LSAT 127 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q21

LR Question 21 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Scientist: Isaac Newton’s Principia, the seventeenth century…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: Modern scientific research that is hard to understand may eventually be widely understood.

REASONING: Only a few people understood Newton’s book, but eventually many people were aware of its meaning. The same may happen with modern research that is currently not well understood.

ANALYSIS: The “esoteric” terms tell us that current scientific knowledge is ill understood. It is thus comparable to Newton’s Principia before it became widely understood.

It serves to introduce an analogous situation.

___________

1. No. It supports the main conclusion.
2. This is tempting. However, recent arguments are only similar to the Principia in that they are not well understood. They are not similar in terms of the scientific claims they make.
3. If anything, this is evidence that there remain barriers between scientists and the public.
4. CORRECT. This statement makes clear why the argument brought up Newton: his work was once as obscure as current science is.
5. Actually, it shows they are similar; they were both ill understood.

Recap: The question begins with “Scientist: Isaac Newton’s Principia, the seventeenth century”. It is a Role in Argument question. Learn how to master LSAT Role questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.