Is there a general rule for how much outside knowledge can be applied in a question? Several examples in this section ruled out answer choices using outside knowledge that was not supplied in the question. For example, number 5 rules out answer choice C using reasoning not found in the prompt. The first thing we learned was to assume nothing but that is proving to not be a steadfast rule. How can you be sure something is common knowledge?
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Hi @jmm625, we should assume next to nothing when we are evaluation questions. The only thing that I would consider to be "common knowledge" would be word definitions and use.
Let's take an example of an argument that says: Lisa has two pets. Lisa does not like dogs and therefore owns no dogs. Lisa has a cat named Fluffy. Therefore, Lisa's other pet is another cat.
We can safely say this is flawed because there are other types of pets than cats and dogs. Perhaps Lisa has a ferret, bird, or hamster. This line of reasoning is not exactly bringing in outside knowledge- rather it is using the definition of the word pet. We know that a pet is a domestic animal owned mainly for companionship, a category which could contain more than just cats and dogs.
I think that is what the example did in 5 with C. We know that a survey is conducted by asking a subset of people a series of questions, and using the results to make conclusions about a larger pool. To ask everyone would be more akin to an election or referendum. We are allowed to use the definition or common use of a word to understand a stimulus, answer choice, or stem, but we cannot bring in outside knowledge.
