Mystery Stories Often Feature a Brilliant Detective and the Detective GMAT Critical Reasoning

Question: Mystery stories often feature a brilliant detective and the detective’s dull companion. Clues are presented in the story, and the companion wrongly infers an inaccurate solution to the mystery using the same clues that the detective uses to deduce the correct solution. Thus, the author’s strategy of including the dull companion gives readers a chance to solve the mystery while also diverting them from the correct solution.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

(A) Most mystery stories feature a brilliant detective who solves the mystery presented in the story.
(B) Mystery readers often solve the mystery in a story simply by spotting the mistakes in the reasoning of the detective’s dull companion in that story.
(C) Some mystery stories give readers enough clues to infer the correct solution to the mystery.
(D) The actions of the brilliant detective in a mystery story rarely divert readers from the actions of the detective’s dull companion.
(E) The detective’s dull companion in a mystery story generally uncovers the misleading clues that divert readers from the mystery’s correct solution.

Correct Answer: C
Explanation:

In the critical reasoning part of the GMAT, you will be tested on your ability to analyze and think critically. To answer clearly, a person needs to have a lot of brain power.

To make a choice, each option needs to be carefully examined. Only one of the five choices given will be right. To make the best choice, the candidate must think about many things.

Given that,
The problem is that the word "most" actually means "greater than 50%" in formal logic. As a result, we are unable to make a decision unless we can establish that more than half of all mystery stories match the stimulus' description (A).

It is allowed to state, for instance, "NBA players are frequently over 7 feet in height." There are undoubtedly a lot more people in the NBA who are 7 feet or taller than the average person. But to claim that "most NBA players are over 7 feet in height" is untrue given that the majority of players aren't would be.

Similar to this, you receive a lot of information if the term "most" appears in a stimulus. You can infer that "There are more race-car drivers with one-syllable names than there are with three-syllable names" if I say that "Most race-car drivers have one-syllable names." It has a lot of power!

Take note of the word "some" in the appropriate response option. This particular word fits the bill for an inference question (much like the equally good word, "can"). Since the only valid formal meaning of "some" is "more than zero," it is permissible as long as there is proof that at least one of these mysteries fits the criteria outlined above (we already know this from the stimulus).

Let’s check the given choices -

A: Incorrect

It is an incorrect choice. The first sentence's use of the word "frequently" serves as the basis for this answer option. Though frequently does not equate to "most," it does signify frequently. This answer choice would be appropriate if the stimulus had stated, "more frequently than not," which would have meant, "most."

B: Incorrect

It is the wrong choice. By only pointing out the inaccuracies of the bored companion, we cannot tell whether readers of mystery stories are able to solve the problem.

C: Correct

It is the correct choice. The right response is this. According to the second clause, the detective employs the "clues offered in the story to derive the right solution." This answer choice is supported by the last clause, which claims that "the author's strategy...gives readers an opportunity to unravel the riddle."

D: Incorrect

It is an incorrect answer. Check the stimulus's facts to see if they corroborate the given response. We do not know if the great detective's actions frequently distract readers from the actions of the boring companion, despite the fact that the dull companion distracts readers from the right answer.

E: Incorrect

It is an incorrect answer. If you don't read carefully, this is a difficult answer choice. The stimulus claims that from the clues that the bright detective ultimately utilises to solve the case, the stupid companion deduces the incorrect answer. Answer option (E) claims that the boring companion unearths deceptive hints. This is false; it is the interpretation of the clues, not the actual clues, that is deceiving.

“Mystery stories often feature a brilliant detective and the detective” – is a  GMAT Critical question. To answer the question, a candidate can either find a piece of evidence that would weaken the argument or have logical flaws in the argument. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. This topic requires candidates to find the argument's strengths and weaknesses or the logical flaw in the argument. The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

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