"If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it." – Tom Hanks
LucasDecember 18, 2019
Very confused
Okay, so when I'm looking at this question, I'm looking at the form that it's in. Isn't that what it's asking for?
Should be H - > EWD
Because that's how it's diagrammed out based on the explanations given in the course. Or is there a way to figure out when when you want the contrapostive?
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When I look at the diagram that you wrote, my impression is that this isn't an issue of getting the original diagram or its contrapositive, but rather incorrectly diagramming it in the first place.
Before we tackle this specific example. I want to run through the idea of a conditional diagram and its contrapositive. They are functionally identical ways of stating the exact same thing.
A - > B Not B - > Not A
These are the same and have no difference whatsoever. If you have one, you have the other. And it doesn't matter whether the answer choice is phrased in the other way from what you have, so long as it is the correct contrapositive.
However, the issue here is that in the diagram you wrote, "H" should be negated. This is because the statement said "If it wasn't hard".
So, while you were 100% correct about which term is sufficient and which term is necessary, watch out for when conditions are negated. Keep in mind, that were you to get the contrapositive of the diagram you provided, it still wouldn't be the correct answer choice, because it represents a different conditional statement, namely that if it "is" hard, then everyone would do it.
Does this make sense? Please let me know. If you have any other questions about conditional reasoning, please do ask!
LucasDecember 18, 2019
Yes! I see what I did wrong. I missed the wasn't part
RaviJanuary 16, 2020
@Lucas, let us know if you have any other questions!
Alex-HostonJuly 8, 2022
So I set up the problem correctly not H-->EWD, however, when are we supposed to know that this is the answer and not the contrapositive which is where it got confused.
Emil-KunkinJuly 11, 2022
Hi Alex,
For the flashcards (and for real questions, like must be true questions), we can treat a statement and its contrapositive as essentially the same thing. That is, either one could be a valid answer choice, and there will never be an example where both the correct answer and its contrapositive would be in the answer choices. If you are looking for a specific conditional answer you should be ready to find its contrapositive instead.
