Question

nelly bly undercover by dr. howard markel getting committed proved rather easy, even if neither bly nor her editors had a clear plan of getting her released once the story was filed. she took a room at a cheap boarding house, \temporary home for females, no. 84 second avenue,\ under the name bly brown and began questioning and imitating the women who seemed most insane to her. soon enough, it was bly who was deemed crazy. the matron of the house enlisted a few cops to escort bly to the essex market police courtroom, where an impatient judge named duffy pronounced her insane and ordered her to the famed insane ward at bellevue hospital, the city’s largest charitable hospital. use the excerpt from the \how nellie bly went undercover to expose abuse of the mentally ill\ article to answer the question. which of the following would be an invalid inference to make about this excerpt? (1 point) the mentally insane were considered a danger to society. only someone who was medically qualified could declare someone mentally insane. people found it important to give the mentally insane a safe place to live. people considered the mentally insane to be unable to determine their own status.

Explanation:

To determine the invalid inference, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The story involves committing the "insane" (Bly, in disguise), implying they were seen as a danger (so this is a valid inference).
• Option 2: In the excerpt, a matron and a judge (not medically qualified) declared Bly insane. So the idea that only medically qualified people could do so is invalid.
• Option 3: Sending them to an insane ward implies providing a safe (or controlled) place, so this is valid.
• Option 4: The ease of committing Bly (and the process) implies the insane were seen as unable to determine their own status (valid, as they were committed without their input in a sense).

Answer:

B. Only someone who was medically qualified could declare someone mentally insane.