#10 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Subject Perspective

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=13642)

The correct answer choice is (C)

This question refers to the second paragraph; most social scientists of the time neglected dance, more interested in areas recognized by their peers as scientifically rigorous and thus legitimate. The implication is that the peers considered dance less legitimate, and not quite so scientifically rigorous.

Answer choice (A): There is no basis for the claim that the peers would have believed this, so this cannot be the right answer choice.

Answer choice (B): The passage does not imply that the peers would hold such a belief, so this choice can be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. As prephrased above, the referenced peers did not consider dance to be scientifically rigorous.

Answer choice (D): The peers did not have clear opinions on dance, other than the belief that the best perspective for a researcher is one of detachment. Since this is not the choice with which the peers would have been most likely to agree, it should be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (E): The author does not imply that the referenced peers believe such data collection to be impossible based on the variations in dance forms, so this cannot be the correct answer to this question.

[reop6780]

The correct answer is C while I chose E.

I switched from answer C to E, so I really cannot tell the difference between the two answers.

Based upon line 22, both C and E appeal to the similar response.

What is the difference between the two and what makes answer C better?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi reop6780!

Line 22 tells us that the social scientists mainly did not study dance because they wanted to be in areas which their peers would consider as befitting scientifically rigorous inquiry. That supports answer choice (C): the social scientist peers would agree that research into dance could not be conducted with scientific precision.

Answer choice (E), on the other hand, is too specific to be supported by the passage. We know that the peers would agree that dance cannot be studied with scientific precision but we do not know that they would agree it's because of the variability of dance forms across cultures and the challenge of data collection.

Remember that the majority of RC questions are some form of Must Be True questions. Make sure that you can prove your answer choice with the information in the passage and be just as rigorous on the answer choices as you would be on an MBT LR question.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[lsatnoobie]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=13642)

The correct answer choice is (C)

This question refers to the second paragraph; most social scientists of the time neglected dance, more interested in areas recognized by their peers as scientifically rigorous and thus legitimate. The implication is that the peers considered dance less legitimate, and not quite so scientifically rigorous.

Answer choice (A): There is no basis for the claim that the peers would have believed this, so this cannot be the right answer choice.

Answer choice (B): The passage does not imply that the peers would hold such a belief, so this choice can be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. As prephrased above, the referenced peers did not consider dance to be scientifically rigorous.

Answer choice (D): The peers did not have clear opinions on dance, other than the belief that the best perspective for a researcher is one of detachment. Since this is not the choice with which the peers would have been most likely to agree, it should be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (E): The author does not imply that the referenced peers believe such data collection to be impossible based on the variations in dance forms, so this cannot be the correct answer to this question.

Can someone explain why B is wrong for question 10?

To me it seemed like the social scientists were too cocky and looked down upon dance, which leads me to believe the peers probably thought they could’ve easily researched dance

[Brook Miscoski]

Noobie,

The passage contradicts (B). Look at Lines 20-25, which state that social scientist neglected dance because they thought dance wasn't subject to "rigorous modes of inquiry." That means they thought dance couldn't be reliably studied. Therefore, I would expect them to disagree with (B), which supports the opposite claim by stating that there is reliable data for studying dance. There are also other places in the passage, like around line 40, that indicate that her peers thought that data could not be reliably collected.

I think that you need to be careful when defining viewpoints. You should avoid describing viewpoints as overly negative or overly positive and should avoid using rhetorically charged descriptions, especially for a science passage. You may encounter extremes, but be sure you are, and that can help you avoid making leaps based on an incorrect description of tone or viewpoint.

[ataraxia10]

I am having a hard time seeing how "a high degree of scientific precision" can equate to being "scientifically rigorous." I guess since the peers reasoned in lines 24-27 that there isn't anyone proficient enough in both social science and dance to conduct this study (minus Katherine Dunham), it would be reasonable to assume that they would agree with (C). However, the same context about the lack of proficiency in both fields could result in most social scientists' interpretations as being inadequate due to their lack of knowledge/experience in dance training. As such, it is entirely possible that the peers believed (A).
How can we distinguish the correct answer in this case?

[George George]

@ataraxia10

I actually really like the depth of detail you bring into this analysis. Very lawyerly! Let me see if I can help you out here a bit.

First, "scientifically rigorous" and "legitimate" mean something like "thorough," "exhaustive," "accurate," and "justified." (I'm getting this from the dictionary.) So the LSAT is fair to equate that with "high degree of scientific precision." Here, at least in context, "precision" and "rigorous" are synonymous. Expect the LSAT to use equivalent, but not identical, phrases in Reading Comprehension Must Be True Qs. The LSAT is attempting to camoflauge the correct answer, so that this section doesn't become the SAT. The takeaway is that, while you want to be very careful about word choice on the LSAT, you also want to make connections between terminology that a thesaurus would list as equivalent or synonymous, especially in context.

Second, in regards to the sentence you cite on lines 23-27, there is another interpretation which makes it not lead to answer (A). What I'm thinking is this: Even though the author cites the fact that no one at that time was an intersectional scholar of dance and social science, that does not mean the peers were aware of this at that time. In other words, while I think it's fair to say the author would agree with (A), I don't think we can say that the peers would. Moreover, even if you think that sentence applies to the peers' POV, answer (A) is also wrong on a technicality. It says that "Most social scientists" were misinterpreting dance, and we don't have any evidence to back up that mathematical proportionality from the passage.

[ataraxia10]

Ah! So when we look at what the LSAT provides in the premises/text, we must apply the narrowest range of interpretations and inferences possible, while when we look at the answer choices, we must try to apply the widest range of inferences/interpretations that can be supported. Is this what you are implying?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Ataraxia!

I'll try to answer your question even though I see it's more directed at the explanation George offered to your previous question. I don't think George was quite implying that you apply the narrowest range of interpretations to the premises and then the widest to the answer choices.

Basically, you need to interpret all statements on the LSAT (stimuli and answer choices) in the same basic way: reading closely, paying careful attention to every word, not making assumptions/inferences beyond what was explicitly stated, etc. Sometimes the LSAT will use terms that are logically equivalent to one another. Sometimes they will throw in a term that sounds similar, but doesn't have quite the same meaning. Your goal is always to read and interpret carefully. Ask yourself, are these things logically equivalent? Do they refer to the same basic idea? Or are there key differences between them? You always have to strike that balance at being open enough to recognize when the same concept is being referred to in different terms but being careful not to assume that just because ideas sound similar, they are functionally interchangeable. It can be tricky and frustrating to fully achieve that balance but continuing to practice LSAT questions and familiarize yourself with how they use language on this test can be very helpful!

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[ataraxia10]

Thank you for the great advice!