It is true of both men and women that those who marry as you

[StaceyKoprince]

Be careful! First, "does not increase" does not mean the same thing as "decrease."

I am not going to increase your salary this year. That doesn't mean I'm going to decrease your salary - I'm just not increasing it.

Second, "bodily harm" is not the same thing as "lifespan." If you break your arm, that isn't necessarily going to impact your lifespan at all.

In both of those cases, you assumed something that didn't have to be true (that "does not increase = decrease" and that "bodily harm = lifespan"). It's really dangerous to bring any interpretation into your work on the problem. Look only at what they actually say - do not extrapolate at all!

[harishmullapudi]

Thanks Stacey. Got it! :)

[tim]

:)

[jyothi h]

I Just wanted to confirm my understanding of option A and B . When I first read these two options I did not cross them out , until I read E . A and B , at first looked like they strengthened the conclusion "marriage had no effect on longevity " . Along with the point that stacey mentioned above( which I completely agree to) , Option A also tends to, in a way, weaken the conclusion , saying marriage contributes to increasing life span ( even if we take "bodily harm" to mean increased lifespan . Option B weakens the conclusion too , saying , marriage increases lifespan ( married person is more likely to give up unhealthy habits) .
Since I was confused at first , I would like to get my understanding , confirmed, from any of the instructors.

Thanks
Jyothi

[jnelson0612]

I Just wanted to confirm my understanding of option A and B . When I first read these two options I did not cross them out , until I read E . A and B , at first looked like they strengthened the conclusion "marriage had no effect on longevity " . Along with the point that stacey mentioned above( which I completely agree to) , Option A also tends to, in a way, weaken the conclusion , saying marriage contributes to increasing life span ( even if we take "bodily harm" to mean increased lifespan . Option B weakens the conclusion too , saying , marriage increases lifespan ( married person is more likely to give up unhealthy habits) .
Since I was confused at first , I would like to get my understanding , confirmed, from any of the instructors.

Thanks
Jyothi

I agree with your assessment. Options A and B both weaken the conclusion that marriage itself does not increase longevity, as both A and B imply that marriage does in fact increase longevity.

[jyothi h]

I Just wanted to confirm my understanding of option A and B . When I first read these two options I did not cross them out , until I read E . A and B , at first looked like they strengthened the conclusion "marriage had no effect on longevity " . Along with the point that stacey mentioned above( which I completely agree to) , Option A also tends to, in a way, weaken the conclusion , saying marriage contributes to increasing life span ( even if we take "bodily harm" to mean increased lifespan . Option B weakens the conclusion too , saying , marriage increases lifespan ( married person is more likely to give up unhealthy habits) .
Since I was confused at first , I would like to get my understanding , confirmed, from any of the instructors.

Thanks
Jyothi

I agree with your assessment. Options A and B both weaken the conclusion that marriage itself does not increase longevity, as both A and B imply that marriage does in fact increase longevity.

Thanks Jamie !

[RonPurewal]

.

[NitinG177]

Hello Ron,
i read all the posts in this thread and am convinced with the explanation u gave for choice E.
However, just as some 1 posted, doesnt choice e contradicts the premise stated in the first
line of the passage.
premise:It is true of both men and women that those who marry as young adults live longer than those who never marry.
choice e:Among people who as young adults neither drink alcohol immoderately nor smoke, those who never marry live as long as those who marry.(the premise mentions that the the life of married ppl is longer than the life of those who never marry, while choice e states that both group live as long...)

Since oa is e , i may be missing something here, please help to bridge the logical gap in this one.
thanks,
Nitin.

[RonPurewal]

choice E excludes people who DO drink immoderately and/or smoke.

the point of the entire problem is that these are exactly the people who distort the statistic. if they are removed—as in choice E—the resulting statistic tells the real story.

[RichaChampion]

you should go back and check your answer key; the answer to this problem should be (e). not only is that the answer that makes the most sense, but it's also the answer reported for this problem on several other forums.

the purpose of the argument is to show that marriage DOES NOT extend one's life expectancy.
choice (e) is, in effect, the result of a controlled study: two groups of people are chosen who are identical in every aspect other than the variable under investigation (where "the variable under investigation", in this case, is marital status).
in this study, marital status is shown to be irrelevant to longer life expectancy. (the only difference between the two groups is that one of the groups gets married and the other group doesn't; therefore, if marriage increases life expectancy, then there should DEFINITELY be a difference in life expectancy between these two groups.)

choice (d) actually works against the argument, in two different ways.
first, the argument makes the point that the observed difference is due to behavioral differences that exist before marriage. by citing changes in behavior that occur after marriage, this answer choice actually weakens that premise of the argument.
second, since this choice describes behavioral changes that occur only after marriage, it actually supports the idea that marriage contributes positively to life expectancy -- which is the exact opposite of the idea put forward by the argument.

Ron sir, If we look at this question more technically then its a causal argument.
Question stem says Marriage causes Longer Life. That means A caused B (Longer Life Span).

This causality can be broken if we prove that something else causes B that means some C (Good Health) causes B (Longer Life span). E does that Hence E is correct.
Is my understanding correct Sir?

[RonPurewal]

have you read the entire thread?

this has already been addressed in the thread.