A
It is a conclusion supported by the claim that people realize that sophisticated technologies deeply affect the quality of human relations.
B
It is offered as an explanation of why people’s resistance to technological innovations is more marked the more technologically advanced the society in which they live is.
C
It is a premise in support of the claim that the quality of human relations in technologically advanced societies is extremely poor.
D
It is a generalization based on the claim that the more people resist technological innovations, the more difficult it is for them to adjust to those innovations.
E
It is an example presented to illustrate the claim that resistance to technological innovations deeply affects the quality of human relations.
A
the primary function of political parties in democracies whose governments do not subsidize elections might not be to provide a means of negating the influence of wealth on elections
B
in democracies in which elections are not fully subsidized by the government, positions endorsed by political parties might be much less varied than the positions taken by candidates
C
in democracies, government-subsidized elections ensure that the views expressed by the people who run for office might not be overly influenced by the opinions of the wealthiest people in those countries
D
in democracies in which elections are not fully subsidized by the government, it might be no easier for a wealthy person to win an election than it is for a nonwealthy person to win an election
E
a democracy in which candidates do not compromise their views in order to be elected to office might have other flaws
Kudos to the LSAT writers. They've out done themselves with this question. I hope you didn't spend too much time getting this one wrong.
The passage is tough to understand. The writers make us think that a problem was solved when really, the problem still exists, just pushed one layer down. Crafty, crafty!
Let's pretend you're a painter name van Gogh. You're fucking awesome and you know it. Problem is, no one else knows it. But, alas, despite your god like skills with a brush, your body still needs mortal nourishment, clothing, and shelter. That means you need money. That means (because this is the stupid 1800's), you need to find a wealthy patron... who wants you to paint his ugly children. You'd like to not compromise your artistic genius, to not sell out, so to speak. But of course, that's a highly probably occurrence since no wealthy patron recognizes or agrees with your godly aesthetics.
Here's where the LSAT writers come to "the rescue". They say, "wait, the wealthy are dispersed among the various schools of art in roughly equal proportion to their percentage in the overall population". So no worries van Gogh. Just join up with one of those schools of art and you're all set. You know, maybe that one over there, on the corner with the flashing neon sign.
You see how this doesn't solve your problem? Previously, it's the patrons that you'd have to pander to. Now, it's the schools of art you'd have to pander to. What's the difference? You have to pander either way. The problem was not solved, just pushed one layer down.
But, of course, it certainly felt like it was solved when you were reading the original passage didn't it? Good job, LSAT writers.
A
When car washes all used brushes rather than mitters, there were more cars on the road with scratched finishes than there are today.
B
Modern “brushless” car washes were introduced as a direct response to the use of clear-coat finishes on cars.
C
Modern “brushless” car washes usually do not produce visible scratches on cars with older finishes.
D
Brushes are more effective than mitters and are preferred for cleaning cars with older finishes.
E
More cars in use today have clear-coat finishes rather than older finishes.
A
Only animals that have contracting vessels have hearts.
B
Some primitive animals other than lancelets have what is widely held to be a heart.
C
A vessel whose structure and actions closely resemble those of other animal hearts is a heart.
D
For a vessel in an animal to be properly considered a heart, that vessel must undergo muscular contractions.
E
No animal that has a heart lacks an artery.
Manager: I recommend that our company reconsider the decision to completely abandon our allegedly difficult-to-use computer software and replace it companywide with a new software package advertised as more flexible and easier to use. Several other companies in our region officially replaced the software we currently use with the new package, and while their employees can all use the new software, unofficially many continue to use their former software as much as possible.
Summary
The manager recommends that the company reconsider the decision to replace current software with a new software package. This is because several other companies in the region have done such replacement, but many employees at these companies continue to use their old software as much as possible.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Many employees at the manager’s company would probably continue to use the now-current software if it is replaced by the new software package.
The advantages of the new software package are unlikely to compel every employee to use it over the now-current software.
A
The current company software is as flexible as the proposed new software package.
Unsupported. The stimulus doesn’t tell us the flexibility of the current software or how it compares to the flexibility of the new software package.
B
The familiarity that employees have with a computer software package is a more important consideration in selecting software than flexibility or initial ease of use.
Unsupported. Although the manager suggests many will continue to use the current software, that could be due to its flexibility or ease of use. The new software is “advertised” as more flexible, but that doesn’t mean it is more flexible.
C
The employees of the manager’s company would find that the new software package lacks some of the capabilities of the present software.
Unsupported. Although the manager suggests many will continue to use the current software, we don’t know whether this will be due to any difference in capabilities of the software. It could be due to greater familiarity with current software.
D
Adopting the new software package would create two classes of employees, those who can use it and those who cannot.
Unsupported. There’s no indication that anyone will be unable to use the new software. Many will likely prefer to use the current software, but that doesn’t imply they lack the ability to use the new software.
E
Many of the employees in the manager’s company would not prefer the new software package to the software currently in use.
Strongly supported. The manager cites to the fact many employees from other companies chose to use their old software instead of the new software. The manager uses this to suggest that a similar phenomenon will occur at the manager’s company.
Examine (D) closely to understand what it's actually saying.
According to the passage: The BWR makes enough money from sales of its anthologies to cover most operating expenses.
Say its "operating expenses" are $105. That's internet, rent, electricity, etc. costs. Further, say, income from "sales of anthologies" is $100. That means "most" ($100) of the $105 is covered by income from anthology sales.
We still have $5 left that's not covered. Let's give this $5 a name. How about "operating expenses not covered by income from anthology sales?" Because that's what it is.
Now look at (D).
The BWR depends on donations to cover most operating expenses not covered by income from anthology sales.
In other words, (D) says: The BWR depends on donations to cover most of $5. So... what, like $3.67?
What the hell does that have to do with anything?
(E) is right. Drawing relevant distinctions is how we weaken arguments by analogy. (E) draws the distinction between "your" magazine's anthology and the BWR's anthology. We just kind of presumed that the BWR's anthology would contain only a reprint of stuff already previously printed, which brings up the question "why in the world would anyone spend money on the anthology when it contains only stuff that I already have in separate editions of the magazine?" (E) tells wrecks that presumption. There's new stuff in the BWR's magazine. That's maybe (likely) why people are paying money to buy it. That means the original suggestion in the passage for "your" magazine to just do a reprint will result in an anthology very much unlike the BRW's anthology.
(A) is also incorrect. Parse out what (A) is saying. Like in (D) we have this concept of "most operating expenses". (A) tells us the money that covers "most operating expenses" isn't donation money. Okay, so what about the remaining expenses? Is that donation covered? We don't know. So could it be that the BWR and your magazine still depend on donations? Yes.
That's even besides the point. The point is what I said in (E) about how you weaken arguments by analogy.