LSAT 77, Logical Reasoning II, Q23, LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: For a computer to be intelligent, it must possess…

QUESTION TYPE: Parallel Reasoning

CONCLUSION: If the AR3000 is intelligent, then it must have the ability to learn from mistakes.

REASONING: Regarding computers, intelligence requires creativity, self-awareness or ability to learn from mistakes. The AR3000 doesn’t have creativity or self-awareness.

ANALYSIS: This is a good argument. Here’s the structure:

1. [AR3000] is a type of [computer]
2. For [computers], there are three ways to be [intelligent]: [creativity, self-awareness, learn from mistakes]
3. The [individual computer] is not [two of the three types of intelligent] So if the [individual computer] is [intelligent], then it is [the third type]

The bracket terms are the key points. The right answer exactly matches this structure. The wrong answers fail in one or more points.

In practice, I skimmed the answers looking for differences. The most common difference was that almost all the wrong answers said “vaccine X is one of the three types of vaccine”. That’s as if the stimulus said “the AR3000 is one of the three types of computer intelligence”.

That’s totally wrong. The stimulus wasn’t saying the AR3000 was intelligent. It was saying that if the AR3000 was intelligent, then it had a certain one of the three necessary conditions. The analogue in the right answer is saying “if vaccine X is a commonly used vaccine.”

Honestly, that’s all there is to explain about the wrong answers. Beyond that major error, the answers just combine the same terms in different ways. But they’re all wrong because they don’t say “If vaccine X is a commonly used vaccine, then….”

___________

1. This says that vaccine X is a vaccine. The stimulus was about whether AR3000 was intelligent.
2. CORRECT. This matches. The facts below fit exactly into the structure from the analysis above.
   1. [Vaccine X] is a type of [vaccine]
   2. For [vaccines], there are three ways to be [commonly used vaccines]: [dead virus, attenuated virus, pure DNA]
   3. The [individual vaccine] is not [two of the three types of commonly used vaccine] So if the [individual vaccine] is [commonly used], then it is [the third type]
3. This says that vaccine X is a vaccine. The stimulus was about whether AR3000 was intelligent.
4. This says that vaccine X is a vaccine. The stimulus was about whether AR3000 was intelligent.
5. This says that vaccine X is a vaccine. The stimulus was about whether AR3000 was intelligent.

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