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LSAT Test IV

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LSAT Test IV

by punitkaur » Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:43 am
Marianne is a professional chess player who hums audibly
while playing her matches, thereby distracting her opponents.
When ordered by chess officials to cease humming or else
be disqualified from professional chess, Marianne protested
the order. She argued that since she was unaware of her
humming, her humming was involuntary and that
therefore she should not be held responsible for it.

Which one of the following, if true, most undermines
Marianne's argument against the order?
(A) The officials of chess have little or no authority
to control the behavior of its professional
players outside of matches.
(B) Many of the customs of amateur chess matches
are not observed by professional chess players.
(C) Not all of a person's involuntary actions are
actions of which that person is unaware.
(D) A person who hums involuntarily can easily
learn to notice it and can thereby come to
control it.
(E) Not all of Marianne's opponents are distracted
by her humming during chess matches.
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by papgust » Wed Nov 25, 2009 4:04 am
IMO D seems to be the right answer. If the involuntary actions can be learnt to notice and control it, then she must therefore take the responsibility for her actions and control them.
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by getso » Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:32 am
I go with C.

Could you please post OA.
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by mehravikas » Wed Nov 25, 2009 12:52 pm
Tough one - I would go with C because according to D Marianne's argument is not undermined. According to D Marianne is not doing it intentionally and he has to learn that he hums while playing matches and has to stop it.
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by papgust » Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:06 pm
Tough one - I would go with C because according to D Marianne's argument is not undermined. According to D Marianne is not doing it intentionally and he has to learn that he hums while playing matches and has to stop it.
Why do you say that D does not undermine?

D says that the person who hums involuntarily should take the responsibility to control it. Look at the conclusion "she should not be held responsible for it".

D is the perfect choice to undermine the argument.

What's the OA, punitkaur?
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by Testluv » Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:38 pm
Choice D definitely undermines the argument, and must be correct.

Let's look at choice C:

"Not all of a person's involuntary actions are actions of which that person is unaware."

In other words: there are some involuntary actions that a person is aware of. But, there are still some involuntary actions that a person isn't aware of. And, we know from her argument that she is unaware of her humming. Accordingly, this choice does not at all free her from responsibility. And, thus, this choice falls short of undermining her argument.

On the other hand, and as papgust pointed out, choice D indicates that involuntary actions can be controlled. We know from the passage that her humming is involuntary, and so she can control her humming--therefore, her argument that she should not be held responsible for her humming is (seriously) undermined.

But a choice like C is difficult to eliminate mostly because it plays on difficulties an LSAT test-taker may have in working with formal logic. On the GMAT, wrong answers won't be seductive for this reason.
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by punitkaur » Thu Nov 26, 2009 5:21 am
Sorry guys, couldnt get back earlier on this. OA is D.

I was confused between C & D too. Not because I felt C was better than D, but as stated by Testluv, C was difficult to eliminate due to the complicated wording. It took me several minutes to udnerstand what it was saying!!.

Anyway, thanks guys!
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by getso » Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:15 am
Thanks for the great explanation Test luv.

You make it so simple. How I wish I could analyse like you do :(
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