June 2007 PrepTest, Section 2, Question 17
Hospital executive: At a recent conference on nonprofit management, several computer experts maintained that the most significant threat faced by large institutions such as universities and hospitals is unauthorized access to confidential data. In light of this testimony, we should make the protection of our clients' confidentiality our highest priority.
Hospital executive: At a recent conference on nonprofit management, several computer experts maintained that the most significant threat faced by large institutions such as universities and hospitals is unauthorized access to confidential data. In light of this testimony, we should make the protection of our clients' confidentiality our highest priority.
Hospital executive: At a recent conference on nonprofit management, several computer experts maintained that the most significant threat faced by large institutions such as universities and hospitals is unauthorized access to confidential data. In light of this testimony, we should make the protection of our clients' confidentiality our highest priority.
Hospital executive: At a recent conference on nonprofit management, several computer experts maintained that the most significant threat faced by large institutions such as universities and hospitals is unauthorized access to confidential data. In light of this testimony, we should make the protection of our clients' confidentiality our highest priority.
The hospital executive's argument is most vulnerable to which one of the following objections?
The argument confuses the causes of a problem with the appropriate solutions to that problem.
The argument relies on the testimony of experts whose expertise is not shown to be sufficiently broad to support their general claim.
The argument assumes that a correlation between two phenomena is evidence that one is the cause of the other.
The argument draws a general conclusion about a group based on data about an unrepresentative sample of that group.
The argument infers that a property belonging to large institutions belongs to all institutions.
Explanations
Um, please don’t. Computer experts said that something about computers is the biggest threat. You are a hospital. Please prioritize my health.
Also, the most significant threat doesn’t necessary justify receiving the highest priority. The most significant threat in the world might be nuclear warfare. That doesn’t mean our top priority should be stopping nukes—that is already (mostly) under control and we have so many other issues not under control.
No cause and effect is presented.
Perfect. These are computer experts. You are a hospital. Computer nerds know about computer shit. You can’t expect their expert testimony to extend to topics they don’t know about.
Same as A. There was no correlation cited.
No group data—let alone from a proven unrepresentative sample—is presented.
The expert says “large institutions such as…hospitals.” The speaker is a hospital executive. The testimony clearly applies.
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