Serious individual art collectors are usually discreet

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aspirant2011: Legendary Member; Posts: 1574; Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:52 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 88 times

by aspirant2011 » Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:10 pm

Serious individual art collectors are usually discreet when making significant purchases or sales related to their collections. At art auctions, for example, these collectors often place anonymous bids for major artwork. Therefore, the whereabouts of most of the world's most valuable artwork is probably unknown.
Each of the following, if true, would weaken the conclusion above EXCEPT:

A. The value of a piece of art is purely subjective.
B. Serious art collectors usually publicize their new artwork several months after making a purchase.
C. Museums own the vast majority of the world's most valuable artwork.
D. Of all the individuals in the world who own extremely valuable artwork, only a few are considered serious art collectors.
E. The private collections of most serious individual art collectors are often displayed in public settings.

[spoiler]OA: Will be posted later. Please explain each answer choice in detail.[/spoiler]

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Critical Reasoning | Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:10 pm

VivianKerr: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1035; Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 amFollowed by: 365 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 474 times

by VivianKerr » Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:46 pm

Evidence: Serious collectors are discreet, place anonymous bids.

Conclusion: Whereabouts unknown.

Assumption: There is no avail record of who ultimately buys the art. It isn't obvious who buys it, despite the discretion.

Question: What would NOT weaken the Conclusion?

Prediction: Well, what WOULD weaken would be if the assumptions were WRONG. But what WOULDN'T weaken would be irrelevant information, basically let's find a choice that has the LEAST to do with discretion/who buys art/available records.

A - This is irrelevant, and therefore correct.
B - This relates to "discretion."
C - This relates to "who buys art."
D - This relates to "who buys art/available records" because if we know that only a few are "serious" it's easier to track down the owners.
E - This relates to "discretion."

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aspirant2011: Legendary Member; Posts: 1574; Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:52 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 88 times

by aspirant2011 » Sat Aug 13, 2011 10:40 pm

VivianKerr wrote:Evidence: Serious collectors are discreet, place anonymous bids.

Conclusion: Whereabouts unknown.

Assumption: There is no avail record of who ultimately buys the art. It isn't obvious who buys it, despite the discretion.

Question: What would NOT weaken the Conclusion?

Prediction: Well, what WOULD weaken would be if the assumptions were WRONG. But what WOULDN'T weaken would be irrelevant information, basically let's find a choice that has the LEAST to do with discretion/who buys art/available records.

A - This is irrelevant, and therefore correct.
B - This relates to "discretion."
C - This relates to "who buys art."
D - This relates to "who buys art/available records" because if we know that only a few are "serious" it's easier to track down the owners.
E - This relates to "discretion."

Hi Vivian,

Thanks a lot for your response. Please clear my following doubts-

1. What is the exact meaning of discretion in the above argument???Does it mean that serious art collector have gor the power of thinking wisely & objectively??? If no then please explain.

2. How does B & E relate to discretion?????

3.Can you please explain C & D in little bit more detail????

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VivianKerr: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1035; Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 amFollowed by: 365 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 474 times

by VivianKerr » Sun Aug 14, 2011 11:03 am

1. Discretion refers to the attempt at anonymity here. Nothing at all to do with the thinking of the collectors.

2.
B - If they publicize their works, then the whereabouts will be known.
E - If they are displayed in public, then the whereabouts will be known.

3.
C - If museums own the work, then again the whereabouts are known since museums have catalogues, display art, etc.
D - If only a few people are "known" to buy valuable art, then again we could likely deduce who has purchased the art and the whereabouts.

For this question, the idea is we are looking for the most "off topic" choice. The argument's focus is on the anonymity of the purchasers. So A has the LEAST to do with that since it focuses solely on the value of the art itself.

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aspirant2011: Legendary Member; Posts: 1574; Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:52 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 88 times

by aspirant2011 » Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:05 pm

VivianKerr wrote:1. Discretion refers to the attempt at anonymity here. Nothing at all to do with the thinking of the collectors.

2.
B - If they publicize their works, then the whereabouts will be known.
E - If they are displayed in public, then the whereabouts will be known.

3.
C - If museums own the work, then again the whereabouts are known since museums have catalogues, display art, etc.
D - If only a few people are "known" to buy valuable art, then again we could likely deduce who has purchased the art and the whereabouts.

For this question, the idea is we are looking for the most "off topic" choice. The argument's focus is on the anonymity of the purchasers. So A has the LEAST to do with that since it focuses solely on the value of the art itself.

Thanks a lot Vivian

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