Me too! I didn't like C because it read "certain human concerns and interests..."
"Certain," to me, implied that some concerns were more likely to be discussed than others, whereas I got the impression that the themes listed above were universal concerns. The "human" part got me, too, since the stimulus talked about animals assuming human personalities.
Whereas B said, "story-telling is consistent across different times and cultures" and seemed to be the MC of the stimulus, with everything else being examples provided to further support the MC's point.
I was extremely thrown off by the word "all" in answer choice C. Because of that word alone, I did not think that statement was supported.
I chose answer choice D because it was comparative, just like the stimulus. The stimulus even says the words "both past and present cultures"
The stimulus, unlike answer choice D, does not explicitly state that storytelling is "important," but it seems very reasonable to assume that something that is a "universal aspect" of "both past and present cultures" is important.
I don't feel from the video explanation that I understand why D is wrong. Any one else have advice?
I did the exact same thing. Yes very confusing as to why D is wrong and C could still be right but read the text under the video. J.Y. even says C is not the ideal choice and let's us know that the LSAT is using these trap answers to confuse us. J.Y. is just helping us not to fall for it.
I'd venture to say that storytelling's consistent presence (being a universal aspect) doesn't necessarily render it something "important". It could just be a coincidental phenomena that doesn't imply any greater meaning or importance despite existing in past and present cultures. Who's to say how many other elements are universal aspects in cultures and how can we ascribe importance to it without any other support in the stimulus. Especially considering we're handling different time periods the general importance can wane (or increase) with time while its presence still exists. I think this option requires you to make a few more assumptions than option C, albeit I was also stuck between C and D.
"Some" human concerns and interests arise in all of the world's cultures = Some human concerns and interests are common in all of the world's cultures.
If we don't consider these statements as true, I don't think you can conclude that from the stimulus that comparative studies from widely separated epochs and diverse cultures have common themes.
Essentially its talking about a commonality across all cultures regardless of time.
I hope my understanding of the question will help some people.
A is not supported because the epochs are widely separated making borrowing stories very unlikely.
Further, even without the widely separated Epochs context, assuming they borrowed themes is still a smuggled-in assumption. It makes sense, but the text does not support it.
B is not supported because we are assuming the storytellers' understanding. They may understand nothing about the universal aspect and still be good at storytelling. Nothing in the passage suggests that the storytellers are aware of it as a universal aspect of human culture.
C is supported because the passage states that the common themes being discussed are found in the world's cultures. The evidence supports this by highlighting the parallels between cultures.
My interpretation is that the word "All" doesn't matter because we are examining what the evidence most supports, we are not examining what the evidence makes definitively true.
In other words, although the evidence provided only supports, not guarantees, the statement, it most strongly supports option C, leading us to believe that C is now more likely.
D is not supported because the passage does not discuss the importance of storytelling.
It is our assumption that something universal is important, but the passage does not explicitly state that storytelling is important.
Just because it was prevalent in the past and present does not give us any evidence of the importance placed on it in either time period.
E is not supported because the point of the passage does not talk about the storyteller's motivations.
Anyone struggle understanding what C was even saying? I kept reading it and it was not clicking at all in my mind. Please tell me I’m not the only one.
Yeah the use of "all" in answer choice C threw me off. I understand that even though it is not explicitly correct, the answer lies on the scale of most to least correct. And I guess it makes sense that it is still the most correct answer. I picked A initially. F my chungus life.
To me, answer choice C is far fetched and assuming too much rather than a simple answer - that is not super far fetched (A). but okay lsat writers whatever you say GRRR
I think the answer choices here are really bad. I chose answer D because I felt that it was the best answer that wasn't too far-reaching. I guess it makes sense that I shouldn't have assumed comparison in an answer choice when it wasn't super explicit in the stimulus, but that's what drives me crazy about this test. How do you know WHEN to assume stuff and when not to?
The answer choices aren't bad -- they're meant to confuse you. That's the point of this test. Recall back to earlier lessons when we learn that there is only ever one right answer. This means that there is no world in which D could be right, provided the stimulus and question block.
Answer D calls back to the context of the stimulus, not the argument. That's why it's wrong. Answer C is the most strongly supported. That doesn't mean it's the best possible answer, just the best out of this question block.
These videos are killing me. Too many scribbles and circling of every other word. There is so much happening on screen it become so busy and distracting.
@DaniLeon28 Consider an alternate way of looking at the scribbles: This is what your brain should be doing when reading a stimulus. It is just memorialized here for teaching purposes and instruction. He is breaking down the stimulus because we should eventually be doing this internally and much faster as we progress!
what originally threw me off was the "all cultures" in answer choice C; it seemed like a pretty strong claim to draw based on the stimulus. But compared to the rest of the answer choices, I now see that it is the best.
this is one of those question stems that doesn't actually have a good answer. You can't select 'C' because it says "all cultures" in the passage, where there's zero evidence of it even being many cultures. A, D, and E are reasonably wrong. But 'B' is just as accurate as 'C' in my opinion.
These tests are super annoying because we've been trained to avoid the "all" answer choice when there's zero evidence of "all" being implicit in the passage.
@SpencerCornelia I totally agree with you, and I initially chose B as my answer choice for this same reason, but looking back I think the word "universal" should have made me a little less skeptical of answer choice C.
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I'm not even gonna lie, the answer got me a little heated
oh jeez well this sucks
I indeed feel for the trap and picked answer B
Yeah this one was hard, idk. They need to stop showing me how many others got it right and wrong because it just makes me feel unintelligent .. LOL.
@LawyeRell LOL right..
this was evil. I saw "all cultures" and crossed it out immediately. UGHHHHHH
ALL? This was so not fair omg
yea this one cooked me
I got trapped by answer choice B.....
Me too! I didn't like C because it read "certain human concerns and interests..."
"Certain," to me, implied that some concerns were more likely to be discussed than others, whereas I got the impression that the themes listed above were universal concerns. The "human" part got me, too, since the stimulus talked about animals assuming human personalities.
Whereas B said, "story-telling is consistent across different times and cultures" and seemed to be the MC of the stimulus, with everything else being examples provided to further support the MC's point.
EDIT: NVM, the "storytelling" vs "storytellers" distinction in JY's explanation makes sense
I was extremely thrown off by the word "all" in answer choice C. Because of that word alone, I did not think that statement was supported.
I chose answer choice D because it was comparative, just like the stimulus. The stimulus even says the words "both past and present cultures"
The stimulus, unlike answer choice D, does not explicitly state that storytelling is "important," but it seems very reasonable to assume that something that is a "universal aspect" of "both past and present cultures" is important.
I don't feel from the video explanation that I understand why D is wrong. Any one else have advice?
#help
I did the exact same thing. Yes very confusing as to why D is wrong and C could still be right but read the text under the video. J.Y. even says C is not the ideal choice and let's us know that the LSAT is using these trap answers to confuse us. J.Y. is just helping us not to fall for it.
I'd venture to say that storytelling's consistent presence (being a universal aspect) doesn't necessarily render it something "important". It could just be a coincidental phenomena that doesn't imply any greater meaning or importance despite existing in past and present cultures. Who's to say how many other elements are universal aspects in cultures and how can we ascribe importance to it without any other support in the stimulus. Especially considering we're handling different time periods the general importance can wane (or increase) with time while its presence still exists. I think this option requires you to make a few more assumptions than option C, albeit I was also stuck between C and D.
@raceanu91591 When we paraphrase C:
"Some" human concerns and interests arise in all of the world's cultures = Some human concerns and interests are common in all of the world's cultures.
If we don't consider these statements as true, I don't think you can conclude that from the stimulus that comparative studies from widely separated epochs and diverse cultures have common themes.
Essentially its talking about a commonality across all cultures regardless of time.
I'm soooo confusedddd. Sometimes were supposed to infer what the writer is saying, sometimes inferring or assuming is a trap..I just don't know
C threw me off with the "all" wording lol
I hope my understanding of the question will help some people.
A is not supported because the epochs are widely separated making borrowing stories very unlikely.
Further, even without the widely separated Epochs context, assuming they borrowed themes is still a smuggled-in assumption. It makes sense, but the text does not support it.
B is not supported because we are assuming the storytellers' understanding. They may understand nothing about the universal aspect and still be good at storytelling. Nothing in the passage suggests that the storytellers are aware of it as a universal aspect of human culture.
C is supported because the passage states that the common themes being discussed are found in the world's cultures. The evidence supports this by highlighting the parallels between cultures.
My interpretation is that the word "All" doesn't matter because we are examining what the evidence most supports, we are not examining what the evidence makes definitively true.
In other words, although the evidence provided only supports, not guarantees, the statement, it most strongly supports option C, leading us to believe that C is now more likely.
D is not supported because the passage does not discuss the importance of storytelling.
It is our assumption that something universal is important, but the passage does not explicitly state that storytelling is important.
Just because it was prevalent in the past and present does not give us any evidence of the importance placed on it in either time period.
E is not supported because the point of the passage does not talk about the storyteller's motivations.
@KennyB This was super helpful. Thank you!
Anyone struggle understanding what C was even saying? I kept reading it and it was not clicking at all in my mind. Please tell me I’m not the only one.
i agree with you. I really struggled with comprehending the meaning
Yeah the use of "all" in answer choice C threw me off. I understand that even though it is not explicitly correct, the answer lies on the scale of most to least correct. And I guess it makes sense that it is still the most correct answer. I picked A initially. F my chungus life.
@CarterCrawf i had the exact same issue ugh
this question is crime against humanity(LSAT takers)
@IslamUmarov Agree!
might be a good example of when eliminating answer choices by the strength of the statement (all, none, etc.) is not the best strategy
To me, answer choice C is far fetched and assuming too much rather than a simple answer - that is not super far fetched (A). but okay lsat writers whatever you say GRRR
I agree.
I agree!
I think the answer choices here are really bad. I chose answer D because I felt that it was the best answer that wasn't too far-reaching. I guess it makes sense that I shouldn't have assumed comparison in an answer choice when it wasn't super explicit in the stimulus, but that's what drives me crazy about this test. How do you know WHEN to assume stuff and when not to?
The answer choices aren't bad -- they're meant to confuse you. That's the point of this test. Recall back to earlier lessons when we learn that there is only ever one right answer. This means that there is no world in which D could be right, provided the stimulus and question block.
Answer D calls back to the context of the stimulus, not the argument. That's why it's wrong. Answer C is the most strongly supported. That doesn't mean it's the best possible answer, just the best out of this question block.
Why was I so confident lol and got it wrong, rushed read it...
@ANNASHAHVERDYAN This was so me. I knew for sure I had it right just to be wrong.
These videos are killing me. Too many scribbles and circling of every other word. There is so much happening on screen it become so busy and distracting.
@DaniLeon28 Consider an alternate way of looking at the scribbles: This is what your brain should be doing when reading a stimulus. It is just memorialized here for teaching purposes and instruction. He is breaking down the stimulus because we should eventually be doing this internally and much faster as we progress!
what originally threw me off was the "all cultures" in answer choice C; it seemed like a pretty strong claim to draw based on the stimulus. But compared to the rest of the answer choices, I now see that it is the best.
@LaneyWilliams Same! The word all tripped me up
Why did this one make no sense to me, even for the Blind Review? Was the text not clearly related to "stories and storytelling" specifically?
Once again I have been bamboozled by those pesky LSAC tricksters
@GregEvans LOLOL! They got us again, brother! and to think I thought I had this one on the blind review.. smh. This is TUFF...
this is one of those question stems that doesn't actually have a good answer. You can't select 'C' because it says "all cultures" in the passage, where there's zero evidence of it even being many cultures. A, D, and E are reasonably wrong. But 'B' is just as accurate as 'C' in my opinion.
These tests are super annoying because we've been trained to avoid the "all" answer choice when there's zero evidence of "all" being implicit in the passage.
@SpencerCornelia I totally agree with you, and I initially chose B as my answer choice for this same reason, but looking back I think the word "universal" should have made me a little less skeptical of answer choice C.
@laurennhopee I fell for the same trap here. I need to be more vigilant in dissecting each word.