Studies show that the most creative

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Specific: most / as much2% picked this

   Most creative engineers who work with paper and pencil spend about as much time doodling as they spend on

   The word "most" is wrong in Necessary Assumption 99% of the time we see it. An argument almost never needs something to be true more than 50% of the time, unless the conclusion is specifically talking about "probably / likely / usually / in most cases". When you negate an answer choice about "most", you go from saying something is true "at least 51% of the time" to saying it's true "at most 50% of the time". That's a pretty hair-splitting difference, and almost no arguments hinge on that distinction. The other overly precise part of this answer is saying that doodle time = serious work The author never compared the quantity of time spent doing one vs. the other. We have no reason to think she assumes an equal amount of time is spent on both.

   2%
2. B

   Too Strong: not for anything else7% picked this

   Simulated notepads would not be used by engineers for any purpose other than typing

   It's not necessary to the author's plan that these simulated notepads are only used for outlandish ideas. If engineers occasionally used the notepads to type up everyone's requests from Starbucks, that would not hurt the author's plan.

   7%
3. C

   Too Strong: none17% picked this

   No engineers who work with computers keep paper and pencils near their computers in order to doodle

   The author doesn't need to assume that ZERO engineers who work with computers have paper and pencil nearby. She that "doodling is becoming much less common", not that "doodling is now extinct".

   17%
4. D

   Correct69% picked this

   The physical act of working on paper is not essential in providing engineers with the benefits that can

   Why this is right

   On Necessary Assumption, we're super-attracted to answers that are ruling out an idea using "no / not". We want to negate them and see if they turn into an Objection. Would it hurt the argument to say, the physical act of working on paper is essential in providing engineers with the benefits of doodling ? Yes, that badly weakens the argument. It sounds like the Plan won't achieve its Goal, since a simulated notepad where you type is an inadequate substitute for the tangible activity working on paper, and that tangible contact with the paper is necessary to unlock the creative juices. If you hate negating, think of it like this --- the author assumes her Plan will work, right? She assumes that using simulated notepads will be able to achieve the same sort of creative brainstorming that doodling did. So she is assuming "it doesn't matter whether you type up outlandish ideas or jot them down on paper. Both will get creative juices going. The physical act of using paper isn't necessary to provide the creative benefits."

   Skill tested: Necessary Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   69%
5. E

   Too Specific: most4% picked this

   Most of the outlandish ideas engineers jot down while doodling are later incorporated into projects

   As we said with (A), the word "most" is wrong on Necessary Assumption 99% of the time we see it. Would it really make a difference to the author whether at least 51% of ideas got implemented later vs. only 50% of ideas? Of course not. Another big problem with this answer is that the author was never assuming that outlandish ideas themselves are useful in practical applications. She was saying engineers only get their useful / practically applicable ideas after doodling outlandish ideas that never see the light of day. So she wasn't even necessarily assuming that any outlandish ideas are later put into practice.

   4%