This is an explanation for passage 2 of LSAT preptest 62, the December 2010 LSAT. This passage is about the use of medical illustrations in courtroom trials. The author argues that using custom illustrations is a good idea.
This section has paragraph summaries and an analysis of the passage, links to the explanations for the questions are below.
Paragraph Summaries
- Some argue against custom illustrations for trials – medical textbooks are adequate.
- Some say medical illustrations misrepresent facts. But illustrations need to be vouched by a medical expert.
- Courtroom medical illustrations are designed to be neutral. They also leave out details that are irrelevant to the case, making them easier to understand.
- Many physical conditions can only be described in hard-to-understand technical terms. Medical illustrations allow juries to visualize the explanations provided by experts.
Analysis
This passage is an argument. The author thinks that custom medical illustrations are useful in trials. The author first presents the opposing view, then rebuts it.
The opposing view has two main arguments:
- Medical textbook illustrations are adequate.
- Custom illustrations are biased.
Lines 36-49 show that custom illustrations are more useful than medical textbooks. Custom illustrations remove unnecessary details, so they are considerably easier to understand.
The author gives the opposing argument, then rebuts it
There are actually two criticisms about potential bias of custom illustrations. The first is blatant. In the second paragraph, the author presents the idea that corrupt illustrators will misrepresent the body. Lines 25-29 show this isn’t likely because illustrations must be approved by medical experts.
The second criticism is more subtle. It’s in lines 30-34. The worry is that there may be subtle bias in custom illustrations through the use of color and emphasis.
The rest of the third paragraph rebuts this idea. The author says that professional illustrators avoid unnecessary color and other unnecessary details in order to clarify diagrams and avoid bias. Medical textbook illustrations, by contrast, have much color and additional detail, which may confuse the jury and also bias them.
The final paragraph describes an additional advantage of custom illustrations: they make it easier to visualize and understand complex technical descriptions.
The author is not criticizing medical experts
Note that the author does not think medical experts are doing anything wrong when they testify. It is legitimately difficult to describe complex anatomy without confusing non-experts. The author doesn’t think experts need to do a better job of speaking about anatomy. Instead, they think custom medical illustrations are a useful aid to medical experts that help clarify what they say.
Note: I’ll repeat the advice I gave for Passage 1. If you had trouble understanding this passage, then I recommend you go to the library, and get 20-30 back issues of the Economist. Then read their science section. Each issue has 2-3 pages of science.
The Economist’s science section is very well written. It doesn’t dumb down the science, but it’s written at a level that an intelligent non-scientist can understand. If you read many of these articles, you’ll develop a base of general scientific knowledge that will serve you well on all science passages.
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