In which one of the following is the relation between the two people most analogous to the relation between Ford and ...

Naz on August 6, 2015

Alright, so let's identify the relationship between Ford and Noguchi.

We are told in line 34 that Henry Ford had just made chrome-nickel steel commercially available for the first time in history through automotive research and development. R. Buckminster Fuller suggested that Noguchi use this metal for his sculpture.

Answer choice (C) describes the same relationship illustrated between Ford and Noguchi. We have the producer of shipping containers starts to use a new type of strapping material, as Ford had done with chrome-nickel steel, which a rock-climbing expert then found useful as an especially strong and reliable component of safety ropes for climbing, just as Noguchi found that the chrome-nickel steel would give him his desired reflective aesthetic while still being cost-effective.

Answer choice (B), on the other hand, does not illustrate this same relationship: We have an expert skier beginning to experiment with the use of a new type of material in the soles of ski boots after a shoe manufacturer suggests that that material might be appropriate for that use. In this scenario, the shoe manufacturer would be Ford, and we know form the passage that Ford never suggests that Noguchi use the chrome-nickel steel he had just made commerically viable, it was - in fact - Buckminster Fuller that made the suggestion.

Hope that clears things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.