Most people believe that gold and platinum are the most valuable

Question

Most people believe that gold and platinum are the most valuable commodities. To the true entrepreneur, however, gold and platinum are less valuable than the knowledge of opportunities is. Thus, in the world of high finance, information is the most valuable commodity.

The author of the passage above makes which of the following assumptions?

A. Gold and platinum are not the most valuable commodities.

B. Entrepreneurs are not like most people.

C. The value of information is incalculably high.

D. Information about business opportunities is accurate and leads to increased wealth.

E. Only entrepreneurs feel that information is the most valuable commodity.

This is a  CR Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects:
 
  Data Sufficiency Butler  
  Problem Solving Butler  
  Reading Comprehension Butler

JumpShop · Answer

D. Information about business opportunities is accurate and leads to increased wealth.
The author claims that information is extremely valuable because entrepreneurs can use knowledge of opportunities. For that reasoning to make sense, the information needs to be reliable/useful in producing financial gains.
So for an “author assumes” question:
✅ D — best answer
❌ A — conclusion, not assumption

dhart · Answer

here option D looks proper for the argument

Vivek1707 · Answer

A. This doesn't connect the premises to the conclusion. Even if gold and platinum aren't the most valuable, that doesn't make information the most valuable.
B. We already know entrepreneurs value things differently from most people. That doesn't explain why information is most valuable.
C. “Most valuable” doesn't mean the value has to be incalculably high. Too extreme.
D. Correct. The argument assumes that information about opportunities is reliable and actually useful for making money. Otherwise, why would entrepreneurs value it so highly?
E. It doesn't matter whether only entrepreneurs think this way. The argument is about the value of information, not who agrees with it.

Bunuel · Answer

Princeton Review Official Explanation:

Here’s How to Crack It:

The question asks for the  assumption  made by the author, so this is an assumption question.

An assumption supports the conclusion of an argument, so when you read the passage, look for the conclusion. The word “thus” in the passage’s final sentence gives it away:  in the world of high finance, information is the most valuable commodity .

Now determine what information in the passage is in support of the conclusion. Two pieces of information are provided in support of the conclusion. One group of people— most people—believe that gold and platinum are the most valuable commodities . Another group—  true entrepreneurs —believe that  gold and platinum are less valuable than is the knowledge of opportunities .

From the opinions of two groups of people, the author concludes that the opinion of one group is to be preferred, but the passage doesn’t say why. Therefore, it’s likely that the correct answer will explain why the opinion of  the true entrepreneur  is to be preferred. With that in mind, you’re ready to attack the answer choices:

A. Gold and platinum are not the most valuable commodities.

This answer appears to support the conclusion. If  gold and platinum are not the most valuable commodities , there’s a chance that  information is . By itself, however, the idea that gold and platinum  are not  the most valuable commodities doesn’t mean information  is  the most valuable commodity. This assumption provides no reason why the author should agree with  the true entrepreneur ; it doesn’t link the argument’s premises to its conclusion. Eliminate (A).

B. Entrepreneurs are not like most people in other careers.

This answer choice doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know: if the true entrepreneur doesn’t share the opinion of most people, then entrepreneurs aren’t like most people (at least not in the way they value commodities). In any case, this answer doesn’t provide a reason to favor the opinion of the true entrepreneur. Eliminate (B).

C. The value of information is incalculably high.

Be wary of the extreme language in this answer choice. The author needn’t assume the value of information is incalculable in order to believe that it’s the most valuable commodity. On the other hand, the value of many commodities might be incalculable; it doesn’t follow from this that information is most valuable. Eliminate (C).

D. Information about business opportunities is accurate and leads to increased wealth.

This answer links the argument’s conclusion to its premises by providing a reason to side with the true entrepreneur. To check whether this assumption is required by the argument, apply the Negation Test. If information  isn’t  accurate and  doesn’t  lead to increased wealth, it’s unclear why the author believes it to be most valuable. Negating this answer disrupts the argument, so keep (D).

E. Only entrepreneurs feel that information is the most valuable commodity.

This answer is out of scope. It doesn’t matter  who  believes information to be most valuable. What matters is  why  the author believes it to be most valuable. Eliminate (E).

The correct answer is (D).

Most people believe that gold and platinum are the most valuable

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

­Most people believe that gold and platinum are the most valuable

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

Most people believe that gold and platinum are the most valuable