Perceiving Colors (CR)

[hs-hop]

Here is another question I'm having problem with. Actually, I don't even fully understand what the question stem is describing (all languages have six color terms describing these colors, but all languages have only three color terms distinguish three colors?). I'd appreciate it if someone can explain what is going on here.

All languages known to have exactly six basic color terms describe the same six colors - black, white, red, green, blue and yellow - corresponding to the primary neural responses revealed in studies of human color perception. In addition, all languages known to have only three basic color terms distinguish among "black," "white," and "red." This evidence shows that the way in which the mind recognizes differences among colored objects is not influenced by culture.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?

(A) While languages differ in their number of basic color terms, no language has been conclusively determined to have more than eleven such terms.
(B) Every language contains mechanisms by which speakers who perceive subtle differences in hue can describe those differences.

(C) Among cultures employing only three color terms, the word "red" typically encompasses not only objects that would be called red in English but also those that would be called yellow.

(D) Several languages, such as Vietnamese and Pashto, use a single term to mean both blue and green, but speakers of such languages commonly refer to tree leaves or the sky to resolve ambiguous utterances.

(E) In a study of native speakers of Tarahumara, a language that does not distinguish between blue and green, respondents were less able to identify distinctions among blue and green chips than native speakers of Spanish, which does distinguish between blue and green.

[StaceyKoprince]

This is a challenging argument. Try this analogy, just to understand the language:

All people known to have studied every day for the GMAT do well.

All people known to have studied only once a week for the GMAT don't do as well.

Those two sentences don't describe all people, or even all people who have studied for the GMAT. They describe two subsets of those you have studied for the GMAT: those who studied every day and those who studied once a week. And there's no overlap between those two groups.

So, there are some languages known to have six color terms and there are other languages known to have only three color terms. All of the ones that have exactly six color terms use the same six terms. All of the ones that have exactly three color terms use the same three terms.

The author claims that the above evidence means that culture doesn't influence how we see color or distinguish between colors. The implication is that all of these different cultures have somehow come up with the same colors - so people must have the same ability to distinguish colors regardless of the culture in which they're raised (according to the author).

The right answer, E, provides us with a difference, though. One group, which doesn't have separate words for green and blue, has trouble visually distinguishing between the two. Another group, which does have separate words for the two colors, finds it easier to distinguish between the two.

This weakens the author's argument b/c the author claims that culture does NOT influence our ability to distinguish colors. But, given the evidence in E, it's possible that the fact that the one group doesn't have separate names for the colors green and blue actually makes it more difficult for them to distinguish those differences. (This is possible - but just one possibility. They could also all be blue-green color-blind and that's both why they can't see the differences and why they don't have separate words. The correct answer only needs to open up the possibility to weaken - it doesn't need to be a slam dunk.)

[hs-hop]

Thank you Stacey, I think I understand the literal meaning of the argument now. Although I'm still a bit uncertain about the logic presented here (more in a sence of whether I agree or not), I suppose that's not very important.

[JonathanSchneider]

: )

[malikrulzz]

For me it is important that I know why C is wrong.

[StaceyKoprince]

The claim in the argument is that culture does not influence our ability to distinguish among different colors. When we're asked to weaken, we specifically have to weaken this idea - which means we have to somehow open up the possiblity that culture DOES influence our ability to distinguish among different colors.

Choice C does not address the role of culture in our ability to distinguish among different colors.

[tanyatomar]

Hi Stacey,
although i chose E. but i was confused for sometime between E and B.
i rejected B thinking its irrelevant.
Is there any other reason why we can reject B..

[tim]

sounds good enough to me! :)