ParadoxDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Even though indigenous Tasmanians and Australians share the same ancestors, they ended up with very different tools and lifestyles just a couple of thousand years after being separated by the ocean.
Reasoning: The indigenous populations of Tasmania and Australia shared a common ancestry until rising sea levels severed their land connection 10,000 years ago, yet within 2,000 years, the Tasmanians lacked many technologies common among Australians.
Analysis: The stimulus presents a classic historical puzzle: why did two groups with the same starting point diverge so significantly in such a short time? We are looking for an explanation for why the Tasmanians lacked specific tools like boomerangs or domesticated dogs that their Australian relatives possessed. Since this is an 'EXCEPT' question, four options will provide plausible reasons—such as differences in available resources, environmental demands, or cultural isolation—while the correct answer will fail to explain the discrepancy. Look for an answer that is either irrelevant to technology or suggests the groups should have remained similar.
Reasoning: The indigenous populations of Tasmania and Australia shared a common ancestry until rising sea levels severed their land connection 10,000 years ago, yet within 2,000 years, the Tasmanians lacked many technologies common among Australians.
Analysis: The stimulus presents a classic historical puzzle: why did two groups with the same starting point diverge so significantly in such a short time? We are looking for an explanation for why the Tasmanians lacked specific tools like boomerangs or domesticated dogs that their Australian relatives possessed. Since this is an 'EXCEPT' question, four options will provide plausible reasons—such as differences in available resources, environmental demands, or cultural isolation—while the correct answer will fail to explain the discrepancy. Look for an answer that is either irrelevant to technology or suggests the groups should have remained similar.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage25.Each of the following, if true, would contribute to an explanation of differences described above EXCEPT:
Correct Answer
B
B says the Tasmanians themselves developed devices like the boomerang and spear-thrower more than 10,000 years ago. If that were true, it would not help explain why they lacked them 2,000 years after separation; it actually heightens the puzzle unless we’re told they later lost or abandoned them. So B does not contribute to an explanation and is the EXCEPT.
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