PrepTest 88, Section 3, Question 21
Engineer: Air bags in automobiles occasionally cause injuries by accidentally inflating when no collision has occurred. Automobile manufacturers are attempting to fix the problem by inventing more elaborate computer control systems for air bags. But the more complex such a system is, the more ways there are in which it can fail. Thus, the new computer control systems will probably only make the problems with accidental air bag inflation even worse.
Engineer: Air bags in automobiles occasionally cause injuries by accidentally inflating when no collision has occurred. Automobile manufacturers are attempting to fix the problem by inventing more elaborate computer control systems for air bags. But the more complex such a system is, the more ways there are in which it can fail. Thus, the new computer control systems will probably only make the problems with accidental air bag inflation even worse.
Engineer: Air bags in automobiles occasionally cause injuries by accidentally inflating when no collision has occurred. Automobile manufacturers are attempting to fix the problem by inventing more elaborate computer control systems for air bags. But the more complex such a system is, the more ways there are in which it can fail. Thus, the new computer control systems will probably only make the problems with accidental air bag inflation even worse.
Engineer: Air bags in automobiles occasionally cause injuries by accidentally inflating when no collision has occurred. Automobile manufacturers are attempting to fix the problem by inventing more elaborate computer control systems for air bags. But the more complex such a system is, the more ways there are in which it can fail. Thus, the new computer control systems will probably only make the problems with accidental air bag inflation even worse.
The engineer's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?
It fails to address adequately the possibility that the likelihood of a system's failing need not increase with the number of ways in which it can fail.
It takes for granted that any failure in an air bag's computer control system will cause that air bag to inflate accidentally.
It fails to address adequately the possibility that air bags may often accidentally inflate even when their computer control systems do not fail.
It overlooks the possibility that, even if the new computer control systems exacerbate the problems with accidental air bag inflation, they may have advantages that outweigh this disadvantage.
It overlooks the possibility that, even if air bags occasionally cause accidental injuries, they may nonetheless be responsible for preventing many more injuries than they cause.
0 Comments