Part 12 (2/2)

Where is the correct answer to be found? Consider the words aprepare the young for continued learning in later life by giving them the skills of learninga (1st paragraph) and abetter off if their schooling had given them the intellectual discipline and skilla (3rd paragraph). The word askilla surfaces both times that the author talks about what schools should be doing.

Choice A is outside the pa.s.sageas scope. The pa.s.sage does not talk about improving academic instruction or have anything to do with gra.s.sroots education levels. Nor does the pa.s.sage talk about adultsa opinions. Choice B is essentially opposite in meaning. To be correct, the answer choice should read, aredefine aeducationa as aschoolinga so to better convey to parents the goals of teaching.a The author feels that adults have missed the point in thinking that finis.h.i.+ng school is the same as finis.h.i.+ng oneas education; in fact, schools exist to school, and education comes later. Choice D may be also cla.s.sified as opposite in meaning, if we stick to the general spirit of the pa.s.sage. The author believes that adults are very much uninformed and have missed the major point of education (3rd paragraph); therefore closely implementing their opinions is essentially opposite to the authoras intended meaning.

Choice C is a distorted meaning. Distortions are most often created by the use of extreme or categorical or absolute-type wordings. Here the word aonlya signals a potential distortion. The author would likely agree that high scholastic achievement is a possible requirement for becoming educated, but not a sufficient condition in and of itself. In fact, the author really doesnat mention scholastic achievement, so we might cla.s.sify it as being out of scope if we did not happen to focus initially on the absolute-type wording.

Question 3 Choice B. This is an inference question. The challenge is to find an answer that isnat explicitly mentioned in the pa.s.sage, but can be logically inferred.

Although the author does not give an exact aeducationa formula, he effectively says that a number of factors are necessary to travel the high road to becoming educated. These include: pa.s.sion, a knack for learning, discipline, and maturity. In terms of maturity, he clearly states, aThe young can be prepared for education in the years to come, but only mature men and women can become educated, beginning the process in their forties and fifties and reaching some modic.u.m of genuine insight, sound judgment and practical wisdom after they have turned sixty.a Obviously, according to the author, if maturity begins in a personas forties and takes another ten to twenty years, then an individual cannot be less than forty years of age and still be considered educated.

Wrong answer choices in inference-type questions often fall outside the pa.s.sageas scope. Choice A is outside the pa.s.sageas scope and is specifically referred to as an unwarranted comparison. The author does not say whether he believes becoming educated takes more pa.s.sion than maturity or more maturity than pa.s.sion.

Choice C is perhaps the trickiest wrong answer choice. The author doesnat imply that one has to be a university graduate. In fact, he mentions aschool and/or collegea (1st & 3rd paragraphs), which suggests that he may well lump high school in with college and/or university. A high school graduate might have enough schooling to get onto the road of education. Moreover, the author doesnat claim one must be a four-year college or university graduate or even whether one has to attend college or university.

There is no mention of cla.s.sic works of literature, so choice D is outside the pa.s.sageas scope; we cannot answer this question based on information presented in the pa.s.sage. Choice E is wrong because the author never mentions atravel.a Donat mistake the word atravaila (meaning astrugglea; 4th paragraph) for atravel.a Moreover, it is possible, without evidence to the contrary, that a person could never have left his or her own country and still understand those ideas that make him or her representative of his or her particular culture.

Question 4 Choice A. This is a tone question. Tone questions ask about the authoras feeling or att.i.tude toward someone or something in the pa.s.sage. Basically, the author will be either positive, negative, or neutral. In most cases, especially with respect to social science pa.s.sages (versus science pa.s.sages), the fact that the author would sit down to write something hints that he or she has some opinion about the topic at hand. Therefore, the neutral answer choice is not usually correct, even if available.

For this question, we have, on the positive and supportive side, the word pairs ainvaluable partners,a aconscientious citizens,a or aunfortunate victims.a On the negative side, we have auninformed partic.i.p.antsa or adisdainful culprits.a The authoras att.i.tude toward adults is somewhat negative, but not excessively so. The feeling is more like frustration. The author believes that adults are ignorant of the distinction between schooling and education (3rd paragraph). Therefore, positive-sounding choices C and D are out. Choice B, aunfortunate victims,a is sympathetic, but the author thinks that adults are not victims, just misfocused. Choice E, adisdainful culprits,a is too negative.

Question 5 Choice C. This is a pa.s.sage organization question. Think in terms of the number of viewpoints and the relations.h.i.+ps among them.

The author introduces his thesis or summary in the very first sentence a” aa controlling insight in my educational philosophya a” then goes on to support it with his personal observations, experiences, and opinions. Thus, choice A is not correct. No objective a.n.a.lysis is put forth; if there were, we would expect to see some surveys, statistics, or alternative viewpoints introduced. Choice B is wrong because there is a single idea presented, but the author agrees with it because it is his own idea. Choice D is incorrect as there are not two viewpoints presented, just one. Choice E suggests a popular viewpoint, but it is highly unlikely that many people have adopted this viewpoint because, according to the author, adults (and, by extension, laypersons) havenat really caught on. Last, a number of perspectives are not drawn upon. The author chooses to spend the entire article developing his single viewpoint that ano one has ever been a” no one could ever be a” educated in school or college.a Quiz a” Answers

Back to quiz questions

1. False. The Prisoneras Dilemma provides an example of how cooperation is superior to compet.i.tion.

(Tip #17, Chapter 3 a” Decision Making) 2. False. The statement asome doctors are rich peoplea does imply reciprocality because asome rich people must be doctors.a (Tip #49, Chapter 5 a” Mastering Logic) 3. False. The ad hominem fallacy consists in attacking the person, often in a personal or abusive way, rather than attacking the argument or claim being made. Attempting to draw attention away from the real issue by emphasizing a side issue describes the fallacy known as ared herring.a (Ad Hominem vs. Red Herring, Appendix II a” Fallacious Reasoning) 4. False. The halo effect is the tendency to view a person, place, or thing favorably based on only a single incident, trait, or characteristic.

(The Magic of Coincidence, Chapter 1 a” Mindset & Perception) 5. False. The formulaic relations.h.i.+p among the three elements of cla.s.sic argument structure is: Conclusion = Evidence + a.s.sumption or Conclusion a' Evidence = a.s.sumption (Problem 38, Chapter 4 a” a.n.a.lyzing Arguments) 6. False. The words ainferencea and aa.s.sumptiona are not the same and should not be used interchangeably. An ainferencea is a logical deduction based on an argument, statement, or written pa.s.sage. An a.s.sumption is an integral component of an argument.

(Avoiding Improper Inferences, Chapter 5 a” Mastering Logic) 7. False. Matrixes can be used to summarize data within a two-dimensional grid. Data must be amutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive,a not acollectively exclusive and mutually exhaustive.a (Tip #4, Chapter 2 a” Creative Thinking) 8. False. In formal logic, the phrase aEvery A is a Ba must be translated as aOnly Bs are As,a not aOnly As are Bs.a Case in point: The statement aEvery cat is a mammala must be translated as aOnly mammals are cats.a It is not true to say that if every cat is a mammal then only cats are mammals.

(Tip #47, Chapter 5 a” Mastering Logic) 9. False. Left-brain thinking might be described as aspotlighta thinking, while right-brain thinking might be described as afloodlighta thinking.

(Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking; Chapter 2 a” Creative Thinking) 10. False. Utility a.n.a.lysis takes into account the desirability of outcomes by multiplying each value by the probability of its occurrence. We do not total resultant values; we choose the outcome which yields the highest value.

(Utility a.n.a.lysis vs. Weighted Ranking, Chapter 3 a” Decision Making) Selected Bibliography Adams, James L. Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas, 4th ed. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publis.h.i.+ng, 2001.

Adler, Mortimer and Geraldine Van Doren. Reforming Education: The Opening of the American Mind. New York: Macmillan, 1988.

Bennett, Deborah J. Logic Made Easy: How to Know When Logic Deceives You. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005.

Bransford, John D. & Barrry S. Stein. The Ideal Problem Solver: A Guide for Improving Thinking, Learning, and Creativity. 2nd ed. New York: Worth, 1993.

Buzan, Tony. Use Both Sides of Your Brain: New Mind-Mapping Techniques, 3rd ed. New York: Plume, 1991.

Cause, Donald C. & Gerald M. Weinberg. Are Your Lights On? How to Figure Out What the Problem Really Is. New York: Dorset House, 1990.

Copi, Irving M. & Carl Cohen. Introduction to Logic. 13th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008.

Damer, T. Edward. Attacking Faulty Reasoning: A Practical Guide to Fallacy-Free Arguments. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2008.

de Bono, Edward. The Use of Lateral Thinking. New York: Penguin, 1986.

Harrison, Allen F. & Robert M. Bramson. The Art of Thinking. New York: Berkeley Books, 2002.

How to Prepare for the Graduate Record Examination: GRE General Test. 17th ed. Hauppauge, NY: Barronas Educational Series, 2007.

Jones, Morgan D. The Thinkeras Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem Solving. New York: Times Books, 1998.

The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2009.

Russo, J. Edward & Paul J.H. Schoemaker. Decision Traps: The Ten Barriers to Brilliant Decision-Making and How to Overcome Them. New York: Fireside, 1990.

Salny, Dr. Abbie F. & Lewis Burke Frumkes. Mensa Think-Smart Book: Games and Puzzles to Develop a Sharper, Quicker Mind. New York: Harper and Row, 1986.

Sternberg, Robert J. Intelligence Applied: Understanding and Increasing Your Intellectual Skills. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986.

Steinberg, Eve P. Scoring High on a.n.a.logy Tests. New York: Arco, 1990.

Stewart, Mark A. GRE-LSAT Logic Workbook. 3rd ed. New York: Arco, 1999.

Thomson, Anne. Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2008.

Thouless, Robert H. Straight and Crooked Thinking. London: Hodder, 1990.

Weston, Anthony. A Rulebook for Arguments. 4th ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2008.

Whimbey, Anthony & Jack Lockheed. Problem Solving & Comprehension. 6th ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1999.

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. aFallacy,a en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy * * *

I have never let my schooling

interfere with my education.

a”Mark Twain

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