A university should not be entitled to patent the inventions of its faculty members. Universities, as guarantors of intellectual freedom, should encourage the free flow of ideas and the general dissemination of knowledge. Yet a university that retains the right to patent the inventions of its faculty members has a motive to suppress information about a potentially valuable discovery until the patent for it has been secured. Clearly, suppressing information concerning such discoveries is incompatible with the university’s obligation to promote the free flow of ideas.
Which one of the following is an assumption that the argument makes?
(A) Universities are the only institutions that have an obligation to guarantee intellectual freedom.
(B) Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented.
(C) Publication of reports on research is the only practical way to disseminate information concerning new discoveries.
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive.
(E) If the inventions of a university faculty member are not patented by that university, then they will be patented by the faculty member instead.
OA is D
Do explain it[/spoiler]
Assumption
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Is it D? Please post the official answer with the question otherwise there is no point explaining the answer.
The answer is D by process of elimination. Negating each option and checking if the argument falls apart is the best way to deal with a tricky assumption question.
(A) Universities are the only institutions that have an obligation to guarantee intellectual freedom. [there could be other institutions but that would not change the argument]
(B) Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented. [even if they are not profitable universities may consider them valuable and protect info from spreading, hence argument remains intact]
(C) Publication of reports on research is the only practical way to disseminate information concerning new discoveries. [even if there are other ways of disseminating info, the university may be able to institute rules to curb those ways, therefore argument remains]
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive. [if the universities will not act on their motive to supress info concerning discoveries the motive itself will do no harm and so free flow of ideas will not be affected; therefore the argument falls apart] hence D is the answer
(E) If the inventions of a university faculty member are not patented by that university, then they will be patented by the faculty member instead.
[they may be patented by faculty members but then university will not be blamed, therefore argument holds]
Hope the explaination helps
cheers
(A) Universities are the only institutions that have an obligation to guarantee intellectual freedom. [there could be other institutions but that would not change the argument]
(B) Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented. [even if they are not profitable universities may consider them valuable and protect info from spreading, hence argument remains intact]
(C) Publication of reports on research is the only practical way to disseminate information concerning new discoveries. [even if there are other ways of disseminating info, the university may be able to institute rules to curb those ways, therefore argument remains]
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive. [if the universities will not act on their motive to supress info concerning discoveries the motive itself will do no harm and so free flow of ideas will not be affected; therefore the argument falls apart] hence D is the answer
(E) If the inventions of a university faculty member are not patented by that university, then they will be patented by the faculty member instead.
[they may be patented by faculty members but then university will not be blamed, therefore argument holds]
Hope the explaination helps
cheers
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I seriously doubt if D is the OA.tttggg wrote:The answer is D by process of elimination. Negating each option and checking if the argument falls apart is the best way to deal with a tricky assumption question.
(A) Universities are the only institutions that have an obligation to guarantee intellectual freedom. [there could be other institutions but that would not change the argument]
(B) Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented. [even if they are not profitable universities may consider them valuable and protect info from spreading, hence argument remains intact]
(C) Publication of reports on research is the only practical way to disseminate information concerning new discoveries. [even if there are other ways of disseminating info, the university may be able to institute rules to curb those ways, therefore argument remains]
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive. [if the universities will not act on their motive to supress info concerning discoveries the motive itself will do no harm and so free flow of ideas will not be affected; therefore the argument falls apart] hence D is the answer
(E) If the inventions of a university faculty member are not patented by that university, then they will be patented by the faculty member instead.
[they may be patented by faculty members but then university will not be blamed, therefore argument holds]
Hope the explaination helps
cheers
Please note the usage of the word occassionally in D.
I think C fits the role of an assumption better. If the only way that a new discovery could be made known to others is through the publishing of reports then by lieu of the University stopping that, they would be preventing free flow of ideas.
Are you sure the OA is D and not C?
Yes that is the very reason why C cannot be the answer because the argument does not assume that publication is the only way to disseminate info, there could be other ways..the argument talks about only dissemination of info and does not care how it is done, plus it talks about universties' motive to suppress information and does not care how it is done..
I think you'll agree on that..the use of the word occasionally does make the option D a bit tricky, but that was the best answer I could find..rest are out by POE
I think you'll agree on that..the use of the word occasionally does make the option D a bit tricky, but that was the best answer I could find..rest are out by POE
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(A) Universities are the only institutions that have an obligation to guarantee intellectual freedom – too extreme for GMAT, exclude it
(B) Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented – it doesn’t matter whether these inventions are profitable. Moreover, most is too extreme for GMAT
(C) Publication of reports on research is the only practical way to disseminate information concerning new discoveries. - publication of reports on research is out of scope here
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive. –CORRECT because if universities don’t act in accordance with their motives, there will be no suppressing and therefore their action will be consistent with their obligation to promote the free flow of ideas
(E) If the inventions of a university faculty member are not patented by that university, then they will be patented by the faculty member instead. – it doesn’t matter who will patent these inventions, out of scope
(B) Most inventions by university faculty members would be profitable if patented – it doesn’t matter whether these inventions are profitable. Moreover, most is too extreme for GMAT
(C) Publication of reports on research is the only practical way to disseminate information concerning new discoveries. - publication of reports on research is out of scope here
(D) Universities that have a motive to suppress information concerning discoveries by their faculty members will occasionally act on that motive. –CORRECT because if universities don’t act in accordance with their motives, there will be no suppressing and therefore their action will be consistent with their obligation to promote the free flow of ideas
(E) If the inventions of a university faculty member are not patented by that university, then they will be patented by the faculty member instead. – it doesn’t matter who will patent these inventions, out of scope