June 2020 LSAT Section 4 Question 14

The relation between the conception in passage A and the conception in passage B, respectively, of how markets handle...

jordierose02 on July 18, 2023

Answer explanation?

I chose D and was stuck between B, here is my breakdown of the answer choices and would like to know/get more clarification on them, please. A (to be honest I wasn't even sure what a word processor is) However, I thought it was incorrect because an individual manually uses/inputs information into a typewriter, reflecting what the user has information on. In contrast, a word processor puts out information that the user then receives? Therefore this would make sense if it was flipped. B Similar to A, a thermostat is something that an individual uses and will reflect what they want(representing the majority opinion), while a thermometer just tells you the information. I thought this would make more sense if flipped as well, but I also initially ignored it since I thought they were too similar to be used as a good example. C doesn't make sense D news broadcasts take in information and then quickly inform everyone of that information and are good indications of what is going on at the current time, whereas magazines reflect only what the majority believed was true at one point in time. I thought this was correct since it highlighted the aspect of markets disseminating knowledge to its user, and how it can be used to lear/predict. I thought the magazine was a stretch since it has a similar effect, except that it can't change, and didn't feel great about it, but I thought it was the best choice. E doesn't make sense.

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jordierose02 on July 18, 2023

As a whole, these types of questions to me seem to be very subjective, and difficult to pinpoint what aspect of the difference between the two passages is trying to be highlighted.

How do we approach a question like this to first, figure out what difference they are trying to highlight, and two, not go so far into thinking about every possible use/difference between the objects to make it fit the answer?

Emil-Kunkin on July 19, 2023

This starts by understanding what the passages do. Passage A holds that markets adjust to the knowledge held by its participants. That is, the market responds to the knowledge of its participants, and the participants who do not yet have knowledge manage to glean knowledge from the markets.

Passage B holds that markets merely reflect the general knowledge at any given time. They don't play a role in changing it, in reading the current consensus.

This is a solid match for B. A thermostat gathers information about the temperature but also sets the temperature. If you input data into a thermostat that will in turn alter the temperature of the room, much as if you feed info into a market you will alter the behavior of others in the market. Meanwhile, a thermometer only reads the room, exactly what B thinks markets do.

That is, in passage A, markets actually predict and change the future, while in B, they only reflect current opinion. Thermostats change the future, while thermostats only reflect the current opinion.

I think you may be bringing in assumptions to D that are not warranted. News broadcasts absolutely reflect what is believed at the time! And magazines absolutely inform people of current events! The only difference between a magazine and a broadcast would be the speed with which they fulfill their job, something that was not a real difference in the passages.

This is a notoriously annoying question, mainly because who remembers the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat?

Emil-Kunkin on July 19, 2023

Also, I think word processor is like Google docs or Microsoft word. It's a very 1990s term that I'm surprised to see in a test from 2020