LSAT 151 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: An independent computer service company tallied …

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: ProBit computers are more reliable than KRV.

REASONING: They had the least service requests at an independent computer shop.

ANALYSIS: Imagine we’re at a BestBuy. They tell us that today, they repaired 50 Dell laptops but only 2 MacBooks.

I say: Oh goodness, Apple MacBooks are so great! They’re clearly way more reliable than Dell.

Then you point across the other side of the mall and say: look at that line for the Apple store … people just aren’t coming to BestBuy to repair their MacBooks.

Right. Using one independent store’s tally for how many computers they’re repairing of each brand probably isn’t indicative of their quality overall.

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1. Even if KRV is an outlier, ProBit could still have the lowest rate and look the most reliable.
2. CORRECT. See above. If some brands send service requests to manufacturers while others go to independent companies, this data is skewed. For example, if ProBit users mostly go straight to the manufacturer, then this company would undercount ProBit issues, making it look artificially reliable.
3. That might slightly strengthen the argument. If this company receives more ProBit complaints than any other company, and ProBit still comes out on top, the conclusion is looking better.
4. Market share differences are already accounted for in the stimulus. So this doesn’t impact anything.
5. We don’t know how company age ties into reliability here. Older companies could be more reliable, less reliable, or the same.