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Must be True Question Confusion 28 Dec 2015, 13:38
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Dear Experts,

After going through OG , Powerscore Bible for CR and plethora of questions available on Gmatclub, one confusion always acts as hindrance.

Confusion: Some of the answer choices are exact facts that are mentioned in Stimulus , and along with these answer choices one's with directly stated facts , there exists one another answer choice which is an inference or and deduction from the stimulus.

So as per Powerscore bible must be true questions should not take into account new or outside information , but following this strategy in the above mentioned scenario leads to incorrect answer as inference deduced usually contains something new which is not part of stimulus.

What needs to done in such questions?

Also there is no stated markers which help to distinguish when we need to go for inference and when for facts mentioned in stimulus?

Although Must be true and Inference are distinguished as two different types in Powerscore, but question stems doesn't make it clear which one of these is relevant for that particular question?

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Must be True Question Confusion 28 Dec 2015, 19:23
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Dear Experts,

After going through OG , Powerscore Bible for CR and plethora of questions available on Gmatclub, one confusion always acts as hindrance.

Confusion: Some of the answer choices are exact facts that are mentioned in Stimulus , and along with these answer choices one's with directly stated facts , there exists one another answer choice which is an inference or and deduction from the stimulus.

So as per Powerscore bible must be true questions should not take into account new or outside information , but following this strategy in the above mentioned scenario leads to incorrect answer as inference deduced usually contains something new which is not part of stimulus.

What needs to done in such questions?

Also there is no stated markers which help to distinguish when we need to go for inference and when for facts mentioned in stimulus?

Although Must be true and Inference are distinguished as two different types in Powerscore, but question stems doesn't make it clear which one of these is relevant for that particular question?
Show more

You may have to ask the Q with some examples for a suitable reply..
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Must be True Question Confusion 28 Dec 2015, 19:24
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editorial-the-government-claims-that-the-country-s-nuclear-135447.html

i came across this Q
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Must be True Question Confusion 28 Dec 2015, 19:37
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https://gmatclub.com/forum/editorial-the-government-claims-that-the-country-s-nuclear-135447.html

i came across this Q
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Hi,
Editorial: The government claims that the country's nuclear power plants are entirely safe and hence that the public's fear of nuclear accidents at these plants is groundless. The government also contends that its recent action to limit the nuclear industry's financial liability in the case of nuclear accidents at power plants is justified by the need to protect the nuclear industry from the threat of bankruptcy. But even the government says that unlimited liability poses such a threat only if injury claims can be sustained against the industry; and the government admits that for such claims to be sustained, injury must result from nuclear accident. The public's fear, therefore, is well founded.

If all the statements offered in support of the editorial's conclusion correctly describe the government's position, which one of the following must also be true on the basis of those statements?

a. The government's claim about the safety of the country's nuclear power plant is false.
b. The government's position on nuclear power plants is inconsistent.
c. The government misrepresented its reasons for acting to limit the nuclear industry's liability.
d. Unlimited financial liability in the case of nuclear accidents poses no threat to the financial security of the country's nuclear industry.
e. The only serious threat posed by a nuclear accident would be to the financial security of the nuclear industry.

as the requirement of reading anything other than what is given in Q for answering a "must be true" Q has been asked..
I will not touch why choices are wrong, but come to the correct choice..

the correct choice straight way comes out to be B..
b. The government's position on nuclear power plants is inconsistent...

the government on one hand has said that
1. the country's nuclear power plants are entirely safe and hence that the public's fear of nuclear accidents at these plants is groundless.

then in the same breadth it says
1.its recent action to limit the nuclear industry's financial liability in the case of nuclear accidents at power plants is justified by the need to protect the nuclear industry from the threat of bankruptcy.
this means there are chances of accidents and which means that the top statement cannot be completely true

thereafter it says.
1.even the government says that unlimited liability poses such a threat only if injury claims can be sustained against the industry; and the government admits that for such claims to be sustained, injury must result from nuclear accident.
Initially government says that there is a fear of financial liability, which is more genuine than the public's fear is .. But then agrees that the industry is liable for financial liability only when it is due to its own mistake..

so there has been inconsistencies in the views of the government..

Here the "must be true' Q is based only on the info provided in the Q and you do not have to assume anything"
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Must be True Question Confusion 30 Dec 2015, 06:23
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Thanks Chetan for such a prompt reply.

I hope the following question will clarify what Confusion I am talking about.

Last month OCF Inc, announced what it described as a unique new product: an adjustable computer workstation. Three days later Ergotech unveiled an almost identical product. The two companies claim that the similarities are coincidental and occurred because the designers independently reached the same solution to the same problem. The similarities are too fundamental to be mere coincidence, however. The two products not only look alike, but they also work alike. Both are oddly shaped with identically placed control panels with the same types of controls. Both allow the same types of adjustments and the same types of optional enhancements.

If all the above listed statements are correct, which one of the following can be inferred ?

(A) the two products have many characteristics in common
(B) ErgoTech must have copied the design of its new product from OCF’s design
(C) the similarities between the two products are not coincidental
(D) product designers sometimes reach the same solution to a given problem without consulting each other
(E) new products that at first appear to be unique are sometimes simply variations of other products

Here choice A states the facts that mentioned in the stimulus,
but Choice C is the correct answer as it provides the main point for the question.
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Must be True Question Confusion 30 Dec 2015, 19:34
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Thanks Chetan for such a prompt reply.

I hope the following question will clarify what Confusion I am talking about.

Last month OCF Inc, announced what it described as a unique new product: an adjustable computer workstation. Three days later Ergotech unveiled an almost identical product. The two companies claim that the similarities are coincidental and occurred because the designers independently reached the same solution to the same problem. The similarities are too fundamental to be mere coincidence, however. The two products not only look alike, but they also work alike. Both are oddly shaped with identically placed control panels with the same types of controls. Both allow the same types of adjustments and the same types of optional enhancements.

If all the above listed statements are correct, which one of the following can be inferred ?

(A) the two products have many characteristics in common
(B) ErgoTech must have copied the design of its new product from OCF’s design
(C) the similarities between the two products are not coincidental
(D) product designers sometimes reach the same solution to a given problem without consulting each other
(E) new products that at first appear to be unique are sometimes simply variations of other products

Here choice A states the facts that mentioned in the stimulus,
but Choice C is the correct answer as it provides the main point for the question.
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Hi,
In an inference Q, the right choice will always be the one which is supported by the main stem but not stated directly.
if you look at A, it is directly given as stated by you too..
Choice C too is mentioned, so it may be difficult to call C as an inference ...
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Must be True Question Confusion 02 Jan 2016, 05:05
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Thanks Chetan for such a prompt reply.

I hope the following question will clarify what Confusion I am talking about.

Last month OCF Inc, announced what it described as a unique new product: an adjustable computer workstation. Three days later Ergotech unveiled an almost identical product. The two companies claim that the similarities are coincidental and occurred because the designers independently reached the same solution to the same problem. The similarities are too fundamental to be mere coincidence, however. The two products not only look alike, but they also work alike. Both are oddly shaped with identically placed control panels with the same types of controls. Both allow the same types of adjustments and the same types of optional enhancements.

If all the above listed statements are correct, which one of the following can be inferred ?

(A) the two products have many characteristics in common
(B) ErgoTech must have copied the design of its new product from OCF’s design
(C) the similarities between the two products are not coincidental
(D) product designers sometimes reach the same solution to a given problem without consulting each other
(E) new products that at first appear to be unique are sometimes simply variations of other products

Here choice A states the facts that mentioned in the stimulus,
but Choice C is the correct answer as it provides the main point for the question.
Show more


I believe this is a Main Point Question that appeared on the real LSAT. tagged as: MP. October 2002 LSAT, Section #1, #2 on another site.

Moreover the question stem is 'distorted'. The original is: The main point of the argument is that

So, this is a sheer waste of time for those who are interested only in GMAT, including me, to discuss a twisted LSAT question.

Thanks.
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Must be True Question Confusion 06 Jul 2021, 13:24
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