PrepTest 149, Section 1, Question 20
Computer modeling of reasoning tasks is far easier(41 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AThe degree of(21 more words not shown)
- BThe better we(21 more words not shown)
- CA computer's defeat(15 more words not shown)
- DThe less difficult(16 more words not shown)
- EWe should not(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Being able to model one kind of thinking better than another is interesting. What does that tell us about our understanding of ourselves?
What we’re looking for
The passage contrasts modeling reasoning with modeling senses, then concludes that we understand analytical abilities better than senses. My first instinct is to connect those descriptions: does success with reasoning tasks tell us about the analytical abilities being discussed? To justify the argument, we need a principle linking the computer-modeling comparison to that claim about human understanding. Let's see which answer supplies the link.
Working the answers
- A
This connects the difficulty of building a model with the difficulty of performing the task. But the conclusion isn't that reasoning tasks are easier for a person to perform than sensory tasks. It is that we understand reasoning better. A leaves us without a connection to that understanding, even if model difficulty accurately reflects task difficulty.
- B
This does mention understanding ourselves, so it is worth reading carefully. Its starting point, though, is how well we understand a computer's ability. The premise is about how easy it is to construct models. Those are different claims. B doesn't tell us that the easier modeling of reasoning means we better understand that process.
- C
Whether beating a chess champion counts as true intelligence is a different issue. The author uses chess as an example of successful modeling. We don't need to classify the computer as intelligent to compare our understanding of reasoning and senses.
- DCorrect
This identifies a more basic link than the terminology I initially focused on: easier to model means better understood. Reasoning is easier to model than sensory processing, so this principle supports the conclusion that reasoning is better understood. It connects the actual comparison in the evidence directly to the comparison in the conclusion.
- E
Computer modeling could be useful for studying both reasoning and senses. That alone doesn't tell us which we understand better or make easier modeling a sign of better understanding. E praises the usefulness of the method without supplying the principle needed for this particular inference.
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