LSAT 150 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q12

LR Question 12 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Scientist: Some pundits claim that the public is afraid…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: It’s not true that the public is afraid of scientists.

REASONING: I’m a scientists. No one I’ve met has ever been afraid of scientists.

ANALYSIS: The scientist ignores the filter bubble phenomenon. That’s where you tend to mostly meet people who are similar to you. So, it’s possible that the scientist only meets other people who also approve of science.

You might have thought “maybe people are lying to the scientist”. In the real world, that would be a plausible deduction. However, on the LSAT you’re generally supposed to take evidence as true. So it’s dangerous to prephrase this one in terms of lies. That can lead you to E, which is a trap answer.

___________

1. This gives a reason why people might be afraid of scientists. This therefore slightly weakens the argument: the scientist was trying to show people aren’t afraid. (The correct answer will strengthen the argument)
2. So? This is like saying “If the poor had money, they’d be rich”. It’s a hypothetical! The scientist is talking about what is actually true in the world.
    
   In other words, this answer is not telling us “people are not afraid of scientists”. It’s tell us that they wouldn’t be afraid in a hypothetical world. That’s useless.
3. This mildly weakens the argument. It would be better if there were no reasons to fear science or technology.
4. CORRECT. If this isn’t true, then the scientist may have met a biased sample of the public. His anecdotal evidence doesn’t tell us about the general population.
   Negation: Even if the public were afraid of scientists, it would be possible for a scientist to life several decades and not encounter anyone afraid of scientists.
5. This is backwards. It could have been correct if it had said “No one afraid of scientists would ever lie about it”. The scientist did not meet anyone who claimed to be afraid of scientists.
   Negation: Some people claim to be afraid of scientists, but are lying about it.

Recap: The question begins with “Scientist: Some pundits claim that the public is afraid”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Necessary questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.