I think what tripped me up about choice A was the meaning of "ways that appear to be predestined". I thought these "ways that appear to be predestined" referred to Weiner's belief in the inevitable westernization of indigenous cultures that gets facilitated by the introduction of camera technologies.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like my mistake was that I was too liberal in my reading of "ways." If "ways" refers to the impacts of technologies, then Answer choice A would make sense. But "ways", in this answer choice, very specifically refers to "ways" that "technology is exchanged" - i.e., through trade, charitable donations by NGOs, etc. These "ways" have nothing to do with the content of the passage.
So this subtle specificity of "ways" is really a red herring to test whether we're paying attention to the content of the answer choice. An answer choice that said "in ways that negatively impact indigenous societies" would be much more appealing because it captures Weiner's actual argument. Fortunately, we have answer choice E to do this instead.
I really just don't like this question and its answers. I think (A) has a lot more merit than it seems to be given. For one, determinism and predestination, in my mind, are nearly inextricably linked. This much more accurately encapsulates "technological determinism" than simply saying that "cultures are shaped in fundamental ways." Determinism implies that things occur in predetermined ways, which seems to be exactly the point of "using a camera makes one unwittingly Western" as well as her contention that Weiner essentially thinks that any time you use Western technology it Westernizes a society.
I get that "exchanged" can be up for debate, but is this not technological exchange from West to non-West, and does "exchange" really not encapsulate its effects? If not, then that seems to be way overly semantic and makes me honestly question any other common understanding of a word. I understand why (E) is correct, but it feels like (A) better captures what the concept of "determinism" actually means while also placing it in context.
Curiosity question that I have no clue how to word properly right now:
For questions like these, do answers that include aspects about the referred phrase/topic usually make it the wrong answer?
Like for determinism, I think it is a reasonable assumption that many people taking the LSAT wouldn't be familiar with determinism and its predestined aspects, and the writers would know this. Does that add to making the answer a bit of a "trap"?
Now, that I've gone through it, I know the main issue with the answer is that it involves "exchange" when that isn't applicable, but this popped in my head.
I really appreciate that you take the time to help us find out how to answer questions without even knowing the definitions. Sometimes I feel like in the LR core curriculum it was assumed that everyone knew the most random words and so there wasn't even an explanation.
Task: what does "technological determinism" mean here?
AC (E) is correct because it describes Weiner's view---that "cultures are shaped in fundamental ways by the technologies they use."
How do we know that we should be looking for an AC that describes Weiner's view / the correct AC is one that is about Weiner's view?
Because based on our LRS, we know that where "technological determinism" is used in the passage, that's where Ginsburg responds & rejects Weiner's view. Ginsburg uses a modifier "boilerplate" to describe "technological determinism." "Boilerplate" has a negative connotation. Since Ginsburg disagrees with Weiner's view and uses a negative word to describe "technological determinism," then we can likely conclude that "technological determinism" refers to something Ginsburg disagrees with/has a negative attitude towards. And that something must refer to Weiner's view, since that's the topic Ginsburg is engaging & ultimately disagreeing with.
I originally chose the trap AC (A) because the general meaning matched. But I see that AC (A) is a weak & wrong AC because it doesn't meet the bar (our task) of describing the phrase in CONTEXT. And to understand context, I have to understand purpose -- which I can do by paying attention to structure (especially speakers and their attitudes).
Good old Mass Effect. If your civilization uses the mass relays, it advances technologically in a predetermined path designed by the Reapers, so that they can easily overpower and harvest technologically advanced civilizations every 50k years to make more Reapers.
I knew what it meant before even reading the passage. Who says gaming doesn't pay off?
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23 comments
I think what tripped me up about choice A was the meaning of "ways that appear to be predestined". I thought these "ways that appear to be predestined" referred to Weiner's belief in the inevitable westernization of indigenous cultures that gets facilitated by the introduction of camera technologies.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like my mistake was that I was too liberal in my reading of "ways." If "ways" refers to the impacts of technologies, then Answer choice A would make sense. But "ways", in this answer choice, very specifically refers to "ways" that "technology is exchanged" - i.e., through trade, charitable donations by NGOs, etc. These "ways" have nothing to do with the content of the passage.
So this subtle specificity of "ways" is really a red herring to test whether we're paying attention to the content of the answer choice. An answer choice that said "in ways that negatively impact indigenous societies" would be much more appealing because it captures Weiner's actual argument. Fortunately, we have answer choice E to do this instead.
I really just don't like this question and its answers. I think (A) has a lot more merit than it seems to be given. For one, determinism and predestination, in my mind, are nearly inextricably linked. This much more accurately encapsulates "technological determinism" than simply saying that "cultures are shaped in fundamental ways." Determinism implies that things occur in predetermined ways, which seems to be exactly the point of "using a camera makes one unwittingly Western" as well as her contention that Weiner essentially thinks that any time you use Western technology it Westernizes a society.
I get that "exchanged" can be up for debate, but is this not technological exchange from West to non-West, and does "exchange" really not encapsulate its effects? If not, then that seems to be way overly semantic and makes me honestly question any other common understanding of a word. I understand why (E) is correct, but it feels like (A) better captures what the concept of "determinism" actually means while also placing it in context.
Open to hearing others' views though.
I dont fully understand "boilerplate technological determinism" but based on how the paragraph flows I knew it had to be E
Curiosity question that I have no clue how to word properly right now:
For questions like these, do answers that include aspects about the referred phrase/topic usually make it the wrong answer?
Like for determinism, I think it is a reasonable assumption that many people taking the LSAT wouldn't be familiar with determinism and its predestined aspects, and the writers would know this. Does that add to making the answer a bit of a "trap"?
Now, that I've gone through it, I know the main issue with the answer is that it involves "exchange" when that isn't applicable, but this popped in my head.
I really appreciate that you take the time to help us find out how to answer questions without even knowing the definitions. Sometimes I feel like in the LR core curriculum it was assumed that everyone knew the most random words and so there wasn't even an explanation.
don't think i would have gotten this right unless i guessed correctly. "boilerplate determinism" what a joke
Am I understanding this correctly?
Task: what does "technological determinism" mean here?
AC (E) is correct because it describes Weiner's view---that "cultures are shaped in fundamental ways by the technologies they use."
How do we know that we should be looking for an AC that describes Weiner's view / the correct AC is one that is about Weiner's view?
Because based on our LRS, we know that where "technological determinism" is used in the passage, that's where Ginsburg responds & rejects Weiner's view. Ginsburg uses a modifier "boilerplate" to describe "technological determinism." "Boilerplate" has a negative connotation. Since Ginsburg disagrees with Weiner's view and uses a negative word to describe "technological determinism," then we can likely conclude that "technological determinism" refers to something Ginsburg disagrees with/has a negative attitude towards. And that something must refer to Weiner's view, since that's the topic Ginsburg is engaging & ultimately disagreeing with.
I originally chose the trap AC (A) because the general meaning matched. But I see that AC (A) is a weak & wrong AC because it doesn't meet the bar (our task) of describing the phrase in CONTEXT. And to understand context, I have to understand purpose -- which I can do by paying attention to structure (especially speakers and their attitudes).
Am I on the right track? Thoughts?
Any tips for meaning in context questions? I seem to always miss them.
Is there no video for this lesson? :(
Good old Mass Effect. If your civilization uses the mass relays, it advances technologically in a predetermined path designed by the Reapers, so that they can easily overpower and harvest technologically advanced civilizations every 50k years to make more Reapers.
I knew what it meant before even reading the passage. Who says gaming doesn't pay off?