Some legislators refuse to commit public funds for new scientific research if they cannot be assured that the researc...
SavannahMDecember 29, 2018
Question help
I was stuck between D and E, can someone explain what the difference is between D and E. I can see why E is the correct choice but would like further explanation as to why D is not correct.
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The passage discusses how it is impossible to predict what scientific research will lead to contributions to the public welfare. Research in areas that are far removed from matters of public welfare (like studying molds) can unexpectedly lead to great contributions to public welfare (like antibiotics). The main point of the passage is that legislators should not refuse to commit funding to scientific research just because there is not a guarantee that this research will contribute to the public welfare. Because the outcomes of scientific research are unpredictable, this lack of guaranteed contribution is not reason enough to refuse to commit funding. Because this is expressed in Answer E, that answer choice is correct.
Answer D says that legislators “must commit public funds to new scientific research†in order to “ensure†that this research is “directed toward contributing to the public welfare.†While this answer choice is close to expressing the main point of the argument, it is not quite right. The main point of the passage is that the outcomes of scientific research are unpredictable. There is no way to “ensure†that research is directed towards contributing to the public welfare because there is no way of knowing what areas of research will uncover a discovery that advances public welfare. Some research that is not “directed toward contributing to the public welfare,†may unpredictably result in such outcomes. While the passage does encourage legislators to commit funding to scientific research, Answer D misstates the main point of the argument.
IleriOctober 31, 2021
I also chose D, but it was because I was thrown off by the reference "legislators" in E, when the stimulus started with "some legislators." "Lack of guarantees that new scientific research will contribute to the public welfare is not sufficient reason for *legislators* to refuse to commit public funds to new scientific research. I assumed just stating legislators was too extreme/broad, as it meant "all legislators" which contradicts with the stimulus stating "some legislators."
So I am wondering how can I avoid making this kind of error?
RaviFebruary 6, 2022
@Ileri, in order to avoid making this kind of error with D, keep in mind that the author is saying that scientific research might not appear to be directly contributing to public welfare. Therefore, we don't have to ensure that it is, so we can get rid of D.
