LSAT 117 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q13

LR Question 13 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Whether a machine performs its intended function …

QUESTION TYPE: Principle

CONCLUSION: Artists tend to become anxious when their work is being evaluated, whereas engineers usually remain composed.

REASONING: It’s easy for everyone to see whether a machine works. Artistic excellence is much harder to determine.

ANALYSIS: When their work is being evaluated:

• Engineers remain composed because it’s easy to see whether a machine works.
• Artists become anxious because it’s hard to determine artistic excellence.

If we were going to generalize a principle based on this, then:

• If the value of your work is easy to determine → worry less about evaluations
• If the value of your work is hard to determine → become anxious about evaluations

___________

1. The argument never claimed that engineers are less anxious overall and artists are more anxious people. We know nothing about their personalities. It’s strictly in the context of worrying about external evaluations.
2. No discussion about the relationship between the value of the product and the feelings of the person who created it.
3. It’s not about how they’re evaluated. It’s about explaining differences in anxiety when you’re evaluated.
4. CORRECT. This explains the difference between engineers and artists.
5. Confidence and anxiety are two different things. Also, the argument never compares creators’ confidence with the confidence of the evaluators.