Logical reasoning PrepTest 120 · Section 3 · Question 22

Incorrect. First, there's no clear decision here—the Economists are making predictions. Ignoring that, their opinions aren't shown to be ill-informed, just contradictory. A well-informed opinion can still be wrong, and thus just because two opinions are contradictory doesn't mean either is poorly informed.

Incorrect. This answer recommends using all the information "one has," whereas the stimulus says that this isn't enough when you don't have enough information to make a well-informed decision.

Incorrect. There's no decision in this answer—just someone who wants to keep learning about a subject no matter how much they already know.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
not Have enough information to form well-informed decision → not Make a decision based on information you do have
not Have enough information to form well-informed decision → Continue to seek information until you can make a well-informed decision

Answer Anticipation:
While the conditions in the principles in the stimulus are complex, the first conditional is pretty straightforward structurally—it starts with "If" and has a comma when it shifts to the necessary condition.

The second conditional is a bit more difficult, however, in that it's introduced with "Instead." That word suggests that, under the same situation, something else should be done. In the context of the necessary condition of the first principle being not doing something, this makes sense.

So with those two conditionals written out, we should look for an answer that highlights a situation where someone doesn't have enough information to make an informed decision, and instead of making a decision based on the info they do have, they instead continue to seek out more info.

Answer Explanation:
This answer has someone making a decision on which car to buy. It recommends not relying just on one's own experience, which would be insufficient for a well-informed decision. It then recommends instead studying info on different cars until a well-informed decision on which car to buy can be made. That follows along with the conditionals in the stimulus, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
"Instead" in a set of conditional statements is very much the flipside of "Otherwise." "Instead" means "under the same sufficient condition, here's what you should really do." "Otherwise," means "under the negation of the sufficient condition, here's what you should do."

Incorrect. First, this answer doesn't have someone making a decision—just an interpretation. Second, the argument recommends, essentially, giving up instead of learning new information.