PT157 S4 P2 Q9 ExplanationWisdom of Markets

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Wrong Emphasis8% picked this

   persuade and

   We could maybe say that Passage is trying to persuade us that markets are awesome, but it doesn't feel right to call Passage B an informative passage. It seemed to have at least as much opinion as Passage A did, so we definitely wouldn't want to attach the more opinionated purpose to A and the more neutral one to B.

   8%
2. B

   Wrong Emphasis3% picked this

   challenge and

   Passage B's purpose was clearly to challenge the conventional wisdom about markets. B's author seems to understand she's a heretic going against the grain. It would be a little weird to say that Passage A was "defending" markets, because it gives us no reason to think anyone is attacking markets, but if anything these two words are reversed in terms of which passage better deserves each one.

   3%
3. C

   Wrong Emphasis12% picked this

   present and

   This one is doable, but it loses to the correct answer because it does a poorer job of capturing the relationship between the two passages. Passage A does present the topic of "markets" to its audience. Passage B does do some interpreting in its final paragraph: If "prediction markets" do not actually predict the future, then what do they do? I suggest that they ... But would we have ever said that B's main agenda was to interpret? It seems more holistic to think that B sat down to write this piece on markets in order to debunk the idea that they are infallible portraits of reality, rather than just flawed predictions based on the flawed human opinions they're based on. If we were down to 2 between (C) and (E), we want to ask ourselves, which one better captures the relationship between the two passages? Given that Passage A was pro-market and Passage B was anti-market, this answer just doesn't capture the big picture as well as the original.

   12%
4. D

   Out of Scope2% picked this

   entertain and

   It's hard to say that Passage A was trying to entertain. It was telling us all about markets, and maybe we would find that discussion stimulating, but entertaining? Also, Passage B was writing with an opinionated bent, trying to debunk the esteem that people have for markets. She wasn't trying to educate, which sounds neutral / informative.

   2%
5. E

   Correct75% picked this

   advocate and

   Why this is right

   This definitely captures the pro-market / anti-market relationship between the two passages. Passage A is a zealot supporter of the power of markets, whereas Passage B's Challenge Position purpose was meant to deflate people's overestimation of markets as something infallible and supremely intelligent. Many of us will probably struggle to accept advocate when it comes to Passage A, especially if we think that the verb connotes the idea of issuing a specific recommendation. Passage A clearly doesn't prescribe that we do something. They're not our doctor advocating that we eat less sodium. But there's also a meaning to advocate that just means support. Passage A certainly supports markets: - they distill wisdom ... with amazing efficiency - they reward people who are right (unlike other information-gathering institutions which can reward those who convincingly lie or have the most prestige behind them) - they are highly 'efficient' If we were debating between the "definitely true, but doesn't capture essence of the relationship well" option of (C) and this "not sure if advocate is too much, but this definitely captures the relationship well", we would have wanted to lean towards making sure the answer did a good job of contrasting the two passages, which is where (E) shines.

   Skill tested: Primary Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   75%