#13 - Jenkins: Research on the properties of snow at the

[Adam Tyson]

I feel you, Legallyconfused! That is a very challenging question mainly because that answer is so hard to swallow. Two things to consider that should help you feel better about selecting that answer:

1. Jenkins is basing his argument on the financials. "Go early because we don't want to risk losing money" is a decent paraphrase, which means that in Jenkins' view, the money IS the primary consideration, and that it DOES outweigh others. Maybe Jenkins could be convinced otherwise and doesn't realize the risk the cold presents to the safety of the researchers, or maybe Jenkins is aware that there is a risk but thinks the risk is fairly low and that they will be safe. Or maybe Jenkins is a greedy, cold-hearted SOB who thinks people are disposable in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Regardless, if someone says "we should do X because of Y," then it's fair to say that they are making Y the number one consideration. If it wasn't, then that's not the way they would have made their case.

2. Here's the part that many students really struggle with, but accepting it makes the test much easier and less frustrating: we are not looking for perfect answers, or even good ones! We are looking for "the best" answer of the five choices provided, and that means a stinky answer could still be the credited response, so long as it doesn't stink quite so much as the other four. Most of the time, the best answer is a really good answer, even a perfect one, and we have no trouble selecting it. But sometimes, as here, the best answer is irksome and perhaps flawed in some way. Is it still better than the others? Does it seems like there is at least some support for it, if not perfect support? If so, then it is at least a contender, and could be worth picking. Stop fighting against it because it isn't perfect, but embrace it because it is better than the others, and that is all we really care about here. If you can't be with the one you love, baby, love the one you're with!

(Take note of the question stem's soft language, by the way - we want the answer that gets "the most support", not necessarily one that is completely supported. There is zero support for any of the other answers, and you have to admit there is at least some support for the correct answer, so the stem requires us to select it, even if we have to hold our noses while we do.)

[Legallyconfused]

Thanks Adam! That helped a lot!!

[ashpine17]

ughhhhh so J only agrees that funding will likely be wasted, but not WILL be wasted? Does L have an opinion on that? I've seen answers that state L has no opinion on funding and whether it will be wasted or not but if that's the case, how can e be justified as soething L has an opinion on since ha has no opinion on funding?

[Adam Tyson]

For the same reason we can support J's position on safety, ashpine - Lurano takes the position that safety dictates the right course of action, which means they MUST believe that safety concerns outweigh all other considerations, including anything to do with funding.