Leibniz

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Leibniz

by gmatrix » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:39 am
source:LSAT

Historian: Leibniz, the seventeenth-century
philosopher, published his version of calculus
before Newton did. But then Newton revealed
his private notebooks, which showed he had
been using these ideas for at least a decade
before Leibniz's publication. Newton also
claimed that he had disclosed these ideas to
Leibniz in a letter shortly before Leibniz's
publication. Yet close examination of the letter
shows that Newton's few cryptic remarks did
not reveal anything important about calculus.
Thus, Leibniz and Newton each independently
discovered calculus.

Which one of the following is an assumption
required by the historian's argument?

(A) Leibniz did not tell anyone about calculus
prior to publishing his version of it.
(B) No third person independently discovered
calculus prior to Newton and Leibniz.
(C) Newton believed that Leibniz was able to learn
something important about calculus from his
letter to him.
(D) Neither Newton nor Leibniz knew that the other
had developed a version of calculus prior to
Leibniz's publication.
(E) Neither Newton nor Leibniz learned crucial
details about calculus from some third
source.

[spoiler]answer is (E)[/spoiler]
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by beatthegmatinsept » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:59 am
I was stuck between B and E. Can't decide why E would be better than B.

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by kvcpk » Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:51 am
beatthegmatinsept wrote:I was stuck between B and E. Can't decide why E would be better than B.
B speaks about Independednt discovery. It says no thirdperson Discovered X independently

We are not worried about whether the discovery by third person was independent / joint.

Hope this helps!!
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by reply2spg » Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:01 pm
I was stuck between D and E.

But eliminated D because D says that 'Neither Newton nor Leibniz knew that the other had developed a version of calculus prior to Leibniz’s publication'. If we negate this statement then conclusion will not impacted. Therefore, E is best here.
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by beatthegmatinsept » Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:12 pm
Interesting questions. Your explanations make sense, now that I read the question again.
Any idea what difficulty level a question like this would fall under? I am just beginning CR, im sure ive a lot to learn :)

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by kvcpk » Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:21 pm
beatthegmatinsept wrote:Interesting questions. Your explanations make sense, now that I read the question again.
Any idea what difficulty level a question like this would fall under? I am just beginning CR, im sure ive a lot to learn :)
I believe this question is a 700+ level question. All the best for your preparation!!
"Once you start working on something,
don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."
Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC-275BC)