Need Help with the Math Technique

GRE Verbal Problem Solving
1

I am having trouble applying the math technique to the following homework question.

For some time now, ______ has been presumed to not exist: the cynical conviction that everybody has an angle is considered wisdom.

The possible answers are given as -

  1. rationality
  2. flexibility
  3. diffidence
  4. disinterestedness
  5. insincerity

I identified that that the sentence was a support type sentence since we are using the : symbol which usually means that the previous part of the sentence will be elaborated on in the next section, the clue word I settled on was cynical and after “doing the math” as Greg says I came up with something like full of doubt. But on looking at the sentence this wasn’t correct at all and the obvious answer was rationality.

Where did I go wrong? Can someone guide me on how to exactly use the math strategy effectively on this sentence?

2

You’re correct that this is a support and if we use the “use the word from the question” and put everybody has an angle(bias) in the blank but we got not before the support ,so , we have to fill the blank with the opposite of our initial guess ,hence, we put unbiased in the blank and look for similar word in the answer choices.

3

Thanks! That made sense.

Seems like the only way to get good at using this technique is to practice a lot of it.