GMATNinja wrote:
nightblade354 wrote:
I wrestled with this question for a while. My only concern is what the negation means.
Yet a university that retains the right to patent the inventions of its faculty members has a motive to suppress information about a potentially valuable discovery until the patent for it has been secured. Clearly, suppressing information concerning such discoveries is incompatible with the university's obligation to promote the free flow of ideas.
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will NOT occasionally act on that motive.
-- To me, this sentence means the University may act on their motive all the time, not just occasionally. The use of the word 'occasionally' through me off. Any advice on this matter would be appreciated.
Quote:
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive.
I understand your confusion here... if they are not "occasionally" acting on that motive, are they instead ALWAYS acting on that motive? But consider the following example:
Wilbur constantly wants to eat burritos, but since they are unhealthy, he only eats them occasionally.
In other words, Wilbur will occasionally act on his desire to eat burritos. If I tell you that Wilbur does NOT occasionally act on those desires, do you think I'm trying to tell you that he eats burritos every time he gets the urge? Or that he always refrains from acting on those desires? The latter makes more sense given the context.
Sure, negating choice (D) might imply that the universities ALWAYS act on that motive, but this is not the best interpretation given the context. More importantly, you should be able to eliminate the other answer choices and realize that (D) is the best answer.
I hope that helps!
Hi GmatNinja,
I eliminated option D, as it says the universities will occasionally act. So, I moved to other choices and felt option B makes sense. Here, is my understanding of option B- since universities have a motive to suppress information until they are patented, so these motives somehow benefit the universities(monetory, outwitting competition...whatever).
Option B states that Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable(benefited) if patented. so, if the motives are not benefited , then suppressing information does not make sense. So, option B can be the assumption to hold the argument. Please help me in my understanding, where I am wrong
B) Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented.
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive.