#10 - Bernard: For which language, and thus which frequency

[smile22]

I am having difficulty understanding the point of views made by Bernard and Cora. What exactly are they arguing?

Also, could you please explain why A is correct?

[David Boyle]

I am having difficulty understanding the point of views made by Bernard and Cora. What exactly are they arguing?

Also, could you please explain why A is correct?

Hello smile 22,

First, Bernard talks about language and "frequency" on a typewriter keyboard.
This makes Cora think he is talking about maximizing speed. However, she says, typewriter manufacturers were trying to *slow down* typing, since in the old days, wires in the typewriter might get bent, etc., if people typed too fast.
Bernard rejoins that those technological limitations are gone, but the keyboard is still the same.

Answer (A) makes sense because even if the old technological limitations are gone, people are *used to* the old keyboards, so they just want the same layout in the new keyboards.

Hope this helps,
David

[smile22]

Thank you.

[est15]

Hi, I was stuck between A and B for this one. I was looking for an answer that shows that even though these technological limitations have long since vanished, we still have the old design because it's carried on from the past. Is B incorrect because it's specifically talking about offices? I'm don't really understand why it's any less correct than A. Thanks.

[David Boyle]

Hi, I was stuck between A and B for this one. I was looking for an answer that shows that even though these technological limitations have long since vanished, we still have the old design because it's carried on from the past. Is B incorrect because it's specifically talking about offices? I'm don't really understand why it's any less correct than A. Thanks.

Hello est15,

One problem with B is that it doesn't explain why word processors inherit the old keyboard configuration. Answer A actually gives a reason for why.
(Also, what you say above about "most offices" may help too, since "most offices" covers less of the field than "typically sold to people", which is in answer A.)

Hope this helps,
David

[est15]

Hi David,

Doesn't B also explain the why? As in, we still have the standard keyboard because word-processing equipments inherited its keyboard from typewriters.

I feel like there's something subtle that I'm not really getting

[David Boyle]

Hi David,

Doesn't B also explain the why? As in, we still have the standard keyboard because word-processing equipments inherited its keyboard from typewriters.

I feel like there's something subtle that I'm not really getting

Hello,

B gives a "what", the inherited keyboard, but not "why" it was inherited. Word processors could have adopted a more modern keyboard.

--Incidentally, did you have another question that you withdrew from the forum? I seem to remember seeing another one, but it disappeared.

David

[mpoulson]

Hello,

I don't understand how A effectively counters Bernard's argument. Is it because Benard's argument is that typewriters were made for speed and a specific language and anything that demonstrates an alternative reason for this undermines Bernard's argument. Also, why is C incorrect? It seems to follow the same path as Coras first response with slowing operators down. Please explain in detail.

- Micah

[Clay Cooper]

Hi Micah,

Thanks for your questions.

How does A counter Bernard's argument? It doesn't. It counters his rejection, instead - but notice that the rejection is what the question stem asks us to counter. So, in other words, we are not trying to undermine the assumption that Cora attributes to Bernard, but rather the reasoning behind Bernard's rejection of Cora's explanation.

That rejection reasons that Cora's explanation of why keyboards look the way they do (that it was necessary for them to slow users down when typewriters were in use) doesn't make sense, because typewriters are no longer in use. So, in order to counter Bernard's rejection, we need to pick an answer choice that could explain why the slow layout of keyboards persisted even after typewriters disappeared.

Answer choice A does that, by suggesting that people who learned to type on typewriters were unwilling or unable to learn a different layout and thus demanded when they bought computers that they typewriter layout be preserved.

Remember, we want to be super literal in our interpretations of question stems - that will help us focus on what specifically is being asked, which is all-important on the LSAT.

Keep working hard! It will pay off.

[mpoulson]

Clay,

I understand how A is a response to what Bernard is saying, but I don't understand how it effectively counters Bernard's rejection. Bernard says the technological limitations have vanished, but the keyboard is still the way it was in the past (making Cora's previous argument about slowing down operators invalid from Bernard's perspective). Answer A says that Cora would respond that people demanded the old format with new keyboards so the keyboard layout didn't change. However, that doesn't seem to engage Bernard's rejection. In fact C, seem's to be much more effective. If Cora said that new keyboards function in a similar way (slowing operators down) that seems to reject Bernard's claims better than A. Please explain.

Micah