Logical Reasoning

PT146 · S2 · Q26 Winston: The rules for awarding

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Winston: The rules for awarding Nobel Prizes stipulate that no more than three people can share the same prize.

Winston's first claim

Nobel rules say that no more than three people can share the same prize. Does Sanjay agree with this?

Yes, implicitly. Sanjay says that "the rules also stipulate something else", which indicates an implicit agreement that the rules do indeed stipulate the thing Winston said.

Winston's second claim

Nobel Prizes in science are usually given to recognize particular scientific results. Does Sanjay agree with this?

We have no idea. Nothing he says addresses this.

Winston's third claim

Many important results are the work of four or more scientists. Does Sanjay agree with this?

We have no idea. He just talks about some influential scientists dying before their work was fully appreciated.

Evaluate

It looks like Sanjay agrees with Winston's first explicit claim. What about any implicit claims?

Well, the thrust of both conversations was that Nobel rules would probably exclude some deserving scientists.

Winston was like,

Sanjay was like, .

Goal

Look for an answer saying , or, more likely, something that sounds like .

26.

The dialogue most strongly supports the claim that Winston and Sanjay agree that

  1. the rules that govern the

    No Support Person 1

    Since Winston doesn't mention the "rules say no dead people" provision, we don't know how he would feel about this.

    3% picked this

  2. the rules that govern the

    Out of Scope: other Nobel Prizes

    Their statements are only about Nobel Prizes in scientific disciplines, so we have no idea how either person feels about rules for other Nobel Prizes.

    26% picked this

  3. Nobel Prizes in scientific disciplines

    Too Strong for Either

    Although both parties seem to be pointing out some potential unfairness with the Nobel rules, neither one is clearly agitating for this change -- barring Nobel prizes from being awarded for results. It seems more likely that W would like the rules changed so that more than 3 people can be awarded for results and that S would like the rules changed so that dead people can receive the award posthumously.

    3% picked this

  4. the evaluation of individual achievement

    Out of Scope: subjective

    While both parties seem to be whining about unfair Nobel rules, neither of them is complaining about the awards process being highly subjective. They're both complaining about rules that are very objective: -- counting the number of recipients to see whether it's more than 3 -- checking whether the potential recipient is dead

    7% picked this

  5. Correct

    Nobel Prizes are inaccurate indicators

    Why this is right

    This answer is terribly written, but it wins by the standard of best available. It's certainly similar in sentiment to what we were looking for, "the Nobel rules unfairly exclude some deserving people from getting a Nobel". But it feels like a backwards version of what we want. This answer sounds like "having a Nobel doesn't mean (doesn't accurately indicate) that you deserved one for your contribution". However, that's not what they were saying. They were saying, "not getting a Nobel doesn't mean you didn't deserve one for your contribution." Apparently LSAT was hoping we would hear this answer in a fuzzier way, like, "Whether you have or lack a Nobel is not an accurate indicator of your contributions to science." But it's pretty obnoxiously sloppy on their part. Again, keep that mantra of "best available" in your head. Occasionally, you may even have to think, "Sigh. This question is technically broken, but what do I think the test writers wanted the credited response to be?"

    Skill tested: Agree/Disagree · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    61% picked this

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