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fix(ch14): improve MCQ distractor quality - #38

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fix/ch14-mcq-distractor-quality
Jun 30, 2026
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calmcoconut merged 1 commit into
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fix/ch14-mcq-distractor-quality

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Summary

Audited all multiple choice questions in Chapter 14 and replaced distractors that were obviously eliminable without knowing the material. The goal is to ensure every wrong answer is plausible enough that a student must genuinely recall the chapter concept to dismiss it.

Questions Changed

Q Issue Fix
Q1 (weather vs recidivism) Option B said "human decisions are completely random" — obviously absurd Replaced with a nuanced, true-but-insufficient claim about modeling difficulty
Q7 (systems thinking) Option A (query optimizer) was trivially unrelated Replaced with a plausible definition of architectural abstraction
Q14 (toxic asset) All 3 wrong answers were technical nonsense (silicon degradation, entropy compression, env treaties) Replaced with realistic misconceptions: diminishing value over time, legal ownership liability, data-residency taxes
Q17 (data minimization vs big data) Options A/C/D used CPU architecture, NoSQL, and geo-restriction red herrings Replaced D with a purpose-limitation/cross-domain combination confusion, which is a real conceptual pitfall
Q25 (first practical step) Option D (GraphQL vs REST) was a completely out-of-context distractor Replaced with fine-grained ACL enforcement — a real, plausible but incorrect first step
Q26 (ACM Code of Ethics) Option C ("automatically parsed by compilers") was absurd Replaced with voluntary ESG/responsible AI adoption — a real phenomenon, just not what the chapter says
Q28 (GDPR + append-only logs) Options A/D were obviously false ("can't read", "CSV mandate") Replaced with two technically sophisticated distractors: materialized view leakage and content-addressable hash invalidation

No logic changes

correct index values and explanation text are unchanged. Only distractor wording was updated.

Replace obviously-wrong distractors with plausible, adjacent-but-incorrect
options that require actual knowledge of the chapter to eliminate.

Questions improved:
- Q1 (weather vs recidivism): removed 'completely random' absurdity
- Q7 (systems thinking): made wrong options architecturally plausible
- Q14 (toxic asset): replaced nonsense distractors with realistic misconceptions
- Q17 (data minimization conflict): removed geo/CPU irrelevancies
- Q25 (first practical step): replaced GraphQL non-sequitur
- Q26 (ACM Code): replaced compiler-parsing absurdity
- Q28 (GDPR + append-only): added technically sophisticated wrong answers
@calmcoconut
calmcoconut merged commit 7419e02 into main Jun 30, 2026
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@calmcoconut
calmcoconut deleted the fix/ch14-mcq-distractor-quality branch June 30, 2026 23:12
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