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ChiranjeevSingh
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20 Oct 2022, 19:24
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Example 1
Raj and Ramesh are my students. While recently introducing them to some people, I said that I enjoy teaching Ramesh.
Raj got a little upset.
He asked me why I don’t enjoy teaching him.
I told him that his question was unfounded. I enjoy teaching him, I told him.
Why did Raj think that I do not enjoy teaching him?
Because while I was introducing them, I said that I enjoy teaching Ramesh but I didn’t say so about Raj.
Raj thought that the reason I didn’t say so about Raj was that I don’t enjoy teaching him.
However, there could be other reasons I didn’t say so about Raj. For example, I expected people to have doubts about whether I enjoy teaching Ramesh, but I didn’t expect them to have doubts about whether I enjoy teaching Raj. So, I felt a need to clarify that I do enjoy teaching Ramesh.
My saying that I enjoy teaching Ramesh didn’t necessarily mean that I don’t enjoy teaching Raj.
While my not enjoying teaching Raj was an open possibility, that I don’t enjoy teaching Raj cannot be inferred from my statements.
This is the distinction I want to highlight in this article.
We need to be able to differentiate between:
1. What is possible or what could be the case, given the statement
2. What is definitely the case or what can be inferred from the statement
I have seen many students confuse these two.
Example 2
Let’s take another example:
I come out of a room and remark that some people in the room are mad.
You may think, “CJ says ‘some’ people are mad. Then, some others must not be mad.”
You deduce from my statement that some people in the room are not mad.
You think, “If all people in the room were mad, why would CJ say some people are mad? Therefore, some people must be not mad.”
That’s an incorrect deduction.
The reason I said “some people are mad” could be that I met only some people. I didn’t meet others. So, I couldn’t comment on all the people in the room.
Thus, my saying that some people are mad doesn’t mean that I came across some non-mad people.
Therefore, “some people are not mad” cannot be deduced or inferred from my statement. My statement means just that some people are mad. Even if all people are mad, my statement is still true since some people are still mad. [Are you going mad, by the way, reading all this mad mad thing? 🙂]
My statement allows the possibility that some people are not mad. However, it’s just a possibility, not something we can be sure about.
Example 3
The countries that are close to the equator have good daylight visibility.
Given the above statement, what can we say about the countries that are far from the equator?
Nothing.
Some people think that we can say that the countries that are far from the equator do not have good daylight visibility.
However, we cannot say this. This is an open possibility. However, it is also possible that the countries that are far from the equator have good or even great daylight visibility.
Again, some people may think, “if all countries had good daylight visibility, why would the author talk just about the countries that are close to the equator?”
One reason could be that the author wants to focus only on the countries that are close to the equator. There could be other reasons too.
The point is that from the statement about the countries close to the equator, we cannot infer anything about the countries that are far from the equator.
Example 4 - For husbands
Do you compliment your wife daily?
If yes, what are you trying to prove? You love making lives difficult for other married men?! You may skip this example.
If no, this example is about you.
What happens on the day you compliment your wife?
You say, “you look really great in this dress,” and expect her to be happy and not find another reason to scold you today.
However.
However, she says, “What do you mean? I don’t look great in other dresses?”
Oh no.
You stumble, “I didn’t mean that.”
“You didn’t mean what?”
“I mean you look great in all dresses.”
“Then, why did you say this today and not yesterday or day before?”
Well, your wife is making the mistake that this article is about. While the idea “your wife doesn’t look great in other dresses” is a possibility, we cannot deduce this idea from the given context. The reason you are complimenting your wife today could be that you’re paying more attention today. (Of course, don’t say this to your wife. “Oh! You don’t even pay attention to me on other days! Wow!”)
Takeaway
Was this article useful for you?
What is your takeaway from this article?
I’d love to hear from you in the replies to this post.
Raj and Ramesh are my students. While recently introducing them to some people, I said that I enjoy teaching Ramesh.
Raj got a little upset.
He asked me why I don’t enjoy teaching him.
I told him that his question was unfounded. I enjoy teaching him, I told him.
Why did Raj think that I do not enjoy teaching him?
Because while I was introducing them, I said that I enjoy teaching Ramesh but I didn’t say so about Raj.
Raj thought that the reason I didn’t say so about Raj was that I don’t enjoy teaching him.
However, there could be other reasons I didn’t say so about Raj. For example, I expected people to have doubts about whether I enjoy teaching Ramesh, but I didn’t expect them to have doubts about whether I enjoy teaching Raj. So, I felt a need to clarify that I do enjoy teaching Ramesh.
My saying that I enjoy teaching Ramesh didn’t necessarily mean that I don’t enjoy teaching Raj.
While my not enjoying teaching Raj was an open possibility, that I don’t enjoy teaching Raj cannot be inferred from my statements.
This is the distinction I want to highlight in this article.
We need to be able to differentiate between:
1. What is possible or what could be the case, given the statement
2. What is definitely the case or what can be inferred from the statement
I have seen many students confuse these two.
Example 2
Let’s take another example:
I come out of a room and remark that some people in the room are mad.
You may think, “CJ says ‘some’ people are mad. Then, some others must not be mad.”
You deduce from my statement that some people in the room are not mad.
You think, “If all people in the room were mad, why would CJ say some people are mad? Therefore, some people must be not mad.”
That’s an incorrect deduction.
The reason I said “some people are mad” could be that I met only some people. I didn’t meet others. So, I couldn’t comment on all the people in the room.
Thus, my saying that some people are mad doesn’t mean that I came across some non-mad people.
Therefore, “some people are not mad” cannot be deduced or inferred from my statement. My statement means just that some people are mad. Even if all people are mad, my statement is still true since some people are still mad. [Are you going mad, by the way, reading all this mad mad thing? 🙂]
My statement allows the possibility that some people are not mad. However, it’s just a possibility, not something we can be sure about.
Example 3
The countries that are close to the equator have good daylight visibility.
Given the above statement, what can we say about the countries that are far from the equator?
Nothing.
Some people think that we can say that the countries that are far from the equator do not have good daylight visibility.
However, we cannot say this. This is an open possibility. However, it is also possible that the countries that are far from the equator have good or even great daylight visibility.
Again, some people may think, “if all countries had good daylight visibility, why would the author talk just about the countries that are close to the equator?”
One reason could be that the author wants to focus only on the countries that are close to the equator. There could be other reasons too.
The point is that from the statement about the countries close to the equator, we cannot infer anything about the countries that are far from the equator.
Example 4 - For husbands
Do you compliment your wife daily?
If yes, what are you trying to prove? You love making lives difficult for other married men?! You may skip this example.
If no, this example is about you.
What happens on the day you compliment your wife?
You say, “you look really great in this dress,” and expect her to be happy and not find another reason to scold you today.
However.
However, she says, “What do you mean? I don’t look great in other dresses?”
Oh no.
You stumble, “I didn’t mean that.”
“You didn’t mean what?”
“I mean you look great in all dresses.”
“Then, why did you say this today and not yesterday or day before?”
Well, your wife is making the mistake that this article is about. While the idea “your wife doesn’t look great in other dresses” is a possibility, we cannot deduce this idea from the given context. The reason you are complimenting your wife today could be that you’re paying more attention today. (Of course, don’t say this to your wife. “Oh! You don’t even pay attention to me on other days! Wow!”)
Takeaway
Was this article useful for you?
What is your takeaway from this article?
I’d love to hear from you in the replies to this post.
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05 Apr 2024, 02:55
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Nice Article, ChiranjeevSingh. It was an interesting read.
I had a question about the following example:
It's just CJ's POV which may not necessarily be a fact. Should we go this deep when reading statements in the GMAT?
I had a question about the following example:
ChiranjeevSingh
Is it also fair to deduce that CJ remarking that some people in the room are mad may not factually mean that some person in the room are mad? It maybe that no one in the room is mad.
It's just CJ's POV which may not necessarily be a fact. Should we go this deep when reading statements in the GMAT?
ChiranjeevSingh
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05 Apr 2024, 03:53
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SlowTortoise
That's critical thinking, not comprehension.
Comprehension is about understanding what the author says. Critical thinking is about evaluating or questioning it.
Is critical thinking fine? Of course. Do we need to critically evaluate all the time? I don't think so.
