#23 - Must Be True, Purpose

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14311)

The correct answer choice is (B)

Thanks to the VIEWSTAMP analysis above, answering this Purpose question should not be
particularly challenging.

Answer choice (A): While it is unclear what is meant by “traditional view of scientific progress”
here, we can safely eliminate this answer choice from consideration. The author did not criticize any
particular view, nor did she advocate a replacement of that view.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The author’s primary goal is to illustrate the
claim made in the first sentence of the passage (lines 1-6), which contains its main point.

Answer choice (C): The author never weighed the relative importance of theory and experimentation
in science. Just because theoretical advances sometimes trail the compilation of data does not mean
that theory is more important than experimentation.

Answer choice (D): This answer choice describes an irrelevant objective. There was no argument
suggesting that scientists make slow, steady progress; consequently, the author cannot be said to
disagree with this idea. In fact, she might agree that scientific progress is slower than necessary.

Answer choice (E): The author neither suggested nor implied that Fermi and his group were
intellectually arrogant. This answer choice misinterprets the author’s position and attitude.

[agroves]

Hello,

In this question, the word "erratic" in AC B through me off here. As you approached this question, what distinguished AC B from C? I narrowed it to these two, but neither seemed like a great fit when I first approached this question.

Thanks!

Angela

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi Angela,

Thanks for your question.

This is a Purpose question: probably the broadest question you'd come across in RC. To answer it, first you need to understand the main point of the passage, which can be found in the first sentence (lines 1 – 5): scientific understanding follows an often unpredictable course, as scientists can take awhile to “connect the dots” and recognize the significance of their data. It's reasonable to conclude that the author’s primary goal is to illustrate the main point, which is what answer choice (B) states. "Unpredictable" and "erratic" are synonymous - the latter word should not have thrown you off.

Regarding answer choice (C), the author never weighed the relative importance of theory and experimentation in science. Just because theoretical advances sometimes trail the compilation of data does not mean that theory is more important than experimentation.

Hope this helps!