Why do they call passages “stimulus?”

BenjaminSaka

Isn’t it a bit silly that they created new, more intellectual sounding words for things which already exist? It’s a d*** passage! Just call it that, you pretentious assholes!

Also, “question stem” instead of question? They might as well call talking “idea exchange” and thinking “stimuli sorting.”

Haha, sorry. Rant over. Logical reasoning is kicking my ass.

Good luck on your studies!

Auntie2020

I think it depends on RC I would call it a passage, but for LR it definitely isn’t a passage because it’s a little blurb, so a stimulus sounds more fitting.

BenjaminSaka

@Auntie2020 said:
I think it depends on RC I would call it a passage, but for LR it definitely isn’t a passage because it’s a little blurb, so a stimulus sounds more fitting.

You’re right, but I prefer to be pissed at the moment.

How do you explain “question stem” rather than question though?

Auntie2020

Hahaha! I totally get it. This test makes everyone angry. An emotional rollercoaster, really.

Okay, so I think it’s a question stem to distinguish it from questions in the passage or in the stimulus. Sometimes they have those questions in there, and so people won’t get confused when they are referring to certain parts of the test.

LSATcantwin

Question stem refers to a unique part of the question as a whole.

The idea is to break the question into different parts: you have the passage/stimulus where you are being provided with the world and logic the question is relying on. Then the stem is what the question is asking you to do.

Saying "the question" is usually interpreted to mean both the passage AND the stem. It's designed for clarity.

Ashley2018-1

I heard it was because it was supposed to stimulate my attention. It hasn't had much success with that though haha

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

on the other hand, who first started calling analytical reasoning "logic games"?
what an influencer.