Hi, Tranquility,
You're on the right track, but remember, the Assumption Negation test means that you have to consider whether it is even
possible for the conclusion to be valid given that the information in the answer choice is negated. In other words, the logic behind an assumption problem looks like this:
- Valid Conclusion
Information in Credited Response True
The Assumption Negation test uses the contrapositive of this construction:
- Information in Credited Response False Invalid Conclusion
Even if you can somehow weaken the claim with a negated answer choice, this is not sufficient to know that you have a correct answer. You must ask yourself whether it is even possible that the conclusion be valid given the negated answer choice. If the conclusion is still possibly valid, then you have an incorrect answer.
Notice also the strength of language in Answer Choice (B) ("exactly the same ones as"). It is unlikely (though not impossible) that the credited response to an Assumption question will use such a powerful, "extreme" statement because it is unlikely that such a strong statement is necessarily true.
In contrast, Answer Choice (A) is undoubtedly necessary for the conclusion to be valid. If the scientists surveyed
are not generally aware (safe to read as "less than half") that the combination of the two premises contradicts the Minsk Hypothesis, then the conclusion that most of the scientists surveyed reject the Minsk Hypothesis is both unfounded and invalid.
