Question #1295

an accountant who uses a computer generally can earn more per hour than an accountant who uses an adding machine

Started by enochswalk · started 2023-05-18 21:25 · last activity 2023-05-20 20:20 · 1 reply

I'm completing the six week(halfway mark) of my test prep I've had lots of frustration with how to arrive at correct answers. I assume that's normal. This question has taken the #1 spot. The conclusion lists per hour as the metric for success. Everything else being equal if Cindy and Evelyn are accountants for state government and one uses a laptop with top of the line accounting software and the other an abacus who is more likely to be leading in productivity? I mean, c'mon... No leading accountant or accountant firm uses an adding machine for anything other than to point at the past. Okay, I'm done venting... I read the anticipation, explanation and takeaway. I will continue to do my best to be a "true disciple" of testmax approaches to all things LSAT. If I see a question like this again I will use the steps outlined to find the "correct" answer. Still... this one is wrong... Okay, I'm done venting...

Replies

Emil-Kunkin · 2023-05-20 20:20

Hi, this question is quite old, and the specifics really do feel weird for someone reading it in 2023, about 30 years after it was first written. That said, we can still attack the logic of the argument. The author notes there are two methods, an efficient one and an inefficient one. Since the efficient one allows people to do more work per hour, people who use the efficient method must be paid more per hour. This doesn't have to be a matter of calculators and adding machines, this could be custom macros in Google sheets Vs special software, or a senior partner in a law firm choosing to hand write drafts and type them later. The fundamental flaw is that the author assumes that the more efficient person must get paid more. This is not always the case. Perhaps the efficient person is a junior associate billing at 100 per hour, and the inefficient person is a senior partner billing at 1000 an hour. Speed is not the only determinant of pay, since seniority, experience, and competence could also be factors. While this question is comically dated, the flawed logic is familiar to us.