#19 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[DAthenour]

Hi Powerscore,

On my first pass through this passage, which I perceived to be incredibly convoluted and confusing, I chose answer choice B for question 19. I based this on lines 36-39 which states the fragmented approach is "familiar enough in historiographical theorizing." Upon second pass through on my blind review, I realized that answer choice E was probably the clearer answer, because of the second part of line 39 which states the fragmented approach "has rarely been put into practice by historians of science."

Ultimately, my question is: what is explicitly wrong with B? Is it portion of "historiography in many disciplines" when the text says "historiographical theorizing?" Or does it have to do with the level of extremity of "commonly applied" to "many disciplines?" This is nitpicky, but it clearly would have made a difference on my score.

Thanks so much for your help!

[nicholaspavic]

Hi Dathenour,

You found a real doozy with this one. And I agree with you that this is a fairly dense passage with vocabulary and concepts. You are seizing on the right idea by citing line 39. The entire sentence about "histiographical theorizing" suggests that it is only limited to that particular discipline and that science historians don't use it at all. Therefore, it cannot be characterized as one employed "in many disciplines" as Answer Option (B) states. That careful reading in your blind review obviously pulled out that concept which suggests to me that you may want to try slowing down on these really thick passages to make sure that you are getting their nuance.

But all in all, this is a tricky passage to navigate, so well done on your ultimate success.

Now, let's never speak of this passage again...