Grouping/Linear Combination Setup Drill #2.2

[tdoz]

Hello again,

I have a question about the drill found on page 336 of the new Logic Games Bible. I found that I was able to diagram the game and answer question 2.1 with ease. Question 2.2 had me stumped, and after I decided that I had scratched my head enough, I turned to the explanation on page 345 for guidance. The indented portion on page 345 reads:

"I, B, and M are already scheduled elsewhere, and thus they cannot be scheduled for the morning of day 1."

I found this to be confusing because nowhere in the game setup does it explicitly state that each tour cannot be scheduled more than once. Is this something that is implied by the following language in the game setup?

"The six tours are drawn from a group of nine tours..."

Does the act of 'drawing' an element from a group prevent it from being 'drawn' a second time? If so, what can I look for in a game that will tell me this?

Thanks again for your help! -Tim

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the question. I think you may be overthinking this one a bit. In a case where each tour could be used unlimited times, there would be language to that effect, or at least some rule limitations to numerically limit a variable from appearing in all six slots. For example, under the assumption that each tour can run multiple times, F could fill all six positions (and other variables could as well). I'm not saying they have to do that obviously, but it's also an unlikely common sense scenario, because LSAC likes to somewhat mirror the real world in the basic structure of things (although not perfectly, as we know), and a tour company with nine different tours likely wouldn't run the same exact tour six times over three days. I could clarify this further in the drill, but I'm not sure I want to, because of the next paragraph

However, this brings up an excellent point, because there are games out there where on first reading it doesn't seem obvious as to what the numerical situation might be. In those cases what do you do? One effective approach is to glance at the questions and see if they give you any information. Question #1 on page 336 is a List question, you might note that none of the answers features a variable that appears more than one time. That's a strong indicator that multiple usage doesn't exist. The second strong indicator is that, under the assumption of multiple variable usage, no correct answer exists for question #2. That strongly suggests that the multiple variable usage assumption is unwarranted.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[Stephanie Oswalt]

We recently received the following question from a student. An instructor will respond below. Thanks!

I think there is an error in your logic games bible 2019 edition. On page 386 there’s a grouping/linear combinations practice drill where a condition is missing that you need to answer 2.2. The question at no point states that tours cannot appear more than once. i.e. Insects could be selected as the tour twice for day 1 and habitats could be the day 3 tour. In order to answer the question you have to assume tours cannot be repeated.

[Jon Denning]

Thanks so much for the question! First, I should start by saying that it's always a great idea to consider these types of limitations/possibilities in games, as the ability to repeatedly use a single variable can obviously make a world of difference to how the game plays out (ditto the ability to leave spaces blank, have options tie or occur simultaneously, etc). So kudos for keeping an eye out

In this particular scenario though I'd argue that scheduling a tour more than once is in fact not allowed based on the wording in the first sentence: "exactly six different tours" are being scheduled, meaning we can't have the same tour twice (or more). That is, to have, say, the Insects tour given more than once would mean that the six tours aren't all different, and thus we would violate a central premise we're given at the outset. Conversely, if that word "different" wasn't included, then it seems as though the six tours could include duplicates/repeats, and we'd have a very different situation on our hands! Amazing how much of an impact even a single, subtle word can have...all the more reason to be super vigilant and mindful of how these small adjustments can have serious consequences!

I hope that helps!