Why is D wrong? Is it because slow and steady is out of context? I thought it better dealt with the first paragraph rather than the "erratic" word choice of B.
Is "take issue" the real culprit? All the author says that advances do not build directly etc. Never really mentions the opposing idea to take issue with.
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- tommywallach
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Atticus Finch
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Re: Q23
Hey Zain,
So here's something cool to think about. This is question 23, and because passages generally move in order of difficulty (not hard and fast, but you can expect passage 4 to be harder than passage 1), there's a reason why I would ignore (D) out of hand here: it seems way too close to the first sentence of the passage. Do you see why this is unlikely? It's just too easy. Anybody can read the first sentence and match it up with answer choice (D). That makes me nervous.
Now, as for why it's wrong, it misinterprets the first sentence:
1st sentence: "Advances in scientific understanding often do not build directly or smoothly in response to data..."
(D) Take issue with the idea that scientists make slow, steady progress.
Do you see the difference. All the researchers described in the passage do make slow, steady progress. But when the advance is finally made, it comes all at once. Answer choice (D) is way too general. It's not about the leap itself, but about the entire process of research/progress.
And just to hit the others:
(A) There's no evidence of a "traditional" view here, nor is the argument particularly critical.
(B) Correct! Erratic is a much better descriptor, because we see slow steady progress followed by a big leap.
(C) The passage doesn't judge at all, nor is it about theory versus experimentation.
(D) Discussed above.
(E) Intellectual arrogance is totally out of scope here, in terms of the primary aim of the passage.
Hope that helps!
-t
So here's something cool to think about. This is question 23, and because passages generally move in order of difficulty (not hard and fast, but you can expect passage 4 to be harder than passage 1), there's a reason why I would ignore (D) out of hand here: it seems way too close to the first sentence of the passage. Do you see why this is unlikely? It's just too easy. Anybody can read the first sentence and match it up with answer choice (D). That makes me nervous.
Now, as for why it's wrong, it misinterprets the first sentence:
1st sentence: "Advances in scientific understanding often do not build directly or smoothly in response to data..."
(D) Take issue with the idea that scientists make slow, steady progress.
Do you see the difference. All the researchers described in the passage do make slow, steady progress. But when the advance is finally made, it comes all at once. Answer choice (D) is way too general. It's not about the leap itself, but about the entire process of research/progress.
And just to hit the others:
(A) There's no evidence of a "traditional" view here, nor is the argument particularly critical.
(B) Correct! Erratic is a much better descriptor, because we see slow steady progress followed by a big leap.
(C) The passage doesn't judge at all, nor is it about theory versus experimentation.
(D) Discussed above.
(E) Intellectual arrogance is totally out of scope here, in terms of the primary aim of the passage.
Hope that helps!
-t
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- wtrcoins3
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Vinny Gambini
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Re: Q23
Agreed with above. Another thing: the primary aim of this passage isn't to "take issue" with anything. The point of this passage isn't to show that scientists don't do something- it's to show that sometimes unexpected things happen, as evidenced by the example in the passage.
The passage is proving something, not disproving something. So the negative tone of "take issue with..." was a red flag for me, as opposed to "illustrate."
The passage is proving something, not disproving something. So the negative tone of "take issue with..." was a red flag for me, as opposed to "illustrate."
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