#26 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):


This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[180bound]

Hi,

I’m having trouble finding the support from the passage to support A. My original guess was Because I eliminated B-D, couldn’t find proper support for A and when he said “dismissive” I said “ok idea under discussion is Whorf’s theory and the author dismissed the theory because of xyz, and B took the ideas more seriously by recognizing that ‘there is more to the story’ but ultimately never committed to the validity of the theory.” Obviously this line of reason was incorrect, so could someone help me identify why my reasoning was wrong, and help me find the proper support for A. Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

Author A seems very dismissive of Whorf's claims, 180bound, but is not generally dismissive of ALL the ideas under consideration in the passage. A's author is very interested in the gender differences in languages and how they can influence how we think about things, and is not at all dismissive of those ideas. Answer E is therefore too harsh, and is too sweeping in its scope, with regard to passage A.

The support for answer A is found throughout the two passages, and not in any particular words or phrases. Passage A is written largely in non-scientific terms, and explains itself simply and clearly, such that it could be understood by anyone in a non-academic setting. Passage B, meanwhile, talks about "numerate" people without defining the term, describes various tests and studies, and talks about hypotheses, all of which sounds much more like it comes from an academic journal or scientific paper. It's the "style and tone" that matters, as indicated by the question stem, rather than any one thing.

[mkarimi73]

I don't think Passage A is written for a general audience. That is nonsense. These passages are specifically taken from academic papers to test students on their reading comprehension. I don't see how the vocabulary used, and the topic discussed in Passage A, warrants a characterization of "written for a general audience." Who are they talking about??

Just be honest. This is all Process of Elimination. So....how can we think like the test-makers when they say "given the style and tone of each passage." I've seen this question before on a previous LSAT, and in that same question, the answer choice addressed the type of audience. Thus, what do you recommend for us to properly attack these types of questions? In addition, what does the LSAT mean by "general audience"? Thanks.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi mkarimi73!

On reading comprehension questions that deal with two passages, it's important to stick to just the passages and any comparisons that can be made between them.

Thus one might take issue with a claim that one of the passages is written for a general audience. As an absolute claim on its own, it might make sense to conclude that neither of the passages is written for a general audience. However, we're not asked to take them on their own but rather consider the passages in relation to one another. From that perspective, it's possible that one is written comparatively more for a general audience than the other (even if one thinks that neither is great in reaching a general audience).

This is also substantiated by the passages. The first one is talking about Whorf's view. The second one is going into even greater detail about the "Whorfian hypothesis." Thus between the two of them, the second is much more geared towards an academic rather than general audience--it's not just introducing the Whorfian hypothesis as passage A does, but rather it is discussing numerical magnitude across some specific languages to reach a non-Whorfian conclusion. That the author is reaching a non-Whorfian conclusion should indicate that this second passage is far more academic rather than geared towards general audiences in comparison with passage A.

[landphil]

But if we are supposed to compare the two passages as you say, rather than look at them as stand alone, I would say it is accurate that passage B takes the ideas more seriously of Whorf and passage A is dismissive. Whorf said our mother tongue restricts what we are able to think. The Passage A author says: no, our mother tongue influences what we think about, it doesn't restrict what we think about.

From all I can see, Passage A's author is dismissing this claim from Whorf and provides evidence for it too. Passage A's author references Whorf's "main mistake" implying that there others as well. Especially when comparing the two passages, it very much seems like to me Passage B takes Whorf's ideas more seriously.

As far as academic vs general audience tone, I can see the vocabulary for Passage B is a bit more intense, but I don't know if I would know Passage A is addressing a general audience and not an academic one.

I was between A and E, and I chose A. Could someone elaborate a bit more please on why E is not correct?

[Luke Haqq]

Hi landphil!

To address answer choice (E), there's a difference between "dismissing" an idea and "being dismissive" of it. Being dismissive of something is to suggest it isn't worthy of consideration. That makes "dismissive" too strong or inapt in referring to passage A.

It's true in the end that the author of passage A rejects Whorf's hypothesis, but the author doesn't reject it from the start and move on to something else--that would seem dismissive. Rather, the author gives a reasoned argument as to why Whorf's view should be rejected. The author thus seems to take the view seriously even if ultimately rejecting it. So rather than passage B taking an idea seriously and A being dismissive, it seems that both passages take the idea seriously.

[landphil]

Hi landphil!

To address answer choice (E), there's a difference between "dismissing" an idea and "being dismissive" of it. Being dismissive of something is to suggest it isn't worthy of consideration. That makes "dismissive" too strong or inapt in referring to passage A.

It's true in the end that the author of passage A rejects Whorf's hypothesis, but the author doesn't reject it from the start and move on to something else--that would seem dismissive. Rather, the author gives a reasoned argument as to why Whorf's view should be rejected. The author thus seems to take the view seriously even if ultimately rejecting it. So rather than passage B taking an idea seriously and A being dismissive, it seems that both passages take the idea seriously.

I see thank you so much! That makes a lot of sense.