
- People of Logan prefer only Tuna.
- Morga has wider city roads and sparse traffic.
- Morga has higher fatality rate for some other ailments.
It is predicted that the consumption of petroleum products will not continue to increase. A number of individual consumers in oil importing nations are decreasing their use of oil-related products. Even so the total quantity of oil exported from the oil producers has been increasing steadily.
Which of the following resolves the paradox in the above argument?
- Conserving oil reserves is not a priority in many countries.
- Several nations are working on major oil devouring projects.
- Some nations hoping to decrease their dependence on oil by use of alternative fuels have not yet succeeded in their attempts.
- Nuclear energy as a viable resource is yet to take roots.
- Oil producing countries have not set a limit to the quantity of oil exported.
Surveys show that companies that conduct training programs on communication skills for their employees continue to receive higher rate of customer complaints than companies that do not conduct such training programs. However, it is still in the best interest of companies and their employees to continue to conduct these training programs.
Which of the following best resolves the contradiction in the above argument?
- A marketing research institute determined that customer complaints lower the morale of the employees and reduce productivity.
- The R&D department feels that customer complaints are not an accurate reflection of the customers' satisfaction levels.
- A restaurant chain reports that customer complaints across its franchises declined once all its employees received basic communication skill training.
- Companies that require a higher level of customer interface regularly conduct communication skill programs, while the other companies rarely do.
The mango season in Asian regions is usually during the summer and the monsoons. Long spells of hot, humid and rainy weather at harvesting time translate into higher revenues for mango growers. However, hot, rainy and windy weather damages a significant portion of the crop, making the mangoes only suitable for pickles and chutneys.
Which of following, if true, reconciles the apparent contradiction in the above argument?
- Sale of mangoes used for pickles and chutney minimizes the losses of the mango growers.
- Hot and rainy weather, when the fruit matures, significantly improves the quality of mangoes and results in better quality of products.
- Extensive damage to the mango crop, due to rainy and windy weather does not occur every year.
- The mango fruit frequently falls to the ground during rainy and especially windy weather, but some of this can also be used for making pickles and chutneys.
- Some mango growers rely on other fruits to balance the losses, if any.
The city of Orgville introduced discounts for people who use CFL. This was done with an aim to reduce the electricity consumption of the city. The Electricity Board compared the new bills with the previous ones and decided whether a household was eligible for discount or not. The program was a huge success and majority of the residents availed of the discounts. But the retailers reported no increase in the sales of CFL after the announcement of the discount program.
What if true would be the best reason why the sales of CFL didn't show any rise?
- CFL's didn't produce as much light as claimed by the manufacturers.
- CFL's could not withstand voltage fluctuations and were repeatedly replaced by the residents, ultimately by the fluorescent lamps.
- The residents became more alert to energy conservation measures.
- The residents borrowed CFL's temporarily to claim discounts in electricity bills.
The government has asked its employees to cut their expenses by traveling in lower classes of trains and airplanes for official purposes. The obvious implication is that employees should not treat such cost cutting measures as impinging on the status and prestige of the posts they hold. A majority has already started toeing the line but there are still many who feel that traveling economy class is an infructuous measure for cost cutting and rather counterproductive.
Which of the following, if true, would best resolve the divergence in the opinions of government and its employees?
- The employees are not used to the discomfort of traveling economy class and treat it as an unwarranted encumbrance on their privileges.
- The populist measures such as those now put forth by the government are but transitory and just meant to create an impression on the general public.
- The government has not reckoned with the fatigue factor that has a bearing on the employees' performance.
- Class consciousness is an overriding concern in most societies.