Hypotheticals

[nsd1825]

I wanted to ask about a common occurrence when dealing with game answers in the lessons. In the answer evaluations in the lessons, some answers demonstrate "hypothetical solutions." In the midst of a game, is it suggested that we design these 'hypotheticals' or are the evaluations in the text book simply for demonstration?

Apologies if the answer is more obvious than it appears.

Thanks,

Nick

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Nick,

It depends. At times the text will discuss that the best approach would be to make hypotheticals as the solution strategy, but in many other instances we've placed the hypotheticals there to show how an answer could be possible (in these cases, we want students to see how an answer could occur in the context of all of the rules).

In general terms, the typical times that you would create a new hypothetical is when you cannot make any headway in eliminating answer choices (or, alternately, you do not see the correct answer relatively quickly). In those instances, making hypotheticals can be the most efficient strategy.

Does that help? Please let me know. Thanks!

[nsd1825]

Dave,

That does help. Thanks for taking the time to give some feedback.

On a above average difficulty game, with could be true question, is it worth while to draw up a few hypotheticals and then go to the answer choices? Or is it best to attempt to see it immediately, then go with the hypothetical?

:

Nick

[Dave Killoran]

Hey Nick,

It's going to be somewhat dependent on the situation and what you've learned about the game up to that point.

When I see a Global Could Be True question, the extremely basic steps I take are:

1. Do I know the answer from the base setup work I did, or from a situation that would result easily from my base setup?

2. Have I done any previous work (List question, other Local questions) that would apply to this question?

3. I would next make a judgment about the question: am I close to answering it or do I have a good idea as to what the answer is? If yes, then I might make a hypothetical to confirm my answer. If I'm not close, I would likely proceed to the remaining questions in the hope that I would learn something from those questions that I could then use to return to this question and answer it.

The approach I would avoid is to make random hypotheticals before solving a specific question. During the questions, I typically make hypotheticals to eliminate or confirm answers, so the work is headed in a specific direction. The only time I would make random hypotheticals is after the setup, if I felt I needed to know more about how the rules interacted, or if I was exploring the possibility that the game had a limited number of solutions.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!