PrepTest 130, Section 4, Question 16
Madden: Industrialists address problems by simplifying them, but(77 more words not shown)
The situation as Madden describes(9 more words not shown)
- AThe handling of(12 more words not shown)
- BThe problems of(8 more words not shown)
- CFarmers are better(7 more words not shown)
- DIndustrial solutions for(7 more words not shown)
- EThe approach to(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Simplifying a problem can be useful. Someone who spends months designing the perfect exercise routine might benefit from simply starting to exercise. Madden's point is that simplification can go wrong in farming, so I want to see what the industrial approach overlooks here.
The topsoil example supplies that detail. Good soil can retain water and allow drainage. Treating those functions as isolated opposites misses the fact that the same soil must do both. The industrialist assigns a separate device to each task—a dam or terrace for retention, a ditch or drain tile for drainage—without appreciating that relationship.
What we’re looking for
The number of devices is not what makes the approach an oversimplification. The problem is the reduced picture of what needs to be managed. Madden says that applying it creates more farming problems than it solves. For the principle question, I would look for the lesson that the approach must respect the features of farming that this simplified picture misses.
Working the answers
- A
Water handling is Madden's example, not something ranked as the most important part of farming. Other tasks could matter as much or more. Showing that an example reveals a problem does not establish its priority over everything else.
- BCorrect
Viewing farming problems in all their complexity means taking account of their actual interacting features. Here that includes understanding how soil can both retain and drain water.
“All their complexity” does not mean making the problems as complicated as possible. It means not simplifying away something that matters. That is the lesson illustrated when an oversimplified industrial approach creates more problems than it solves.
- C
The comparison is between farmers and industrialists, not between farmers and every other possible person. Even if farmers handle these problems better than industrialists, that does not establish that nobody else could handle them as well or better.
- D
“Usually” leading to oversimplification does not mean industrial solutions should never be sought. An industrial method might help with a particular task when applied with proper understanding. Madden's criticism does not establish an absolute prohibition.
- E
The criticism is about applying the industrial approach to farming. Simplification could work very well in a factory or another setting. A failure to suit this domain does not show that the approach is fundamentally flawed everywhere.
More Must Be True questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Must Be True questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.