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655-705 Level|   Assumption|                     
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RohitSaluja

Hi GMATNinja should I worry that I dont know the difference between sufficient and necessary assumptions?

Yes, you should know what an assumption is in GMAT context (necessary assumption) and what is meant by sufficient assumption.
Check this question:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/according-to ... 38537.html
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EatMyDosa
Hi GMATNinja, ChiranjeevSingh, MartyTargetTestPrep, VeritasKarishma

In case the conclusion was:

The bodily movements, therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time.

Instead of -

These bodily movements, therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time.

Do you think option E would have become relevant in that scenario?

I think it might have at least weaken, if not broken down the conclusion because - in case of the new (hypothetical) conclusion, Linguist seemed to have drawn conclusion for ALL languages based on research on only two languages (English and Aymara).

Would really appreciate your thoughts on this!

Thanks,




Bunuel
Linguist: In English, the past is described as “behind” and the future “ahead,” whereas in Aymara the past is “ahead” and the future “behind.” Research indicates that English speakers sway backward when discussing the past and forward when discussing the future. Conversely, Aymara speakers gesture forward with their hands when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future. These bodily movements, therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time.

The linguist's reasoning depends on assuming which of the following?

(A) At least some Aymara speakers sway forward when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future.
(B) Most people mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward.
(C) Not all English and Aymara speakers tend to sway or gesture forward or backward when discussing the present.
(D) How people move when discussing the future correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.
(E) The researchers also examined the movements of at least some speakers of languages other than English and Aymara discussing the past and the future.


CR55541.01
OG2020 NEW QUESTION

If you were to say "the bodily movements", which definite bodily movements would you be talking about? It would be the bodily movements discussed in the argument.
Then, the case would be no different from "these bodily movements".

The conclusion is "the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time". It is based on the bodily movements observed during research.

Option (E) will not be an assumption in either case. Research is often done on a small sample and not the whole population.
One can weaken the conclusion of the research by pointing out that the sample had selection bias and did not represent the population properly but it is certainly not an assumption.
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We have to definitely kepp in mind that we have to include both Arymara and the English speaking people and how theyre actions are corelated resulting in the forward and backward mental visulazisation of the time space they are seeking to establish let us jump into the elemination of the options
A- this is absolutely true however it fails to take into the account how the English people are fitting into the frame and their corelation with time visualisation
B-This is also a stated premise however it doesn't address any relation between Arymara and English speaking and the corelation
C - we have no idea as of what other people we are only given a definite sample to be working on
D- Clearly this covers all the requiite ground required and provides clear cut picture what interelationship between Arymians and English people - this has to be the answer
E-We have no idea about other definitive sampling space HENCE IMO D
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Linguist: In English, the past is described as “behind” and the future “ahead,” whereas in Aymara the past is “ahead” and the future “behind.” Research indicates that English speakers sway backward when discussing the past and forward when discussing the future. Conversely, Aymara speakers gesture forward with their hands when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future. These bodily movements, therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time.

P : English : past (behind) future (ahead) vs Aymara past (ahead) future (behind)
P : English speakers sway the according direction while Aymara speakers gestured to the according direction
C : language affects how one mentally visualizes times

The linguist's reasoning depends on assuming which of the following?

(A) At least some Aymara speakers sway forward when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future.
-> Seeing and gesturing in this argument can be categorized as bodily movements. Thus option A is same as the premise given in the argument.

(B) Most people mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward.
-> The conclusion is limited to how people mentally visualize time not to how people visualize time as running.

(C) Not all English and Aymara speakers tend to sway or gesture forward or backward when discussing the present.
-> "All" is not necessarily needed for the conclusion to be valid. Moreover, present is not relevant to the argument.

(D) How people move when discussing the future correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.
-> Correct. The term "move" can also be categorized as one of bodily movements. Thus, option D is giving linkage between bodily movements and mental visualisation. If we negate option D, we get "~ does not correlate with how ~" and this negated sentence breaks down the conclusion.
+a Gmat ninja's explanation

Choice (D) connects these dots explicitly:

English speakers sway backward when discussing the past and forward when discussing the future.
Aymara speakers gesture forward with their hands when discussing the past and backwards when discussing the future.
How people move when discussing the future correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.
Therefore, these bodily movements suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time.


(E) The researchers also examined the movements of at least some speakers of languages other than English and Aymara discussing the past and the future.
-> Not necessary. If true, option E can support the conclusion but is not necessary assumption for the conclusion to hold.
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Bunuel
Linguist: In English, the past is described as “behind” and the future “ahead,” whereas in Aymara the past is “ahead” and the future “behind.” Research indicates that English speakers sway backward when discussing the past and forward when discussing the future. Conversely, Aymara speakers gesture forward with their hands when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future. These bodily movements, therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time.

The linguist's reasoning depends on assuming which of the following?

A. At least some Aymara speakers sway forward when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future.
B. Most people mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward.
C. Not all English and Aymara speakers tend to sway or gesture forward or backward when discussing the present.
D. How people move when discussing the future correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.
E. The researchers also examined the movements of at least some speakers of languages other than English and Aymara discussing the past and the future.

My Negated versions of (B) and (D) below:

Bunuel
(B) Most peopleA few people mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward.

This doesn't wreck our argument. For further evidence, I'll do a different negation.

Bunuel
(B) Most people do not mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward.

Okay... but some people may visualize time as running forward or backward. This weakens the argument, but it does not wreck it.

Bunuel
(D) How people move when discussing the future does not correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.

This completely wrecks the argument!


With tough Assumption questions, the correct answer choice often does not have strong language. Why? Because when you negate strong language like "most people" it turns into "some people."

But when you negate soft language like "correlates, at least a little bit" it turns into "does not correlate, at all."

Strong Language negates to Soft language.

Soft language negates to Strong Language.


Correct me if I'm wrong on this little rule I made in blue. VeritasPrepBrian

Hi,
Can you check the same logic (Negating the option and then checking if it is wrecking the conclusion)
for Option A: According to me
Negation for Option A is "No Aymara speakers sway forward when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future"
Now this statement is totally wrecking the conclusion: "These bodily movements, therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time"
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DmitryFarber
ballest127 It's hard to know how we should interpret that idea, so we can't really say the statement is necessary. It's possible that people always sway or gesture when talking, but that when they are thinking of the past or future, it influences the direction of that movement. In that case, thinking of the present might lead us to sway/gesture in a random direction. It's also possible that our discussions of the present are influenced by thoughts of the past or future that influence our motion. It's even possible that English speakers gesture when speaking of the present, and Aymara speakers sway, and thus we behave differently than when we are speaking of the past or future. So we can imagine all these possibilities, but in the end, it's simply not clear that the occurrence of these motions during speech means that they are not influenced by what we are talking about.

A simple analogy might be that a drummer might play faster when happy and slower when sad. The drummer's tempo may be influenced by certain emotions, and then in the absence of these emotions, the tempo could do anything it liked. The drummer might keep a steady beat or shift all over the place, and that wouldn't affect the truth of the previous idea at all.

dear DmitryFarber, MartyTargetTestPrep,GMATNinja,VeritasKarishma, GMATRockstar
AndrewN,

I did not realize the jump from movements to visualize time, because I thought of swag backwards and forwards as movements, and past and future as mentally visualize time.
when we talk future and past, don't we mentally visualize time ? for me, they are the same,

would you please clarify? I think I have missed something but I have no idea

thanks in advance.
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DmitryFarber
ballest127 It's hard to know how we should interpret that idea, so we can't really say the statement is necessary. It's possible that people always sway or gesture when talking, but that when they are thinking of the past or future, it influences the direction of that movement. In that case, thinking of the present might lead us to sway/gesture in a random direction. It's also possible that our discussions of the present are influenced by thoughts of the past or future that influence our motion. It's even possible that English speakers gesture when speaking of the present, and Aymara speakers sway, and thus we behave differently than when we are speaking of the past or future. So we can imagine all these possibilities, but in the end, it's simply not clear that the occurrence of these motions during speech means that they are not influenced by what we are talking about.

A simple analogy might be that a drummer might play faster when happy and slower when sad. The drummer's tempo may be influenced by certain emotions, and then in the absence of these emotions, the tempo could do anything it liked. The drummer might keep a steady beat or shift all over the place, and that wouldn't affect the truth of the previous idea at all.

dear DmitryFarber, MartyTargetTestPrep,GMATNinja,VeritasKarishma, GMATRockstar
AndrewN,

I did not realize the jump from movements to visualize time, because I thought of swag backwards and forwards as movements, and past and future as mentally visualize time.
when we talk future and past, don't we mentally visualize time ? for me, they are the same,

would you please clarify? I think I have missed something but I have no idea

thanks in advance.
You're right that swaying/gesturing backward and forward are examples of "movements."

However, the past and future themselves aren't the same thing as mentally visualizing time. The past and the future are just points on some sort of timeline.

What's key to the linguist's argument is how we see that timeline in our mind's eye -- do you see the past as in front of you, or behind you? The linguist argues that this depends on what language you speak. To reach this conclusion, he/she makes some observations regarding how you move while discussing the past and the future.

So, the linguist assumes that these movements give us some insight into how people actually see the timeline in their mind's eye. (D) is the correct answer.

I hope that helps!
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ThatDudeKnows it realy is not clear what this argument is doing and where is the gap. honesty the passage looks complete to me as it is. Naturally language will show how ppl mentally visualise time via body movements if certain languages lead to specific body movements. MartyTargetTestPrep ChiranjeevSingh KarishmaB
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ThatDudeKnows it realy is not clear what this argument is doing and where is the gap. honesty the passage looks complete to me as it is. Naturally language will show how ppl mentally visualise time via body movements if certain languages lead to specific body movements. MartyTargetTestPrep ChiranjeevSingh KarishmaB

The argument tells us about two examples whereby language seems to influence movement.

And then the conclusion says that body movements suggest language affects how one visualizes time. Where did the "visualize" part come from? The examples only talk about movement, not visualization. And then all of a sudden we have language --> visualization --> movement.
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But they would only be moving with visuaisation. It is an aspect we do not even need to care about tbh. Hw does it matter what they do to move? ALso how are they moving without visualising? In which case would they be moving front or back without visualisation of time ? ThatDudeKnows

ThatDudeKnows
Elite097
ThatDudeKnows it realy is not clear what this argument is doing and where is the gap. honesty the passage looks complete to me as it is. Naturally language will show how ppl mentally visualise time via body movements if certain languages lead to specific body movements. MartyTargetTestPrep ChiranjeevSingh KarishmaB

The argument tells us about two examples whereby language seems to influence movement.

And then the conclusion says that body movements suggest language affects how one visualizes time. Where did the "visualize" part come from? The examples only talk about movement, not visualization. And then all of a sudden we have language --> visualization --> movement.
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But they would only be moving with visuaisation. It is an aspect we do not even need to care about tbh. Hw does it matter what they do to move? ALso how are they moving without visualising? In which case would they be moving front or back without visualisation of time ? ThatDudeKnows

ThatDudeKnows
Elite097
ThatDudeKnows it realy is not clear what this argument is doing and where is the gap. honesty the passage looks complete to me as it is. Naturally language will show how ppl mentally visualise time via body movements if certain languages lead to specific body movements. MartyTargetTestPrep ChiranjeevSingh KarishmaB

The argument tells us about two examples whereby language seems to influence movement.

And then the conclusion says that body movements suggest language affects how one visualizes time. Where did the "visualize" part come from? The examples only talk about movement, not visualization. And then all of a sudden we have language --> visualization --> movement.

Do you VISUALIZE chewing before you chew? Or do you just chew? Yes, it is an action controlled by your brain, but just because an action is controlled by your brain does not mean that you VISUALIZE it.

This question is a VERY common setup by GMAC. They make an argument that p --> q and then they introduce some term r that is similar to or associated with either p or q but isn't the SAME. And then they insert r into the p --> q relationship without making it clear that it belongs there. Just learn to spot that and you'll get more questions right.

Far more important than this specific case is how you choose to evaluate questions that you get wrong. This is a question written by GMAC. Those are the people who write the real test. It doesn't matter whether you have a good case for why they way they do things is wrong, THEY write the real test. So THEY make the rules. You might disagree with the rules, but rather than arguing why your answer is right or why the right answer is wrong, you'll be better off if you evaluate your wrong answers to see if you can figure out how GMAC works and what you can do differently next time.
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Bunuel
Linguist: In English, the past is described as “behind” and the future “ahead,” whereas in Aymara the past is “ahead” and the future “behind.” Research indicates that English speakers sway backward when discussing the past and forward when discussing the future. Conversely, Aymara speakers gesture forward with their hands when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future. These bodily movements, therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time.

The linguist's reasoning depends on assuming which of the following?

(A) At least some Aymara speakers sway forward when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future.
(B) Most people mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward.
(C) Not all English and Aymara speakers tend to sway or gesture forward or backward when discussing the present.
(D) How people move when discussing the future correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.
(E) The researchers also examined the movements of at least some speakers of languages other than English and Aymara discussing the past and the future.


CR55541.01
OG2020 NEW QUESTION

The question wants use to identify the assumption of the argument. We know that the author points to the difference between English and Aymara speakers, this difference are the gestures made when discusses the future, and the past. Then the conclusion of the argument "therefore, suggest that the language one speaks affects how one mentally visualizes time" hint that the assumption relies on the gestures made and how time is perceived. The assumption should focus on the actions of the speakers, so this will narrow down our options.

A, B, and C are identifying exceptions in speakers, not assumptions. Eliminate.

E is out of scope, the assumption relies on American and Aymara gestures, and time perception.

D remains and addresses the assumption we were narrowing down. Correct!
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This is a very interesting discussion. I landed up on choice B on a similar reasoning. There are two clear logical jumps in author's conclusion.

1. She talks specifically about 2 languages only and concludes about "languages" in general.

2. She talks about forward and backward movements only and based upon that she concludes that it is the "languages" (not only Eng and Aymara/logical jump1) that effect how people (all people) visualize time.

Now, out of these 2 logical jumps, Choice B talks about only one aspect (forward and backwards). The whole conclusion is obviously based on the only these two movements that she has observed. My negation of choice B was what if speakers of other languages visualize time as cyclic? They do visualize time but their movements could be very different from either forward or backwards.

Thus choice B addresses/ explains the logical jumps and thus can be an assumption made by the author? Now that I see that choice B is wrong, the only problem that I can point out with it is the usage of the word "most". If it would have been "all" instead of "most", can this assumption hold?

Also Choice D is based only upon the "future" . If someone visualizes time, he/she must visualize the past and present too, isn't it? Does this make choice D incomplete and thus inadequate in explaining the whole assumption made by the author? Another doubt is about the usage of "to some extent". What is the significance of this usage? Do these two aspects of choice D make it lose its merit as the best answer choice?

Would appreciate help of the community. Thanks in advance.
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I think the best idea is to consult a website that is specialized in helping improve your English or to speak with a teacher with more experience. They could look at this problem from multiple aspects. If you need inspiration or someone that could guide you, check ELA Resources. The Resource menu has many links to improve your listening, reading, speaking, and writing. Also, they provide you with a mail from someone that could help and guide you if you have any questions or misunderstandings.
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LakulishSharma

Your point about cyclic time is important to consider, but it's exactly why we can eliminate B! The author is saying that language affects our visualization of time, but they never say that forward and backward are the only ways this could go. The author might be very satisfied to see that people who speak a language that describes time as cyclic tend to circle their hips when thinking about past or future events, or that people who describe the future as up and the past das own look in those directions when thinking about future and past events. They might even be happy to see that some people describe time using colors, and then think in those terms! None of this contradicts their conclusion, which is simply that our language affects how we visualize time. This doesn't rely on any assumption that the two languages in question cover the only ways to do that. As for most vs. all, you want to go in the other direction. With assumptions (as with inferences), stronger language makes the answer less likely to be correct, not more, because a more extreme choice is less likely to be necessary. If we rewrote B to be about ALL, we'd be saying that if even one person in the entire world didn't see time this way, then the author's argument would fail. No such extreme assumption is needed.

In general, if you find yourself asking whether something CAN be an assumption, you're on the wrong track. The statement is either necessary or it's not. If it's necessary, that means the argument is ruined without it.

As for D, your question gets at a very important concept about assumptions: they are not required to be exhaustive and cover all aspects of the argument. An assumption almost never PROVES the conclusion correct. Rather, it is one of many things that is needed for the argument not to fail. The author clearly thinks that how people behave when discussing the future and the past has been shaped by their language. This requires an assumption that the way people move when discussing the past and the future relates to how they are thinking about time. And for that true, both component parts (about the past and the future) need to be true. Similarly, if I think I will be both the greatest governor of California and the greatest president of the United States, I am relying on the idea that I will be the governor of California. That doesn't prove any of the rest, but it's necessary, because without it, the full conclusion can't be true.
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Can you please tell which out of these 4 can be an assumption?

A. All people mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward
B. All English and Aymara speakers mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward
C. All English and Aymara speakers tend to sway or gesture forward or backward when discussing the future or past
D. How people move when discussing the past correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.

KarishmaB GMATNinja ExpertsGlobal Bunuel
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Can you please tell which out of these 4 can be an assumption?

A. All people mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward
B. All English and Aymara speakers mentally visualize time as running either forward or backward
C. All English and Aymara speakers tend to sway or gesture forward or backward when discussing the future or past
D. How people move when discussing the past correlates to some extent with how they mentally visualize time.

KarishmaB GMATNinja ExpertsGlobal Bunuel

The argument already tells us:
Research indicates that English speakers sway backward when discussing the past and forward when discussing the future.
Conversely, Aymara speakers gesture forward with their hands when discussing the past and backward when discussing the future.

So we know that these are the general traits of English and Aymara. Even if every person of the population does not depict these traits (what if someone doesn't sway at all while talking about time or even depict opposite traits), it is given that this is the norm. We do not need everyone to depict the trait.
Hence, first three statements you have suggested are not assumptions.
The fourth one is the actual assumption which is also the answer her. I have put the main point of this assumption question in colour in my comment on page 1.
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