The Inference Exercise discussion.
Below are the correct responses and brief comments. The original story is included, in case you want to check your work.
| 1. | false | There is never a car mentioned. Bob Turns a key and an engine roared, but that Bob started a car, that Bob's turning of the key caused the engine to roar, and that they went off in the car are all inferences. |
| 2. | false | We know that Dotty sat in the "back" but not in the back seat. The conveyance could as easily have been a stroller or a wagon. |
| 3. | false | Slappy said he was a clown. He did not say he was with the circus. The story says that Slappy "returned" to the circus, but it does not say that he did so to work. |
| 4. | false | The gender of the person behind the counter is never established. Neither is it established that the man who spoke to Dotty was behind the counter. |
| 5. | false | It was never positively established that Dotty was a girl. She could just have easily been a dog or a cat. |
| 6. | false | That Slappy was saying the circus was in town for another week was never established. Slappy could have been saying that he would only be Slappy the Clown for another week. |
| 7. | true | It was clearly established that Marie went into the convenience store. |
| 8. | false | It was never clearly established either that Bob ate the calamari (only that it had been served for dinner) or that it made him sick. |
| 9. | false | See above. |
| 10. | true | It is safe to conclude that "Slappy the Clown" is a clown. |
| 11. | false | The "little girl" began to cry." We have not established that Dotty is the little girl. |
| 12. | true | The employee behind the counter shrugged. There is no record of he or she having spoken to Marie (See the "Billy" example in the instructions.). |
| 13. | false | Marie told Bob they could "wait." It was never established that the trip started at home, or that Bob wished to go home. |
| 14. | false | See Four above. |
| 15. | false | If the person behind the counter is a woman, then there is another man in the store. Slappy could have been telling him "Let's go." It was never established that "the man" who said "Get out of here." worked in the store. |
| 16. | false | Again, it was not established that there was a "man" behind the counter. |
| 17. | false | This fact is directly stated. |
| 18. | false | That the group was going to the circus was never stated. We know only that they were going somewhere, that Marie asked how long the circus was in town, and that Bob and Marie went to the circus the next day. |
| 19. | true | This is a direct quote. What we do not know is what Dotty got into or who or what Dotty is. |
| 20. | false | See thirteen above. |
Here, as promised, is the story as it appeared in the quiz. Below that version is another which adds sufficient detail to defend the answers in the key. A brief discussion follows.
The Original.
Dotty got in first. She sat in the back like she always does. Next came Bob. Then Marie. Bob turned the key, the engine roared, and off they went.The circus was in town. They had gone about half a mile when Bob started to feel sick to his stomach. He thought back to last night's dinner--calamari--and decided they had better turn around and go back. The others looked at him. Dotty did not want to go back. Bob said please. His daughter began to cry. She got out and ran down the street. Marie went into a convenience store and asked if anyone knew how long the circus was in town. The employee behind the counter shrugged. Slappy said, "I'm Slappy the Clown--for another week." Marie went back to Bob to say it was alright with her if they waited until he felt better. That was when she noticed that Dotty was gone. "She went looking for you." Said Bob. "I didn't feel well enough to go after here." As Slappy was leaving the store, Dotty scooted past him and started looking at the candy. Slappy heard the man say "Hey, get get out of here!" He turned and said, "Let's go." and went outside.Slappy then saw Bob and said, "I think I found something that belongs to you." Bob smiled and said. "Thanks, I don't know what I'd do without her." Slappy returned to the circus. Bob, Dotty and Marie went home. The next day, Bob and Marie went to the circus. As soon as they left, Dotty went back to the convenience store, grabbed a candy bar and ran.
Version Two.
Dotty, Marie's faithful basset hound, loved to ride in the wagon. So she was the first one to hop in for the family's Saturday morning walk. Marie got in in front of her, and Bob got ready to pull them down Main Street. Before they left, Bob turned the key on the gasoline powered pump he had rented, to get the water out of his restaurant's basement. They had gone about half a mile when Bob started to feel sick to his stomach. He wondered if one of their dinner guests had passed him a flu bug, thought back to the calamari special he had served all evening and was glad he had opted not to eat any himself. When he told Marie he needed to go back to the restaurant, because he did not feel well, both she and Dotty complained. Bob said please, but Marie got out of the wagon and ran down the street to the convenience store. Slappy the Clown was in the store talking to Myrtle, the woman behind the counter, and his friend Sid. Slappy was in his last week of being a clown, because he had decided to go back to college. When Marie came in, she saw Slappy in his clown suit and her eyes got wide. He started to say "I'm Slappy the clown. Then, recalling his conversation with Sid and Myrtle, prepared to add "for another week." Before he could talk. Marie asked how long the circus was in town. Myrtle shrugged, and Slappy finished his sentence. Marie left, and went back to tell her father that it was okay with her if he waited until he felt better before going on with the walk. In the meantime, Dotty had taken off looking for Marie. She went past the convenience store, but Bob was feeling too sick to chase her. After Marie left. Dotty came back down the street. When Slappy opened the door, so that he and Sid could go, Dotty slid past him. Sid, who is afraid of dogs, said "Hey, get out of here!" Slappy said to Sid, "Let's go." Slappy went out, saw Bob and guessed that Dotty was his. Slappy told Bob he had found the dog in the store and returned to the circus. Slappy always visited the circus to steal gags from the professional clowns. Bob got Dotty. Then he Dotty and Marie left. After the dog was gone, Sid felt safe enough to go outside and rejoin Slappy. Bob decided on the way back to the restaurant that he woulod be better off resting at home. So took Dotty amd Marie there. The next day, Bob took Marie to the circus. As soon as they left, Dotty jumped over the fence, went back to the store and stole one of Myrtle's candy bars. Myrtle just laughed.
Discussion.
Your first tendency will be to think "Oh, come on! That's ridiculous! But let that tendency pass then revisit the story to try to appreciate how much content You added to the story. We all do this all of the time. We have to. It would be virtually impossible for symbolic language--much less thought, meaning, etc-- to function, if literal meaning had to be provided for every nuance of a message.
Inference is not bad. The problem is when too much benefit of the doubt is given to the provider of a vague, possibly deliberately deceiving message. The next time someone says "This year's model is twice as good." Make them say twice as good as what? Don't you provide the answer for them.