Reading Comprehension

PT156 · S3 · P2 · Q13 Dyson's View of Science

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

  • Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

Passage A is adapted from a book review by physicist Freeman Dyson.

Topic

The debate over whether paranormal phenomena (like psychic powers) can or should be accepted as real, and the limits of science in understanding such phenomena.

Framework

Present Debate

Main Point

Passage A argues that experiences of paranormal phenomena may exist outside the limits of scientific investigation and that anecdotal evidence shouldn’t be completely dismissed, even if it isn’t scientifically testable. Passage B sharply disagrees, insisting that only evidence that withstands scientific testing should be accepted and that science has already disproven paranormal claims. **The Most Valuable Sentence(s):** - Passage A: (end of P2) - Passage B: (early middle of Passage B)

P1 (Passage A): Introducing the Spectrum

Dyson introduces the reductionist (science explains everything) and traditional (science is just one way of knowing) views, explaining that skeptics of the paranormal are reductionists, while he himself leans traditional.

P2 (Passage A): Science’s Limits and the Paranormal

He discusses how science has failed to validate paranormal phenomena, but he argues that this failure doesn’t mean such phenomena don’t exist—they might just be unreachable by scientific methods, and he finds this idea reasonable.

P3 (Passage A): Value of Anecdotal Evidence

Dyson brings up anecdotal stories collected by research organizations, stressing that while not scientifically reproducible, these stories are well-documented and show that paranormal events, if real, happen during intense emotions—making them unsuited to scientific testing.

13.

It can be inferred from the passages that the author of passage B would be more likely than the author of passage A to accept which one of the following statements?

  1. There may be real phenomena

    Opposite

    This is more like Passage A. Dyson's own hypothesis: paranormal phenomena "may exist but be inaccessible to scientific investigation." Passage B's author rejects it, insisting that experiments settle what is real.

    2% picked this

  2. There are numerous reports citing

    Opposite (if anything)

    They'd probably both agree that anecdotal reports exist. But if anything, citing those reports is an idea that leans towards "paranormal might be real". We want the opposite: an idea that leans towards "paranormal isn't real".

    1% picked this

  3. Light behaves as a wave

    Both Agree

    This is an accepted fact of physics that they would both agree with. Dyson states this physics fact himself as his example of complementarity. Passage B's author disputes complementarity only in its application to the paranormal, not when it comes to the physics of light.

    1% picked this

  4. Scientific investigation has provided no

    Both Agree

    This answer, finally, is leaning towards the idea that "paranormal isn't real", but passage A would accept this answer. Dyson concedes that "scientific attempts to study extrasensory perception and telepathy have failed," and passage B's author says the experiments show psychic power is a chimera. Both accept that science has found no evidence; they differ on what that absence means.

    51% picked this

  5. Correct

    The same general methods that

    Why this is right

    By accepting this, someone would be saying "the way we study physics, with experiments / empirical evidence / controlled studies, is appropriate to all human behavior." Since paranormal phenomena have failed to be observed when studied this way, that would allow us to conclude they don't exist. Meanwhile, Dyson is receptive to the idea that paranormal phenomena may elude being studied the traditional scientific way. If he rejects this idea and says, "actually, there are some aspect of human behavior that don't lend themselves to being studied with the same general methods we use in physics", we can argue that "Paranormal stuff may exist; they may just not show up in traditional science because they may be inaccessible to scientific investigation."

    Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

    43% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill
LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free