Volleyball team manager: Over the last 25 years, every professional volleyball player who was at least 5 feet 6 inches tall could perform an assist to a teammate. Martina will begin her professional volleyball career this coming year and her amatuer team lists her as 5 feet 7 inches tall. Thus, Martina definitely will be able to perform an assist.
The volleyball manager’s argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following objections?
- The argument mistakes a condition sufficient for bringing about a result for a condition necessary for doing so.
- The argument relies on data provided by Martina’s amatuer team without examining the reliability of such data.
- The argument draws a general conclusion about a group based on data about an unrepresentative sample of that group.
- The argument infers that a characteristic of a certain subset of volleyball players is shared by all volleyball players.
- The argument misinterprets evidence that a result is likely as evidence that the result is certain.
OA: E
Question type: Flaw
Difficulty level: Medium
Summary of the argument: Martina is 5ft 7inches. Those who are 5ft 6 inches could perform an assist. Therefore Martina definitely will be able to perform an assist.
- The problem is that a likelihood is assumed to mean a certainty. “Condition sufficient for bringing about a result” is irrelevant.
- Reliability of data is irrelevant.
- The argument doesn’t draw a general conclusion.
- The argument does not assume that all volleyball players are 5ft 6inches at the least. This is not what is wrong about the argument.
- This is the problem with the argument as it assumes that likelihood equals certainty.