#14 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[Dana D]

Hey momog230,

Be careful here - answer choice (E) does not mention laws at all, but rather social norms. Assuming the creative output of a chef is a recipe in the same way the creative output for a comedian is a joke, Passage B thoroughly discusses how social norms impact creative output. The three social norms listed affect how recipes are created, and therefore how creative output is affected.

Hope that helps!

[lsatstudent99966]

Hi Shannon! You're right that Passage A explicitly discusses the impact of social norms on creative output. But so does Passage B. The second paragraph of Passage B follows this basic pattern: List social norm, then discuss the impact of that social norm. It does this three times. The sentence following the enumeration of the first social norm is the real nail in the coffin for answer choice (E): "The function of this norm is analogous to patenting in that the community acknowledges the right of a recipe inventor to exclude others from practicing his or her invention, even if all the information required to do so is publicly available." This sentence explicitly states how the impact of the social norm is to limit the creative output of someone who has not invented the recipe.

The italicized part seems to be one of the strongest reasons to not choose (E).

But I don't really understand this.

The social norm is preventing chefs from remaking other's inventions. So it limits chefs' ability to duplicate or reproduce someone else's work. This duplication doesn't sound much like "creative output". Can we really say that this is "to limit the creative output of someone who has not invented the recipe"?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi lsatstudent,

When Answer E mentions "creative output," it is referring to the "creative works" (line 18) or "creations" (line 20) of the professions discussed in the passages. In other words, it's referring to the jokes that comedians create in Passage A and the recipes that chefs create in Passage B. It is not using the word "creative" in the more commonly used sense of "original."

For example, in Passage A, the social norm against stealing another comedian's jokes does impact other comedians' "creative output" by restricting what jokes they can tell. To argue that retelling another comedian's joke isn't really "creative" (meaning original) is not really the issue.

It may be helpful to consider a different art form in which copying isn't necessarily viewed negatively. When singers cover someone else's song, they are using someone else's lyrics, etc., but they can still be creating a unique version of that song. Therefore, while the cover may not be "original" in one sense, it can still be considered a creative work in another sense.