Mathematician: Recently, Zubin Ghosh made headlines when he was recogn

Question

Mathematician: Recently, Zubin Ghosh made headlines when he was recognized to have solved the Hilbert Conjecture. Ghosh posted his work on the internet,rather than submitting it to established journals. In fact,  he has no job, let alone a university position ; he lives alone and has refused all acclaim. In reporting on Ghosh, the press unfortunately has reinforced the popular view that mathematicians are antisocial loners. But  mathematicians clearly form a tightly knit community ,frequently collaborating on important efforts; indeed, teams of researchers are working together to extend Ghosh's findings.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following
roles?

(A) The first is an observation the author makes to illustrate a social pattern; the second is a generalization of that pattern.

(B) The first is evidence in favor of the popular view expressed in the argument;the second is a brief restatement of that view.

(C) The first is a specific example of a generalization that the author contradicts;the second is a reiteration of that generalization.

(D) The first is a specific counterexample to a generalization that the author asserts;the second is that generalization.

(E) The first is a judgment that counters the primary assertion expressed in the argument; the second is a circumstance on which that judgment is based.

dominicraj · Accepted Answer

The author's conclusion is that mathematicians actually form a tightly knit community. The

counterargument is that mathematicians are antisocial loners. Now, label each statement as

either Conclusion, Premise For, or Premise Against. In the above argument, the first boldface

represents an example that supports the counterargument. Thus, the first statement is

Premise Against. The second boldface represents the author's conclusion. Now we can write

down our assessment of the boldface statements:

#1 = Premise against

#2 = Conclusion

Turning to the answer choices, we should assess each one methodically.

Evaluate the first half of choice (A) first. This says that the author uses this statement to

illustrate a social pattern. In other words, this choice asserts that statement #1 is Premise

For. We have labeled the first statement as Premise Against, so this choice is incorrect.

The first half of choice (B) says the first statement supports the popular view. The popular

view is the counterargument, so this choice argues that #1 is Premise Against. The second

half of choice (B),.hoWever, says that the second statement is the popular view. The second

statement is the author's conclusion, not the counterargument. Eliminate this 'choice.

The first half of choice (C) says that the first statement is an example of the counterargument

(in other words, Premise Against). The second half of choice (C) says that the second

statement reiterates the counterargument, but the second statement is the author's own conclusion.

Eliminate this choice.

The first half of choice (D) says that the first statement is a counterexample to the author's

conclusion (in other words, Premise Against). The second half of choice (D) says that the

second statement is the author's conclusion. We agree with these labels, so this is the correct

answer. As always, you. should read all the answer choices, but you may be at the twominute

mark already, in which case you should select (D) and move on.

The first half of choice (E) says that the first statement is a premise against the author's conclusion

(in other words, Premise Against). The second half of this choice, however, says that

the second statement is another Premise Against. Eliminate this choice.

shriramvelamuri · Answer

Hey Dom,

I like Option C. but the OA is Option D. Do you have any OE for this. Of course, I am not expert at Boldface questions.

kuvshah · Answer

Hello,

the OA is D - however I have some doubts. (D) The first is a specific counterexample to a generalization that the author asserts;the second is that generalization.

It says the first is a specific counterexample to a generalization that author asserts and second is that generalization. I am not sure if I understood that correctly.

The way I read this is - "mathematicians are antisocial loners" - is the generalization and "he has no job, let alone a university position" kind of supports that generalization. None of this is what author asserts. It's the opposite of what author concludes.

what am I missing?

pafrompa · Answer

I think you are missing the point "generalization that the author asserts." The author never asserts that math people are antisocial individuals; rather, he advocates that they are a tight nit community. Therefore, the fact that the mathmatician has no job is a counterpoint to the author's generalization that they are a tight nit social community.

kuvshah · Answer

I thought so. So here generalization is referring to Author's assertion that "mathematicians clearly form a tightly knit community" ?

rakaisraka · Answer

Hi Experts , what is wrong with option B:
As per me - BF1 is indeed a Fact/evidence which is in favour of the poplar view ( Mathematicians are not social). BF2 can be taken as restatement of the view that they are social. Dont know what is wrong.

rakaisraka · Answer

Hi Experts , what is wrong with option B:
As per me - BF1 is indeed a Fact/evidence which is in favour of the poplar view ( Mathematicians are not social). BF2 can be taken as restatement of the view that they are social. Dont know what is wrong.

sayantanc2k · Answer

BF1 are BF2 are opposing statements. The term "restatement" indicates that both statements are on the same side. Hence B is wrong.

(One quick technique to eliminate a few answers in a BF type question is to quickly identify whether the statements are on the same side or opposing each other.)

pafrompa · Answer

Correct, because that is the generalization "that the author asserts." It is a generalization that mathematicians are loners, but it's not the one put forward by the author.

Azimuwed · Answer

Can someone help me understand the answers between C and D? 'cos they are close to each other. Thanks!

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Raksat · Answer

BF1 : he has no job, let alone a university position. A premise which provides a specific example of a generalization that "mathematicians are antisocial loners"
BF2 : mathematicians clearly form a tightly knit community. A Generalized main conclusion that the author supports.

A: The first is an observation the author makes to illustrate a social pattern; the second is a generalization of that pattern
 Wrong. Both one and second are saying different things. The second is a generalization of a different pattern.
 
B: The first is evidence in favor of the popular view expressed in the argument;the second is a brief restatement of that view.
 The second is not a brief restatement of the first view but rather endorses a different view. Eliminate B 
C: The first is a specific example of a generalization that the author contradicts;the second is a reiteration of that generalization
 The first statement is ok but the second "the second is a reiteration of that generalization" is incorrect. The second presents a different conclusion endorsed by the author. 
D: The first is a specific counterexample to a generalization that the author asserts;the second is that generalization.
 Correct . The BF1 is supporting a different conclusion that the argument endorses. The BF2 is that conclusion.  
E: The first is a judgment that counters the primary assertion expressed in the argument; the second is a circumstance on which that judgment is based.
 Easy to eliminate.

jabhatta2 · Answer

Hello experts --  GMATNinja ,  gmat1393 ,  GMATNinjaTwo ,  nightblade354 ,  iamsiddharthkapoor

Per the guide, it is said BF2 is the conclusion of the argument

Just wondering if you agree with this ?

When i read this argument -- i thought the conclusion was NOT BF2 but rather unsaid

BF2 seemed to me a premise towards a unsaid conclusion (In my mind -- unsaid conclusion was, the popular view that mathematicians are antisocial loners was indeed incorrect and BF2 was a premise instead)

sgaaa · Answer

The second boldface says "mathematicians actually form a tight-knit community." This is a generalization because it cannot be true for ALL mathematicians. Instead, the author means to suggest that in general mathematicians form a tight-knit community. This is made more clear by the fact that Ghosh, the mathematician in question, is NOT part of a tight-knit community. Hence, it would not make sense to declare as fact the idea that all mathematicians form a community.

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

(A) The first is an observation the author makes to illustrate a social pattern; the second is a generalization of that pattern.
 It is not a generalization of the same pattern but rather counterstating of what the people think

(B) The first is evidence in favor of the popular view expressed in the argument;the second is a brief restatement of that view.
 first half id true to an extend however the second half is not just a restatement but rather countering this trend

(C) The first is a specific example of a generalization that the author contradicts;the second is a reiteration of that generalization.
 Author is not condracting but rather stating that the generalization is not correct

(D) The first is a specific counterexample to a generalization that the author asserts;the second is that generalization.
 This nails down the argument the author wanted to express

(E) The first is a judgment that counters the primary assertion expressed in the argument; the second is a circumstance on which that judgment is based
 Completely out without a question this doesn't make sense  
 Hence IMO D

IanStewart · Answer

I don't really like D as an answer here, though it's better than the rest. In informal language, when we talk about a "generalization", we're describing a conclusion that is unfair or false (as wiktionary says, "an oversimplified or exaggerated conception, opinion, or image of the members of a group"). And the language in this question is so informal (some of it even ungrammatical) that I would interpret "generalization" to have its common meaning. The only generalization of this type in the context of the argument is the "view that mathematicians are antisocial loners", but answer D instead describes the "mathematicians form a community" as the "generalization" in the stem.

"Generalization" can have a more formal meaning in logic -- it can refer to a conclusion reached by generalizing from examples. But we can't characterize the phrase "mathematicians clearly form a tightly knit community" as a generalization under that definition either, because we don't know how the author reached that conclusion. So I don't think D is precisely characterizing the roles of the bolded portions. The first portion should instead be characterized as "a generalization the author disputes".

And if this were a real GMAT question, the passage would be based on actual facts, but this passage is completely fictional.

ish__02 · Answer

Hi, How can the conclusion be considered as generalization. From my understanding premise can have generalization. How do we identify generalization in any question.

ashutosh_73 · Answer

Hi  ish__02  Generalization in CR may go from specific to general case:

Smokers of a small town XYZ tend to have cancer , hence smokers in general will suffer from cancer.

People of service based country XYZ are insomaniacs, hence service industry people are insomaniacs

VerbalBot · Answer

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Mathematician: Recently, Zubin Ghosh made headlines when he was recogn

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Mathematician: Recently, Zubin Ghosh made headlines when he was recogn

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