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  
   Sentence Correction Butler  
   Reading Comprehension Butler  
   Integrated Reasoning Butler

Shwarma · Answer

Option D
Conclusion:
High-finance folks ( analogy to true entrepreneurs) value information ( analogy to knowledge of opportunity).
But the assumption is that the information is useful or leads to opportunity else it's useless.

Nidzo · Answer

A. Gold and platinum are not the most valuable commodities. 
 The author does not assume this. The author states that to many gold and platinum are the most valuable, while to a true entrepreneur are less valuable than knowledge of opportunities.

B. Entrepreneurs are not like most people. 
 This answer choice presents a broad comparison which is not the assumption that the author makes. The author only mentions a specific difference between "most people" and "entrepreneurs" - what each finds the most valuable commodity.

C. The value of information is incalculably high. 
 Nothing in the passage suggests that the author assumes this. The author merely states that to most gold and platinum are the most valusable commodities, while knowledge of opportunities is the most valuable to entrepreneurs. There is no assumption on the calculability of the value of information.

D. Information about business opportunities is accurate and leads to increased wealth. 
 If the information were to not be accurate and not lead to increased wealth, then the author's entire argument would not hold. Without the information being accurate and, inturn, leading to increased wealth then the information cannot be the most valuable commodity to an entrepreneur.

E. Only entrepreneurs feel that information is the most valuable commodity. 
 While the author does state that to entrepreneurs knowledge of opportunities is the most valuable commodity, the author does not allude to entrepreneurs being the only ones who feel that this is the case.

ANSWER D

unraveled · Answer

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. - WRONG. More of an inference.

B. Entrepreneurs are  not like most people . - WRONG. Irrelevant.

C. The value of information  is incalculably high . - WRONG. So what.!!! Neutral case.

D. Information about business opportunities  is accurate and leads to increased wealth . - CORRECT. If not so then conclusion falters.
 
E.  Only entrepreneurs feel  that information is the most valuable commodity. - WRONG. Not necessarily true. Also, it has no impact on the conclusion.

IMO Answer D.

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).

gabgol1998 · Answer

It makes sense that the information should be accurate to access the nature of a opportunity, otherwise we couldn't tell whether a opportunity is valuable or not, hence the information couldn't be the most valuable commodity. But the statement does not tell anything about the need for increased wealth. What if something is valuable only because it maintains the wealth or just increase for a fleeting moment? We don't need the assumption that something (information) is valuable because it leads to increased wealth.

If gold and platinium are the most valuable commodities, then we can't state that information is the most valuable commodity.

Letter A is the best fit for this question.

If gold and platinium are the most valuable commodities, then we can't state that information is the most valuable commodity.

Letter A is the best fit for this question.

Axwe7 · Answer

Wouldn't negation of B prove that B is the answer?

If you negate B, it destroys the conclusion.

I.e., if entrepreneurs are 'like most people'.

rak08 · Answer

I fell for the same trap however,

1. it says "true" entrepreneurs and not just any/every entrepreneur
2. if say true entrepreneurs are like most people YET THEY FIND KNOWLEDGE the most valuable --> it strengthens the conl. that info is the most valuable

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