LSAT 105 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Shortly after Isaac Newton circulated …

QUESTION TYPE: Most Strongly Supported

FACTS:

1. Hooke claims Newton’s theories of light were based on his own work.
2. A modern reader might interpret Newton’s quote as an acknowledgment of Hooke and other scientists.
3. But:
   Conciliatory acknowledgments were uncharacteristic of Newton
   In his time, references to “giants” usually meant the ancient Greeks, not other scientists

ANALYSIS: The stimulus gives us a possibility: Newton’s quote was acknowledging Hooke.

Then, it immediately gives us two reasons to doubt that interpretation:

1. Newton wasn’t the kind of person who made conciliatory acknowledgments.
2. “Giants” usually referred to ancient Greeks, not contemporaries like Hooke.

Based on that, we can infer that the quote probably wasn’t intended as an acknowledgment of Hooke. We don’t know exactly what he did mean. We just have reason to doubt he meant that.

___________

1. CORRECT. The stimulus gives two reasons to doubt that Newton meant the quote as a nod to Hooke, so this is strongly supported.
2. Wrong. The stimulus never tells us who deserved credit or whether Newton improperly claimed credit for Hooke’s work. It only discusses how to interpret one quotation.
3. Wrong. We know references to “giants” often meant the ancient Greeks, but we learn nothing about Newton’s views on the origins of Hooke’s theories.
4. References to “giants” typically referred to ancient Greeks, not contemporary scientists. So there’s no basis for saying Newton intended to credit other contemporaries. He also wasn’t the type to write acknowledgments like that.
5. The very fact that Hooke accused Newton of borrowing from his work suggests the opposite may be true. In any event, the stimulus gives us no information about Newton’s familiarity with Hooke’s work.