Q26

[b.lin.22.13]

I got this question wrong twice during the PT and review. I can see why the answer is clearly B, but struggled with pulling the applicable points from the passage to the correct analogy. Can someone give some pointers for taking on these types of questions?

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Analogy/Application

Answer expected in lines/paragraph:
lines 1-10

Any prephrase?
There's not much to pull out of the text here, as fodder for an analogy. There is a persistent belief that is not actually true. It's a myth. Scientists who know the real deal think it's weird people believe that. The source of the misunderstanding is that people have taken a true scientific fact (atoms in glass don't have fixed structure) and created a misunderstanding on that basis (this loose structure allows the glass to flow slowly downward).

I would think the most salient quality that could be tested is that
there is a persistent belief, not in alignment with reality, that is based on a misunderstanding of an actual fact.

Correct answer:
B

Answer choice analysis:

(A) "a flaw cannot be corrected during manufacturing" … Nope. The flaw would be the bulge of glass at the bottom, and people don't believe the bulge happens BEFORE the manufacturing process. They think (downward flow) that the bulge happens AFTER the manufacturing process.

(B) "caused by material rather than by process" …. YES! That's nothing like our prephrase, but it reflects the two big ideas in the passage: the Misconception (bulges at bottom because glass INHERENTLY is a structure that flows downward) vs. the Reality (bulges at bottom because of THE WAY they used to make glass)

(C) "not knowing good manufacturing techniques shortens life span" … No. Can't match that with anything, really.

(D) "assembly line is inferior to one-off crafting" … No. People's persistent belief is that glass flows downward, whether it's made by assembly line or by individual.

(E) "able to withstand stress because of more durable materials" …. Huh? Nothing like that going on in "glass bulges at bottom because glass flows downward."

Takeaway/Pattern: I would have been blind to where this question was ultimately going, because the keywords in the question stem didn't make it seem like we were addressing the whole passage. It's an important reminder to stay flexible, when we're evaluating answer choices.

#officialexplanation

[TilP164]

I narrowed it down to A and B, initially chose B but then switched to A.

I interpreted A as saying: no matter how they alter the manufacturing process, the fabric will inevitably wrinkle. The belief in the passage is that, even had the manufacturing of glass during the medieval period been perfect, the glass will inevitably bulge in the aftermath, there is nothing we could do about it during the manufacturing process.

Now we know we COULD solve the bulge problem by altering the manufacturing process to make the glass more even to begin with.

For B, I didn't like the word flaw. For people who consider the thickening of glass as a natural property of the material, then it is not a flaw, but rather a phenomenon. Besides, the passage made no mention that this observation compromised the functions of the glass in any way, but you would expect a flawed pottery to be compromised.

Am I overthinking this? Where is the mistake in my thinking?