A work of architecture, if it is to be both inviting and functional for public use, must be unobtrusive, taking secon...
DalaalMarch 6, 2020
answer choice B
I still feel like answer B is a wrong reversal of the 2nd contrapositive: O ==> not I or not F.
It's sort of saying b/c it's not F ==> not O, could you please explain?? Thank you!
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You're absolutely right that this stimulus is worded confusingly. We need to focus here on the second sentence i.e. the fact that modern architects and their overpowering egos (or "strong personalities") have "violated this precept."
What is the precept? A work of architecture must be unobtrusive. If modern architects have violated this, then they must be creating buildings which are obtrusive.
Therefore, answer choice (B) is correct because we know that modern architects have let their strong personalities take over their work and that they have violated the idea that a work of architecture must be unobtrusive. So, modern architects who let their strong personalities take over their work must be producing buildings that are obtrusive.
Because this question is worded confusingly and the answer choice does not neatly seem to follow from diagramming the S&N statements, it is helpful to look at the other answer choices and determine why they are wrong, ensuring that (B) is the only possible correct answer.
Answer choice (A) is incorrect because it is simply a reversal of the conditional statement that if architecture is both inviting and functional, then it is unobtrusive.
Answer choice (C) is incorrect because it is not supported by the passage. The passage tells us that modern architects have let their strong personalities take over their work, resulting in non-functional buildings. This does not mean that architects cannot have strong personalities, it simply means that they cannot let such personalities take over their work.
Answer choice (D) is incorrect because it is simply a reversal of the conditional statement that if architecture is inviting and functions well for public use, then it takes second place to the total environment.
Answer choice (E) is incorrect for the same reasons as answer choice (C). Having a strong personality that is reflected in your work is not the problem; the problem is allowing your strong personality to take over the work.
Hope this is helpful! Please let us know if you have any further questions.
DalaalMarch 7, 2020
What is the difference between allowing a strong personality to be reflected in the work and a strong personality to take over the work?
AndreaKMarch 17, 2020
Hi @Dalaal,
Allowing a strong personality to take over the work is the problem here. Allowing a strong personality to be reflected in the work—(let’s say you’re a very quirky person, and your architecture is similarly kind of quirky!) doesn’t mean that it’s taking over the work. The evidence points to modern architects that let their strong personalities take over their work. That’s going farther than just reflection in the work.
Hope this helps! Feel free to follow up if you have anymore questions.
