The report released by the interior ministry states that within the past 5 years the national land-reclamation program has resulted in a 19 percent increase in the amount of arable land within the country. If these figures are accurate, the program has been a resounding success. Senator Armand, a distinguished mathematician and a woman of indisputable brilliance, maintains, however, that the reclamation program could not possibly have been successful. Clearly, ttherefore, the figures cited in the report cannot be accurate.
The argument above exhibits an erroneous pattern of reasoning most similar to that exhibited by Evelyn reports that she got home before midnight. Robert, who always knows the time, insists that she did not. If Robert is right, Evelyn could not possibly have listened to the late news; since she admits not having listened to the late news, her report cannot be true.