LSAT 137 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q11

LR Question 11 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Science fiction creates an appetite for interstellar…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Sci-Fi has created an unproductive dissatisfaction with the way the world is.

REASONING: Sci-Fi has created an appetite for interstellar space exploration. But technology won’t let us explore space. Any gap between expectations and reality create discontent.

ANALYSIS: You may have an appetite for millions of dollars and being a Supreme Court justice. That doesn’t mean you expect those things to happen.

This argument assumes that once you have an appetite for space exploration, you expect it. But just because you like something doesn’t mean you assume it will happen.

On necessary assumption questions, look for a gap where a new term is introduced, or whether a link between two terms is merely implied, rather than stated.

___________

1. CORRECT. This is it. If you can have an appetite for space exploration but not expect it, then Sci-Fi might not make you discontented.
2. A nonsense answer that strings together terms from the stimulus. It doesn’t matter if appetites for exploration are the only way that Sci-Fi created discontent.
3. The argument only concerns itself with the appetite for space travel. That in itself may be enough to create discontent.
4. It doesn’t matter what most people think. The negation of this answer is ‘not most’ – half or less.  That could mean 49%, which is an insignificant difference.
   As long as some people expect we can travel to the stars, they could become discontented. The argument didn’t specify ‘most’.
5. A nonsense answer that uses relevant terms. Read carefully. This answer talks about what would happen if we had more advanced technology. It’s an irrelevant hypothetical. The argument talked about sci-fi’s actual effect in the real world.