Final answer:
The statement is false; a select operation filters rows based on criteria, not columns. For eliminating columns, a 'Project' operation is used in SQL queries.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'A select operation pares down a table by eliminating columns according to certain criteria' is false. The correct statement is that a select operation in the context of a database, especially when discussing SQL (Structured Query Language), is used to retrieve data from a database. The operation filters rows, not columns, based on specified criteria. To eliminate columns, a different SQL command, such as 'Project', is used.