#9 - Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[Taramgn]

I have difficulty convincing myself on the correctness of (D). In fact, the term "appreciate" is causing me this hesitation. I think this term is out of the scope of the passage. Could someone please make this issue clear to me?
Thanks a lot in advance

[Steve Stein]

That's a good question--it asks for the answer choice that best represents the author's perspective regarding Curie's critics. The correct answer choice says that the critics fail to appreciate (or take into consideration) the importance of the historical context of Curie's work. This choice is supported in the passage on line 24, in which the author says that critics have faulted her for failing to reach certain conclusions--but the author immediately then jumps to Curie's defense, saying that "it would have been impossible for Curie to do so given the evidence available to her."

In the third paragraph the author goes on to make the basic point that we must consider the historical context: in Curie's time, chemists and physicists were still debating the basic nature of the atom. It wasn't until the 1930's, the author points out, that quantum mechanics brought to light the fact that radiation occurs because atoms lose mass. This is a hypothesis, the author says, that Curie could not possibly have been expected to come up with in her time.

I hope that's helpful! Please let me know whether that clears this one up--thanks!

~Steve

[Adam Tyson]

Steve, you just beat me to the punch!

I'll add here that your confusion may have something to do with the various meanings of "appreciate", which have some subtle differences. In our everyday lives we might typically use "appreciate" to mean "be grateful for" (I appreciate the use of a loaner car when mine is in the shop; my son appreciates his birthday gifts). Another common meaning is in play here, and Steve gave it in his explanation - it's to recognize the value or worth of something. The critics' failure to appreciate the historical context means they didn't recognize the importance or relevance of that context in making their evaluation of Curie's work (and thus their criticism is viewed by the author to be too harsh).

The SAT instructor in me is coming out here - be sure to consider all the meanings of a given word when you aren't sure it's the right one. Often the less common usage is the one meant by the author (because that makes the test more complicated and confusing, a main weapon of the test makers).

Adam Tyson
LSAT and SAT Instructor

[Steve Stein]

That's a great point, Adam--those test makers do love to confuse! ...and their use of "appreciate" is a perfect example--thanks!

~Steve

[allisonellen7]

Hi there! I'm confused why A could not be correct for this question as well. It seemed like the critics also failed to take into account the obstacles Curie faced in dealing with the scientific community of her time, like with the debate amongst physicists and chemists. Or is that more the theories and evidence of the scientific community of her time, not the scientific community itself? Thanks for your help!

[Andrew Ash]

Hi Allison,

The wording of answer choice (A), which says that Curie "faced obstacles" in dealing with the scientific community, implies that Curie encountered some kind of resistance or conflict from the scientists of her time. The passage doesn't offer any evidence that the scientific community was trying to make Curie's life difficult, though, so this answer choice can't be correct.

To think about this another way: if the scientific community didn't exist at all, Marie Curie probably still wouldn't have been able to understand radiation correctly, because quantum mechanics hadn't been invented yet. It wasn't the community that was holding Marie Curie back, it was the lack of discoveries.

I hope this helps. Thanks for your post!

Best,
Andrew Ash

[allisonellen7]

Yes, that helps a lot! Thank you!