LSAT 70, Section II, Reading Comprehension, Question 14 Explanation

RC Question 14 Explanation

DISCUSSION: Read the whole section, lines 31-40. Line 38 is key, the author says that the traditional social scientists’ ideas are now “fortunately recognized as unrealistic”.

So the author disagrees that anthropologists should remain separate from the people they study, and the author thinks that Dunham was correct to participate in Caribbean dances.

___________

The author thinks Dunham made the right decision by participating in dances. So if the social scientists thought that there was a risk of injury, the author wouldn’t agree with them.But it’s not even clear that the social scientists did think that there was a risk of injury. Lines 35-36 mention that the dances were physically demanding, but the social scientists actually didn’t mention risk of injury per se. The social scientists might simply have considered dancing to be hard work and too much exercise.
The social scientists didn’t recommend “initial caution”. They recommended Dunham avoid dancing altogether!
It’s true that the author thinks that the researchers were incorrect. But lines 31-40 don’t mention scientific rigor. The author never expresses an opinion about the scientific rigor of anthropological research.
CORRECT. Line 38 supports this. It’s now recognized that anthropological researchers can’t remain entirely separate from the people they study.
Only lines 19-23 mention scientific rigor. The author never says to what extent they think scientific rigor is possible in the study of dance.

Previous Question

Table Of Contents

Next Passage

Want a free Reading Comp lesson?

Get a free sample of the Reading Comprehension Mastery Seminar. Learn tips for solving RC questions

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

I run LSAT Hacks, and got a 177 on the LSAT. The single best thing I've ever made is the set of LSAT Mastery seminars. They show you how to think like a 170+ scorer when doing questions. Get them here: Mastery Seminars

I guarantee you'll like them, or you get your money back within 7 days. There's no risk. Check the reviews, people have said they improved within a few days.
---------
Photos and Updates: You can follow me on Instagram here

For updates, sign up for my email list. I update whenever I have new posts.