Q8

[layamaheshwari]

Hello all.

I selected the right answer choice (A) for this question after process of elimination, and shall run through my thought process.

Question type: Purpose of information

Answer choices:

(B) "Most photographers"? That's a degree of extremity we cannot be sure of. Eliminate.

(C) "Skeptical views"? The author is not skeptical towards these techniques. If anything, he appreciates them. Eliminate.

(D) "Most photographers who are artists"? Same as (B), this is too extreme. We don't know whether we are talking about MOST photographers who have artistic tendencies. Eliminate.

(E) "Will probably turn out to be a passing fad"? The author never comments on this in the passage. Eliminate.

That left me with (A), which attempts to contextualise this renewed interest in early photographic processes. But can someone explain for me why "ironic" is supported by the passage? I had some hesitation while selecting this answer because of that word...

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Hi layamaheshwari! And great explanation above!

The reason why "ironic" is suited to this answer choice is that, according to the author, it's ironic that there would be such demand for antiquated photographic techniques in an era when film is almost obsolete.

[WeixinY906]

Hi layamaheshwari! And great explanation above!

The reason why "ironic" is suited to this answer choice is that, according to the author, it's ironic that there would be such demand for antiquated photographic techniques in an era when film is almost obsolete.

hum, how is it "according to the author"? where can we see irony in the passage?
Also, is B wrong because we cannot infer "most photographers?

Thanks in advance!

[andrewgong01]

Hi layamaheshwari! And great explanation above!

The reason why "ironic" is suited to this answer choice is that, according to the author, it's ironic that there would be such demand for antiquated photographic techniques in an era when film is almost obsolete.

hum, how is it "according to the author"? where can we see irony in the passage?
Also, is B wrong because we cannot infer "most photographers?

Thanks in advance!

Irony may not be stated directly but sometimes the author might say something like "Ironically....." to signal the author finds something ironic. For example, on line 17 the author could have added "Ironically, on the verge of a ...." and it would not change the meaning of the passage

Here I think the best hint towards irony is on line 18 where the author says "moving forward into its past" . It signals irony because you would expect by moving forward we will be adopting the latest technology in photography (e.g. those 360 degree Google Street View pictures); however, instead the trend of photography moving forward is appealing to antiquated practices, which the passage then expands on. Admittedly, when I read the passage on my first pass I did not stop and think /annotate "Irony". It was only on Q8 when the answer choice said "ironic" that i thought oh yeah, it is ironic to be using antiquated practices when we are "on the verge of a ...digital revolution".

I agree with you on "B" in that most is hard to prove and hence a degree issue. But I think it is also wrong because we don't know if any of them are wary of advanced techniques. We know that some find that advanced techniques (I assume they are referring to modern techniques) may not engender the same typee of emotion as antiquated ones but that does mean they are wary of the techniques either ----- just because they see a specific shortcoming of a method does not mean they are wary of it. I would go as far as saying "B" also can not be correct because it is pretty close to what "D" is trying to say. Essentially both "B" and "D", put simplistically, is saying photographers today do not like latest photo technology ---> they are wary of it, they see little benefit in it. Of course there are subtle nuances in meanings but probably not the type of thing the LSAT would test us on. I get the feeling the LSAT was trying to also trap people into thinking jsut because there was a focus on talking about all the advtanges of one particular method means that we dislike the alternative method when in fact I don't think criticism against the new digital methods even occured in the passage