The politician's either-or and the straw man

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 10 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 178 of the world course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗

Teen: "So if I don't like your plan, I hate kids? I literally am a kid. Make it make sense." What has the teen spotted?

1. A straw man about the army — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. An either-or: agree with me or you're bad — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. A fair argument that he lost, so he's annoyed — no support
4. A red herring about football — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 165, line 17: «Words people use: "make it make sense" means this makes no sense (young slang), "sit down" means you're in no position to judge, "doughnut man" is a jokey nick…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «doughnut man» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

Gran: "A bit more money for the army means war now? Then if I buy a bigger umbrella, I want a flood." What is Gran laughing at?

1. Anyone who owns an umbrella — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The politician's haircut and suit — no support
3. The idea of having an army at all — no support
4. The reasoning that twists "a bit more" into "war" — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

What would happen in a debate if both sides had to repeat the other's idea fairly before answering it?

1. Nobody would be allowed to disagree about anything any more — score -2
2. They would argue about real ideas, not scarecrows — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. The same side would always win — score 4
4. The debate would have to stop at once — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 178, line 3: «A straw man is a scarecrow version of what your opponent said. She says "a bit less on the army", he answers "She wants no defence at all!" and knocks down the…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+4); the same doer «man» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

Uncle from Boston: "That guy's wicked salty. He says she wants no army at all. She said a bit less!" Who is reasoning fairly?

1. The guy; he is angrier, so he must be right — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Nobody; you can never know what she really said — no support
3. The guy; "a bit less" really means none at all — no support
4. The uncle; he repeats what she really said — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Mum, at the telly: "That's lovely, love, but the question was about hospitals." What did the politician do?

1. Used a tiny sample of voters — ← Mova's choice · score 10
2. Made a slippery slope argument — score 7
3. Answered the hospital question very well and fully — score 3
4. Dodged the question by changing the subject — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 178, line 9: «Politicians on all sides use straw men; a fair debater first repeats the real idea, then says why they disagree.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «politicians» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «use» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · right ✓

In a cartoon a politician punches a scarecrow labelled "My opponent's plan" and the crowd cheers. What is the joke?

1. He is beating an idea nobody actually holds — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. Punching scarecrows makes plans better — score 4
3. The real opponent was a scarecrow all along — score 2
4. Scarecrows are good at politics — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 178, line 9: «Politicians on all sides use straw men; a fair debater first repeats the real idea, then says why they disagree.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «real idea» (+3). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

A kid says about "one small change and soon no rules at all": "Rules aren't Jenga." What does the kid mean?

1. Changing any rule always ends in disaster — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Rules are really made of wooden blocks — score 5
3. One change doesn't topple everything unless each step has a reason — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Jenga is the only game that has rules — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 116, line 4: «Caesar's year was about 11 minutes too long. Tiny, but after about 1,600 years the calendar had slipped 10 days, so in 1582 Pope Gregory XIII cut 10 dates out…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «change» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

Teen: "We always did it this way. We also always had no seatbelts, mate." What is the teen's point?

1. Everything old should be thrown away — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. Seatbelts were a bad idea all along — no support
3. Old isn't automatically right; check whether it works — ✓ the right answer · score -2
4. Politicians should all ride in cars — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 4, against -2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 88, line 1: «Rubbish we throw away usually goes to one of three places. It can be buried in a landfill, burned in an incinerator that often makes electricity from the heat,…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «throw away» (+4); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored -2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Grandad: "Everyone talked about my burnt Christmas turkey in 1998. Doesn't mean it was a great turkey." What does he show?

1. Christmas plans never work out, so stop making them — no support
2. Burnt turkey is the best kind of Christmas turkey — no support
3. Being talked about doesn't make something good — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. People only ever talk about things that are good — ← Mova's choice · score 13

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 13, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 178, line 4: «Other tricks travel with them: attacking the person instead of the plan, changing the subject, "we've always done it this way", "everyone's talking about it",…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+7); the same action «talk» (+4); a different doer (counts against) (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

The politician you like best says, "Either my plan or total chaos!" What should you do?

1. Notice the either-or, even from your own side — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Believe it, because it's your own side saying it — score 5
3. Stop listening to politics for ever — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. Check only the other side's tricks — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 178, line 5: «This lesson never says which side is right. It teaches you to hear the trick on every side, including the side you like.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «hear» (+3); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · right ✓

Kid: "Rude to a waiter ten years ago, so his school plan's codswallop? Shouldn't we, like, read the plan?" What is the kid asking for?

1. Ignoring every plan about schools — no support
2. Asking the waiter about schools — no support
3. Judging the plan by what is in it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Voting for whoever is politest — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 178, line 11: «Attacking the person (ad hominem) judges a plan by its maker's behaviour; behaviour can matter for trust, but it does not tell you whether a plan works.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «judge» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

Teen: "There's bare options between 'build the road' and 'the town dies', bruv." ("bruv" means mate.) What is she breaking?

1. A straw man — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A red herring — no support
3. An appeal to tradition — no support
4. An either-or — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the fallacy committed where a speaker asserts that only two courses of action exist, one of which is catastrophic, notwithstanding the existence of further alternatives.

1. A red herring — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A false dilemma — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. An appeal to tradition — no support
4. A straw man — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

It is given that one politician proposed a modest reduction in military expenditure and that her opponent subsequently characterised the proposal as the abolition of all defence. Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the opponent's reply?

1. It is an appeal to the popularity of the proposal — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. It restates the proposal accurately before disagreeing — score 4
3. It is a legitimate inference from the proposal — score 4
4. It attacks a distorted version of the proposal rather than the proposal itself — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 178, line 3: «A straw man is a scarecrow version of what your opponent said. She says "a bit less on the army", he answers "She wants no defence at all!" and knocks down the…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «opponent» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response that is consistent with the established facts concerning the use of such rhetorical devices in political debate.

1. They are employed by speakers on all sides — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. They are prohibited in all televised debates — no support
3. They are employed exclusively by governments — no support
4. They are employed exclusively by oppositions — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the principal deficiency of the argument that a plan for schools is erroneous because its author was discourteous to a waiter a decade previously.

1. The author's conduct does not establish whether the plan would succeed — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The plan was not concerned with schools — no support
3. The incident occurred too recently to be relevant — no support
4. Discourtesy to waiters invariably indicates a defective plan — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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