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nitesh50
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 31 Oct 2018, 02:02
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Hi Karishma.

Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissance oil paintings to deteriorate physically when subject to climatic changes have found that the oil paint used in these paintings actually adjusts to these changes well. The restorers therefore hypothesize that it is a layer of material called gesso, which is under the paint, that causes the deterioration.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the restorers’ hypothesis?

(A) Renaissance oil paintings with a thin layer of gesso are less likely to show deterioration in response to climatic changes than those with a thicker layer.

(B) Renaissance oil paintings are often painted on wooden panels, which swell when humidity increases and contract when it declines.

(C) Oil paint expands and contracts readily in response to changes in temperature, but it absorbs little water and so is little affected by changes in humidity.

(D) An especially hard and nonabsorbent type of gesso was the raw material for moldings on the frames of Renaissance oil paintings.

(E) Gesso layers applied by Renaissance painters typically consisted of a coarse base layer onto which several increasingly fine-grained layers were applied.




We could condense down the argument to:

Conclusion:
Gesso Causes deterioration.

Premise:
Oil paint does not react to Changes in Temperature.


When I was pre-thinking:

I saw the Logical gap : Gesso doesnot react to changes in temperate and
since it was a causality: NO cause No effect will also strength the argument.

But I have read in forums that in arguments, which involve causation, can also strengthed by saying C does not cause B.


My question: In this specific question, since the conclusion/hypothesis is related to a general fact, even if we were to say that some other factor has not caused deterioration, I feel that the conclusion will not be strengthed. Gesso could still may or may not have caused deterioation.


On the other hand if it said that Gesso caused the deterioration in some paintings, then definitely some other factor objection will make sense.

Can you please tell me whether this way of approach is correct?

Regards
Nitesh

The main thing about strengthen is this - it makes the conclusion MORE LIKELY. It does not establish the conclusion beyond doubt.

So the situation of why a painting deteriorates can be seen like this:
- Oil paints don't deteriorate.

Conclusion - we hypothesize that Gesso deteriorates.

But what if something else deteriorates instead? Say, we come to know that the canvass used in those days deteriorates with climatic changes. Then that puts a doubt in our mind about the hypothesis, right? Hmm, so the canvass doesn't hold well. So it is possible that we are betting on the wrong thing. Note that Gesso may also deteriorate and our hypothesis may still be correct but this information makes us doubt our hypothesis.
Similarly, if we find out that canvass holds well for centuries under any climatic conditions. Then that makes it "more likely" that we are right. To be certain, we need to eliminate ALL other possibilities but eliminating one possibility brings us closer to our conclusion. Hence, it does strengthen our conclusion.
Show more




Hi Karishma
Thank you for your Reply.

So I think I understand what you mean here. But there are some questions in which this concept does not work.

From what you have said: What we need to do is to cast a doubt on the causality. If we say some other factor causes the effect, then we are doubting whether the actual factor caused the effect. the original factor still could, but now we are definitely doubting it.


Psychologist: In a study, researchers gave 100 volunteers a psychological questionnaire designed to measure their self-esteem. The researchers then asked each volunteer to rate the strength of his or her own social skills. The volunteers with the highest levels of self-esteem consistently rated themselves as having much better social skills than did the volunteers with moderate levels. This suggests that attaining an exceptionally high level of self-esteem greatly improves one’s social skills.

The psychologist’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which of the following grounds?

B. It takes for granted that the volunteers with the highest levels of self-esteem had better social skills than did the other volunteers, even before the former volunteers had attained their high levels of self-esteem.


E. It overlooks the possibility that factors other than level of self-esteem may be of much greater importance in determining the strength of one’s social skills.


These are the two options that have troubled me the most in this question.
Argument Analysis:
Attaining high level of self esteem improves Social skill's
Cause: Self esteem
Effect: Social skills

Now option E states that there are factors other than self esteem that determine the strength of social skills i.e improves social skills.
So here also, Self esteem may be true, we can still say that we can doubt the effect just as in the above case?
Hopefully you can see where am I confused!

Really appreciate the Help!
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 31 Oct 2018, 04:52
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Hi Karishma
Thank you for your Reply.

So I think I understand what you mean here. But there are some questions in which this concept does not work.

From what you have said: What we need to do is to cast a doubt on the causality. If we say some other factor causes the effect, then we are doubting whether the actual factor caused the effect. the original factor still could, but now we are definitely doubting it.


Psychologist: In a study, researchers gave 100 volunteers a psychological questionnaire designed to measure their self-esteem. The researchers then asked each volunteer to rate the strength of his or her own social skills. The volunteers with the highest levels of self-esteem consistently rated themselves as having much better social skills than did the volunteers with moderate levels. This suggests that attaining an exceptionally high level of self-esteem greatly improves one’s social skills.

The psychologist’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which of the following grounds?

B. It takes for granted that the volunteers with the highest levels of self-esteem had better social skills than did the other volunteers, even before the former volunteers had attained their high levels of self-esteem.


E. It overlooks the possibility that factors other than level of self-esteem may be of much greater importance in determining the strength of one’s social skills.


These are the two options that have troubled me the most in this question.
Argument Analysis:
Attaining high level of self esteem improves Social skill's
Cause: Self esteem
Effect: Social skills

Now option E states that there are factors other than self esteem that determine the strength of social skills i.e improves social skills.
So here also, Self esteem may be true, we can still say that we can doubt the effect just as in the above case?
Hopefully you can see where am I confused!

Really appreciate the Help!
Show more

Yes, good question and the difference is subtle.

Original question:
Given: B (oil paints) is not the cause of A (degradation)
Hypothesise: C (Gesso) must be the cause of A
Out of other 3 elements C, D and E in the picture, we picked up C and said that that must be the cause of A.
We can add some strength to it by saying D is not the cause of A.


This Ques:
Given: A (High self esteem) and own perception of B (better social skills) occur together.
Hypothesise: A causes B

This argument is vulnerable to what problem? That we are assuming a causation between A and B whereas A and "own perception" of B occur together. A could be causing people to have an unreal perception of their B.
Our argument is not bothered about any other causes C/D/E... etc. It doesn't say that C does not cause B. It is possible that C, D and E cause B too. Mind you, this is a different question. We are looking for a problem in our argument. Our argument deals with the relation between A and B incorrectly and that is the problem with it. It doesn't bother about anything else.
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 31 Oct 2018, 04:59
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Hi Karishma.

Art restorers who have been studying the factors that cause Renaissance oil paintings to deteriorate physically when subject to climatic changes have found that the oil paint used in these paintings actually adjusts to these changes well. The restorers therefore hypothesize that it is a layer of material called gesso, which is under the paint, that causes the deterioration.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the restorers’ hypothesis?

(A) Renaissance oil paintings with a thin layer of gesso are less likely to show deterioration in response to climatic changes than those with a thicker layer.

(B) Renaissance oil paintings are often painted on wooden panels, which swell when humidity increases and contract when it declines.

(C) Oil paint expands and contracts readily in response to changes in temperature, but it absorbs little water and so is little affected by changes in humidity.

(D) An especially hard and nonabsorbent type of gesso was the raw material for moldings on the frames of Renaissance oil paintings.

(E) Gesso layers applied by Renaissance painters typically consisted of a coarse base layer onto which several increasingly fine-grained layers were applied.




We could condense down the argument to:

Conclusion:
Gesso Causes deterioration.

Premise:
Oil paint does not react to Changes in Temperature.


When I was pre-thinking:

I saw the Logical gap : Gesso doesnot react to changes in temperate and
since it was a causality: NO cause No effect will also strength the argument.

But I have read in forums that in arguments, which involve causation, can also strengthed by saying C does not cause B.


My question: In this specific question, since the conclusion/hypothesis is related to a general fact, even if we were to say that some other factor has not caused deterioration, I feel that the conclusion will not be strengthed. Gesso could still may or may not have caused deterioation.


On the other hand if it said that Gesso caused the deterioration in some paintings, then definitely some other factor objection will make sense.

Can you please tell me whether this way of approach is correct?

Regards
Nitesh

The main thing about strengthen is this - it makes the conclusion MORE LIKELY. It does not establish the conclusion beyond doubt.

So the situation of why a painting deteriorates can be seen like this:
- Oil paints don't deteriorate.

Conclusion - we hypothesize that Gesso deteriorates.

But what if something else deteriorates instead? Say, we come to know that the canvass used in those days deteriorates with climatic changes. Then that puts a doubt in our mind about the hypothesis, right? Hmm, so the canvass doesn't hold well. So it is possible that we are betting on the wrong thing. Note that Gesso may also deteriorate and our hypothesis may still be correct but this information makes us doubt our hypothesis.
Similarly, if we find out that canvass holds well for centuries under any climatic conditions. Then that makes it "more likely" that we are right. To be certain, we need to eliminate ALL other possibilities but eliminating one possibility brings us closer to our conclusion. Hence, it does strengthen our conclusion.




Hi Karishma
Thank you for your Reply.

So I think I understand what you mean here. But there are some questions in which this concept does not work.

From what you have said: What we need to do is to cast a doubt on the causality. If we say some other factor causes the effect, then we are doubting whether the actual factor caused the effect. the original factor still could, but now we are definitely doubting it.


Psychologist: In a study, researchers gave 100 volunteers a psychological questionnaire designed to measure their self-esteem. The researchers then asked each volunteer to rate the strength of his or her own social skills. The volunteers with the highest levels of self-esteem consistently rated themselves as having much better social skills than did the volunteers with moderate levels. This suggests that attaining an exceptionally high level of self-esteem greatly improves one’s social skills.

The psychologist’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which of the following grounds?

B. It takes for granted that the volunteers with the highest levels of self-esteem had better social skills than did the other volunteers, even before the former volunteers had attained their high levels of self-esteem.


E. It overlooks the possibility that factors other than level of self-esteem may be of much greater importance in determining the strength of one’s social skills.


These are the two options that have troubled me the most in this question.
Argument Analysis:
Attaining high level of self esteem improves Social skill's
Cause: Self esteem
Effect: Social skills

Now option E states that there are factors other than self esteem that determine the strength of social skills i.e improves social skills.
So here also, Self esteem may be true, we can still say that we can doubt the effect just as in the above case?
Hopefully you can see where am I confused!

Really appreciate the Help!
Show more

As for option (B), that is just outright incorrect. It does not assume that people had better social skills even before they had high levels of self esteem. In fact it says that self esteem makes people have better social skills. So apparently, initially these people's social skills were nothing to write home about but once they achieved high level of self esteem, it caused better social skills.
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 01 Nov 2018, 10:40
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https://gmatclub.com/forum/metal-rings- ... l#p2163852

"These techniques are sufficiently complex to make their independent development in both areas unlikely."

the passage says that independent ( on their own) development in BOTH the regions was unlikely .. now what i dont understand is that if author is saying development was unlikely in both areas then how come is he saying that Equads knew the technique?? i mean did he learn from somewhere else??? because could NOT develop independently... BUt the author says both the regions coudl not develop independently.. this is really confusing me...please clarify,,, thankyou
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 02 Nov 2018, 07:36
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https://gmatclub.com/forum/metal-rings-recently-excavated-from-seventh-century-settlements-in-the-20799.html#p2163852

"These techniques are sufficiently complex to make their independent development in both areas unlikely."

the passage says that independent ( on their own) development in BOTH the regions was unlikely .. now what i dont understand is that if author is saying development was unlikely in both areas then how come is he saying that Equads knew the technique?? i mean did he learn from somewhere else??? because could NOT develop independently... BUt the author says both the regions coudl not develop independently.. this is really confusing me...please clarify,,, thankyou
Show more


Let's say there is a dish made using 25 ingredients and some complex techniques. You eat the dish in a restaurant in Sweden. After a week, you go to Los Angeles and you eat the same dish there too.
What would you think? That one of them learned it from the other, right? It is very unlikely that each restaurant developed the same dish independently. Out of 1000s of ingredients, how probable is it that both chose the exact 20 and used each in exactly the same way to get the same result independently of each other? One of the restaurants must have come up with the dish, then a chef from another restaurant must have visited and learned how to make it and then made in his own restaurant too.

That is what the argument is saying - it is too complex. So Mexicans must have learned from Ecuadorians who must have come up with it (since in Ecuador, those techniques were being used before 7th century too)
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 02 Nov 2018, 08:17
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VeritasKarishma

Thank you for the elaborate explanation... Now I understood that the argument said that the mexicans could not develop the technique on their own and had to learn... What I thought was if the line mentioned " unlikely in both independently" ,then how come equads know the technique... Now I understood that the argument means to say "either one of them knows the technique and not both"

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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 05 Nov 2018, 06:51
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Initially I was unable to prethink I jumped to options directly. Now I am able to do some prethinking but I cannot relate it to the answer choices in some questions
How can I improve that ?
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 06 Nov 2018, 06:39
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Initially I was unable to prethink I jumped to options directly. Now I am able to do some prethinking but I cannot relate it to the answer choices in some questions
How can I improve that ?
Show more

Pre-thinking is useful though a bit over rated. It sometimes helps you keep a tight control on what is relevant and what may not be. Often, when you read an argument, you are able to see gaps in logic, places where the author jumps to conclusion without providing any valid evidence, where you see that multiple explanations are possible etc. More often that not, you shouldn't really be allotting time to "pre-thinking" per se. It is a part of trying to understand what the argument is saying. When you read the argument, you rephrase it in your words - ok, so this is what the author wants to say and this is the data he gives for that. But hey, he doesn't talk about this, this is what is missing or what we need is some reason to justify why this happens etc. If nothing comes to mind immediately, there is not a moment to waste. The options will tell you exactly what is missing and what is needed.

The point is that after doing N number of CR questions, you automatically begin to speculate the kind of question that is coming up and/or what the correct option may say. It is a natural progression and you don't need to stress out about it. Try to rephrase the argument in your own words and evaluate how good or bad the logic is. Thereafter, go to the options.

Here are some examples of how you break down arguments:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/press-secret ... rethinking
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-gandania- ... rethinking
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-general-j ... rethinking
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 06 Nov 2018, 07:23
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teaserbae
VeritasKarishma
Initially I was unable to prethink I jumped to options directly. Now I am able to do some prethinking but I cannot relate it to the answer choices in some questions
How can I improve that ?

Pre-thinking is useful though a bit over rated. It sometimes helps you keep a tight control on what is relevant and what may not be. Often, when you read an argument, you are able to see gaps in logic, places where the author jumps to conclusion without providing any valid evidence, where you see that multiple explanations are possible etc. More often that not, you shouldn't really be allotting time to "pre-thinking" per se. It is a part of trying to understand what the argument is saying. When you read the argument, you rephrase it in your words - ok, so this is what the author wants to say and this is the data he gives for that. But hey, he doesn't talk about this, this is what is missing or what we need is some reason to justify why this happens etc. If nothing comes to mind immediately, there is not a moment to waste. The options will tell you exactly what is missing and what is needed.

The point is that after doing N number of CR questions, you automatically begin to speculate the kind of question that is coming up and/or what the correct option may say. It is a natural progression and you don't need to stress out about it. Try to rephrase the argument in your own words and evaluate how good or bad the logic is. Thereafter, go to the options.

Here are some examples of how you break down arguments:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/press-secret ... rethinking
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-gandania- ... rethinking
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-general-j ... rethinking
Show more

Thanks you for your reply VeritasKarishma
I was able to solve the first two questions but couldn't solve the third one
In third one I was unable to figure out what I actually need to strenghtened but after reading your explaination I understood it.
Also you mentioned regarding the speculation of the kind of questions I am still unable to do that though I have attempted over hundred questions can you please brief me on that
Moreover my accuracy on sub 600 is 95%
But above 600 it is reduced to 50% how can I improve my accuracy ?
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 06 Nov 2018, 15:03
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Hello VeritasKarishma

Although came up with the option C.... but its more a hunch. On review more I am trying to determine why the other's are wrong , more my thoughts are getting overlapped. It would be great if you have a moment to help me out .

https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-two-year-s ... 68688.html

Thanks in appreciation.
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 06 Nov 2018, 16:29
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Hello Karishma,

Thanks a lot for your tips. It was very helpful for me during the exam. I gave the GMAT recently and score a V44. Towards the end, I was completely baffled by 3 CR questions which I couldn’t get comprehend even though I spent 3-4 mins on each (thanks to my speed in SC and RC).

Maybe you can provide some tips for guessing in such scenarios? I am sure if I had gotten those questions right I might have score V46/V48 :(


Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 06 Nov 2018, 22:17
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HI Karishma

Thanks a lot of taking this initiative.
I am sure the whole community is as glad as me!!

SO I have posted a question in response to your reply in this question.
Kindly have a look!

https://gmatclub.com/forum/literary-cri ... l#p2167053

Regards
Nitesh
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 09 Nov 2018, 03:48
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Hello VeritasKarishma

Please visit the GMAT club's CR Butler project and enlighten the GC users with your explanations.

Thanks!
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 09 Nov 2018, 06:09
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Sorry guys, have not been responding to queries since I am at home for Diwali. I will try to reply to all by the end of the weekend.
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 09 Nov 2018, 06:25
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teaserbae
VeritasKarishma
Initially I was unable to prethink I jumped to options directly. Now I am able to do some prethinking but I cannot relate it to the answer choices in some questions
How can I improve that ?

Pre-thinking is useful though a bit over rated. It sometimes helps you keep a tight control on what is relevant and what may not be. Often, when you read an argument, you are able to see gaps in logic, places where the author jumps to conclusion without providing any valid evidence, where you see that multiple explanations are possible etc. More often that not, you shouldn't really be allotting time to "pre-thinking" per se. It is a part of trying to understand what the argument is saying. When you read the argument, you rephrase it in your words - ok, so this is what the author wants to say and this is the data he gives for that. But hey, he doesn't talk about this, this is what is missing or what we need is some reason to justify why this happens etc. If nothing comes to mind immediately, there is not a moment to waste. The options will tell you exactly what is missing and what is needed.

The point is that after doing N number of CR questions, you automatically begin to speculate the kind of question that is coming up and/or what the correct option may say. It is a natural progression and you don't need to stress out about it. Try to rephrase the argument in your own words and evaluate how good or bad the logic is. Thereafter, go to the options.

Here are some examples of how you break down arguments:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/press-secret ... rethinking
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-gandania- ... rethinking
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-general-j ... rethinking

Thanks you for your reply VeritasKarishma
I was able to solve the first two questions but couldn't solve the third one
In third one I was unable to figure out what I actually need to strenghtened but after reading your explaination I understood it.
Also you mentioned regarding the speculation of the kind of questions I am still unable to do that though I have attempted over hundred questions can you please brief me on that
Moreover my accuracy on sub 600 is 95%
But above 600 it is reduced to 50% how can I improve my accuracy ?
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teaserbae,

Here is the problem - how do you do questions? It is not about how many right answers you get but about how much you learn from each question. How much you takeaway for subsequent questions.
Pick 5 official questions. If you like to solve in a timed manner, do it. Once done, pick each question one by one. Read the argument thoroughly. Every word there is for a purpose. Understand exactly what the argument is saying and exactly what it is asking. Then look for the option that fills the gap between what is given and what is asked. Look for expert replies to the question in which he/she explains the important difference between the right and wrong options. Move on to the next question only after you are fully convinced with the answer to the current one.
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 10 Nov 2018, 00:48
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u1983
Hello VeritasKarishma

Although came up with the option C.... but its more a hunch. On review more I am trying to determine why the other's are wrong , more my thoughts are getting overlapped. It would be great if you have a moment to help me out .

https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-two-year-s ... 68688.html

Thanks in appreciation.
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Take a look: https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-two-year-s ... l#p2169108
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 10 Nov 2018, 01:02
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amazingguy
Hello Karishma,

Thanks a lot for your tips. It was very helpful for me during the exam. I gave the GMAT recently and score a V44. Towards the end, I was completely baffled by 3 CR questions which I couldn’t get comprehend even though I spent 3-4 mins on each (thanks to my speed in SC and RC).

Maybe you can provide some tips for guessing in such scenarios? I am sure if I had gotten those questions right I might have score V46/V48 :(


Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum mobile app
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Hey amazingguy,

That's a great score! V44 and V46 aren't different so don't worry about it at all.
To be honest, I am really intrigued. We are not allowed to discuss any actual GMAT questions so I can't ask you for the details on those 3 questions but it is certainly odd that you were baffled by them inspite of being at the 44 level. I would have loved to take a look at them. That said, do let me know the type of questions they were - strengthen/weaken/... etc.

What you are asking is - "how to guess on difficult CR questions?"
The answer depends on what kind of question you are looking at. There are certain things that can help us guess if we are really lost on a CR question. In an inference question, you can eliminate all options which seem to be introducing some new information. On the other hand, a strengthen/weaken question needs new information. If the argument doesn't use extreme language (such as all people who ... have ... ), you can eliminate options using extreme language (words such as all, none etc appear in such options). Note that these are just some tips to guess, not solve the question. The probability of extreme conditions holding in real life examples is low and hence we can bet on it.
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 10 Nov 2018, 01:24
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nitesh50
HI Karishma

Thanks a lot of taking this initiative.
I am sure the whole community is as glad as me!!

SO I have posted a question in response to your reply in this question.
Kindly have a look!

https://gmatclub.com/forum/literary-cri ... l#p2167053

Regards
Nitesh
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Hey Nitesh,

Check here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/literary-cri ... l#p2169124

Hope this resolves your problem. Let me know if you still have some doubts.
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 10 Nov 2018, 01:27
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gmat1393
Hello VeritasKarishma

Please visit the GMAT club's CR Butler project and enlighten the GC users with your explanations.

Thanks!
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Hey gmat1393,

Thank you for directing me to that link. I will provide my explanations to the posted questions.
Cheers!
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Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR 10 Nov 2018, 14:02
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VeritasKarishma
Take a look: https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-two-year-s ... l#p2169108
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Thank you so much ...... it’s very clear now ..... thanks again for the help ?

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