Lesson 3 HW, Game 9- Stimulus Confusion

[netherlands]

Hi there PS,

This stimulus in this problem confused me. When I initially looked at it I saw that A B C D E were a set that had "Inherent order" and planned to use it as a base - but then the language " Two letter grades are consecutive if and only if they are adjacent in the alphabet"... ... What in the world does that even mean??

I'm pretty sure I scratched my head and stared at this for like two minutes trying to figure out what they were trying to say... and it made me doubt whether my A B C D E set should be the base bc this rule made it sound like they were the "loose" variables to be placed in the slots.

Please help!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Netherlands,

This is the test makers way of dealing with problem presented by the conventional A-B-C-D-F grading scale. If they used that scale, then D and F aren't alphabetically consecutive. So, because they didn't want to open that can of worms, they changed the scale to A-B-C-D-E. Then, because that grading scale is a bit unusual and unfamiliar to most people, and they wanted to use blocks in this game (specifically the rotating IR block), they threw in that language about consecutiveness. They actually did that in an effort to make it clearer!

Essentially, A-B-C-D-E is the same as 1-2-3-4-5, and should be used as the base. That language was just there to imply they were ordered, and that each was next to the other.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[netherlands]

Ok! I think I get so worried about NEVER missing anything important in the stimulus that I just really overanalyzed that - because while looking at it I was like... "well this is common sense almost... I must be misunderstanding something!!"

Thanks for clearing that up!! and I'll try in the future not to get so hung up on every word.

[netherlands]

Hi there,

I actually had another question.

I feel like the bigger part of this game was just to remember that things can overlap. I got all of the answers correct, etc. but I was concerned about the fact that I don't really feel like I had a very structure method of coming to the conclusion and remembering that point.

Question # 2, for example made me recognize how important this point was. Specifically when they give the condition that Geology is before any other language - its obv super important that the game player recognize that just because "G" comes before the other languages, doesn't necessarily mean that "P" has to come before the others - because the grades can overlap.

Is there a good method of setup that would force me to remember this point? I know that probably seems like a lazy question, but I'm struggling a bit with finding a way to methodically force myself to recognize something like that in a linear game and don't feel comfortable with just "trusting" that i'd remember that when doing another game.

(I'm considering finding a symbolic way to maybe point out when there are no numeric qualifiers per slot in the stimulus (i.e. no " John receives one of at least every grade... but even that I don't think would have forced me to recognize the GP point.)

Any advice would be super appreciated!

[Dave Killoran]

Well, the whole numerical analysis of the variable sets should be a routine part of the your setup approach. It's something we talk about a lot in the course, and it all comes to a head in the lesson section about Numerical Distributions. So, you will continue to see this element reinforced as you move through the lessons, and that by itself will help cement the idea

In referencing Linear games specifically, it works like this: most Linear games are set up in a 1-to-1 relationship. For example, in a game there might be six available spaces, and six variables that will fill those six spaces, with one variable for each space and each variable used just one time. That's what you will typically see. So, whenever you see any deviation, you have to make note of it and focus on that element. Because it's clear that they made that deviation for a reason, they are going to exploit it, and thus you better make sure that you keep it in mind.

Thus, as part of your routine analysis of any game, you should always be looking at the numbers. As time passes, this shouldn't even be something you have to actively think about--it has to be ingrained in your basic approach, in the same exact way writing down the variables would be, or making a diagram of the spaces.

From a notational standpoint, you could put something like "Not a 1-1," but I'll be honest: if you see a deviation from that, it should stand out like a flashing neon sign to you, and you shouldn't need to write it down. And, of course, you can't write down every single thing about a Logic Game because there's just too much stuff going on--so you have to remember some of it without making a notation. The numerical element in particular is big enough that it should make such an immediate impression on you that you would remember it throughout the questions.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!