Setup and Rule Diagrams

[Administrator]

Setup and Rule Diagram Explanation

This is an Unbalanced: Underfunded Advanced Linear game.

O05_Game_#4_setup_diagram 1.png

* Note that the first rule states that “at least” one of the people working each day is a supervisor. This wording leaves open the possibility that two supervisors work on a given day, and thus the second stack is not labeled as the “non-supervisor” stack.

* The second rule establishes that O works on Tuesday and Wednesday, and because O is not a supervisor, automatically K and S are precluded from working on Tuesday and Wednesday.

* The third rule also feature the qualifier “at least,” establishing that when N works, at a minimum there is a double-N block, but leaving open the possibility that the block could be larger. The rule also leaves open the possibility that N could work three (or more times), but only two of the days might be consecutive (which would satisfy the wording of the rule).

* The fourth rule is another odd rule, one that requires careful tracking throughout the game. Note that while P and S can work on the same day, S cannot work earlier in the week than P’s first day.

* The last rule is also unusual (and, in fact, every rule in this game is somewhat non-standard, which increases the difficulty). Because every rule is unusual, you should expect the test makers to repeatedly test your knowledge of how the rules apply. This is what occurs, and ultimately this game is more about rote rule application than any powerful inferences.

[cls]

I was working on this 2005 game in the lesson 4 homework and had a question about the last rule. My understanding of the rule is if K X1 (ie k then it's the first day of the week for another staff member). I interpret the contrapositive to mean that if it's not X1 then it's not a day in which K works.

My issue, however, is what this means for inferences and Monday in the problem. Monday is the first day of the week in the game so any staff member that works on Monday is working for the first time that week. Taking that into consideration and when thinking about the last rule shouldn't a rational inference be that K has to work on Mondays? I am having a hard time understanding why that is not the case.

Thank you.

[Jacques Lamothe]

Hey cls,

You're correct that the contrapositive of the last clue is "not X1 --> not K." However, this does not mean that K has to work on Mondays. Our clues indicate that if K works on a day, the other person working on that day will be working for the first time that week. But that does not mean that K works on every day that someone works for the first time in the week. That would require the rule to be "X1 --> K," which would be a case of mistakenly reversing the rule.So even though some people will work for this first time on Monday, K does not have to work on that day with them.

I hope this clears things up!

Jordan

[cls]

Hi Jordan,

Thanks for that. I guess I was interpreting it more as K must work on the day that is another staff members first day, which is a different condition entirely.

[FK00144]

Could you explain the way rule #4 is diagrammed? I don't get the first "=" and the brackets

[Jay Donnell]

Hi FK00144!

That symbol can totally be a bit confusing without clarification, so I'm here to help!

The rule states that "Seymour does not work on any day before the first day Paul works that week." Since at least some of the players in this game will work more than one shift during the week, we have to remember that both Paul and Seymour may make more than one appearance.

It is possible to have a Seymour shift sometime earlier in the week than a Paul shift, but that Seymour shift cannot be earlier than Paul's first shift.

This means that since Seymour cannot work earlier that Paul's first shift, it must either come after Paul, or perhaps on the same day as Paul's first shift. This ambiguity is reflected in the PowerScore materials by this symbol:

P1 = S1

That symbol is meant to imply that the first Seymour is even with or after the first Paul shift, but it cannot come before.

P1 - S1 would have implied that Paul's first must come before Seymour's first, but the double line leaves open the possibility that the both have their first shift on the same day.

That symbol and it's implications are detailed well in the first Logic Games discussion in Lesson One of the full-length PowerScore course books.

I hope that helps to clear it up!