LSAT 143 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q24

LR Question 24 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: One is likely to feel comfortable approaching a…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Long term friendships probably involve people around the same age.

REASONING: We probably feel comfortable approaching someone around our age. Most long term friendships start when someone felt comfortable approaching a stranger.

ANALYSIS: This is a classic LSAT error. I call it “comparison without a comparison.”

This argument made you think that it said people are more comfortable approaching someone their own age.

But it didn’t! All the argument said is that people are comfortable approaching someone their own age. It’s possible that people are also equally comfortable approaching someone of a different age. If that’s true, then age-related comfort would have no effect on friendship formation (because there is no such thing as age-related comfort!)

On this type of question the test writers try to fool you into thinking they made a comparison, when they actually didn’t. Hence “comparison without a comparison.”

___________

1. The argument didn’t say this. An answer can’t be a flaw if it wasn’t said. This sort of answer choice is only correct if the author made a sufficient/necessary error.
2. This is a different error.
    
   Example of flaw: Most Americans are women. So this particular American is certainly a woman.
3. The author focussed on strangers, because most friendships form that way. There’s no need to consider all marginal cases, so it’s not “overlooking” non-strangers to have left them out of the argument.
    
   (Arguments can’t be 1000 words long and exhaustively cover every possibility.)
4. The argument didn’t say this. Something can’t be the flaw if it wasn’t said.
    
   Example of flaw: It’s literally impossible to approach a stranger unless you feel totally comfortable doing it. 
5. CORRECT. Exactly. The argument didn’t say what happens if someone isn’t around your age. If people are equally comfortable approaching people of all ages, then there’s no basis to the argument.