September 2009 LSAT Section 1 Question 13

It is a given that to be an intriguing person, one must be able to inspire the perpetual curiosity of others. Constan...

heidiz on June 21, 2019

B vs D

I understand that B is the answer, but D looks like it just restates the same thing. Could someone please clarify? B: If one constantly broadens one's abilities and extends one's intellectual reach, one will be able to inspire the perpetual curiosity of others. D: To inspire the perpetual curiosity of others, one must constantly broaden one's abilities and intellectual reach. The only difference here that I see is the use of "must" in D, otherwise it just seems like it's flipped around.

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shunhe on January 1, 2020

Hi @heidiz,

That's actually exactly the problem with (D) - it's flipped around! (B) and (D) are reversals of each other, and so do not mean the same thing. (B) tells us that

Broaden one's abilities and extends one's intellectual reach (BAEIR) - > be able to inspire the perpetual curiosity of others (IPC)

Whereas (D) states

IPC - > BAEIR

And it is ultimately (B), not (D), that is the conclusion and main point of the stimulus. Hope this helps!

Ntseltzer on February 13, 2020

I think shunhe is actually incorrect I'm his reasoning. The problem with D is the word "must" which implies that it is therefore the only way. The article does not say broadening one's abilities is the only way to inspire the perpetual curiosity of others. It says it enables one to inspire that curiosity. Thus there could be other ways, so the "must is out of place.