Q22 - If one does not have enough information

[sgorginian]

I interpreted the stimulus to say "If you don't have enough info to make a decision, then do not make the decision only on the info you have. Instead, keep looking for additional info until you have enough to make an informed decision"

I chose (B) because it fits the principle but the book says (D). (B) says, don't just pursue a career until you have carefully considered all of the information. Don't just consider the pay, instead look at other things to help you make a better informed decision.

I was down to (B) and (D) and thought (B) was the best answer, can you please explain why (B) is not correct?

thank you,
Sevan

[noah]

You've correctly boiled-down the stimulus. And I agree that both (B) and (D) are attractive answers at first glance. I'd be interested in hearing what you think or thought the problem with (D) was.

When I compare (B) and (D), I notice that (D) states that the presently available information (personal experience with cars) is "inadequate", while (B) does not state that the presently available information is not sufficient. Perhaps financial compensation is enough information. (B) might be based on this principle: "Don't make a decision until you have ALL the information you can obtain, regardless of whether the information you do have is sufficient."

As for the other incorrect answers:

(A) is missing two components: making a decision and searching for more information.
(C) does not reference making a decision.
(E) starts well, but then "replaces" seeking more information with acknowledging that it is impossible to reach a decision.

Tell me if that doesn't clear it up.

[sgorginian]

Hey Noah - thank you for the information.

I am still a little not sure. I keep reading it over but something is not clicking. Can you see if my thought process is correct below?

To rephrase the stimulus again with additional inference in bold : "If you don't have enough information to make a good decision, then do not make a decision only on the information that you currently do have. Instead, keep looking for other information [that you do not have] until a good decision can be made"

Noah, what your saying is:

(B) says that the person already has all of the information and should not base his decision on one of the pieces of information that he already has. Rather he should look at the other pieces of information too that he already has.

(D) says that the person buying the car should not base his decision on just one piece of information that they do have (their inadequate basis of personal experience). Rather, they should look at other information that they do not have such as feedback from other owners' experiences.

I can now see - if the above thought process is correct - why D is correct because the principle is that don't base your decision on one aspect of information that you already have - rather go look for other information to base your decision on that you do not already have.

Sevan

[timmydoeslsat]

Principle question that wants us to find an answer choice that conforms to the stimulus.

Stimulus: Lack of information to make W-I decision ---> should not make a decision on that possessed information.

Rather, should continue to find information until a W-I decision can be made.

I felt that this second part of the principle in the stimulus was not followed in the correct answer (D). It follows the first principle, but not the second one.

We know what one should not do, and that is followed in (D) by not buying the car on an inadequate basis. However, the second sentence only states that one should study lots of car owners' experiences of various car models. This is assuming that that studying these experiences will allow a well-informed decision to be made. We do not know what encompasses a well-informed decision in this case.

Am I simply not seeing how the second principle is being followed in this case?

[maryadkins]

We're told that without enough information to make a well-informed decision, we shouldn't make one but should seek out information until a well-informed decision can be made.

You're right that we aren't told what information that might be--all we're told is that we should seek out enough to be well-informed (starts to feel circular, doesn't it). (D) is correct because it involves not making a decision based on inadequate information but seeking out new, additional information. It doesn't tell us that this is sufficient information to make a well-informed decision, but it doesn't have to, because the stimulus doesn't tell us how much that would be, anyway. (D) is the only answer choice that comes close to matching the principle.

(A) is wrong because, for one, it doesn't have the piece about seeking out new information when faced with inadequate information.
(B) is about what kind of information to consider, not about choosing not to make a decision without enough info. and seeking more.
(C) doesn't say anything about making a decision or postponing a decision; it's merely about acquiring knowledge.
(E) is wrong because instead of seeking out new information, it advises the ill-informed to just accept failure.

[mornincounselor]

Interesting question. Had the question been a parallel reasoning question as opposed to a confirming principle question would then a choice like (C) be correct?

[maryadkins]

Good question!

I don't think (C) is parallel, though. The conclusion in the stimulus is about how one should not make a decision based on inadequate info. The conclusion in (C) is about how a person shouldn't assume he or she knows everything and should just keep looking. These are different ideas. In the stimulus, there's an endpoint (when a "well-informed decision can be made"). In (C), there isn't. See?

[jewels0602]

I was stuck between B and D and did end up going for D, but not after spending much time debating between the two.

I think B does talk about making a choice. Granted the first sentence talks about things to consider but in equal part, the answer choice is also about not choosing a career based on financial considerations alone.

The reason I decided to go with D was because B asked to only consider information one already possess, which is different from "one should continue to seek information until a well-informed decision can be made."


Is my reasoning adequate to cross out B?

[maryadkins]

That works, too!