Q1 - Aristophanes

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Explain Discrepancy

Stimulus Breakdown:
Given that "portrayals of Socrates when he was in his 40s make him seem like an atheist",
how can it be that "portrayals of Socrates writtenafter his death at age 70 make him seem like he has a religious dimension"?

Answer Anticipation:
Maybe Socrates became more religious in the second half of life. Maybe one of these portrayals is simply wrong / distorting the truth.

Correct Answer:
B

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) Flattering vs. unflattering is not a commonsense code word for atheist vs. religious.

(B) This could work! Maybe Socrates just became more interested with religious stuff later in life.

(C) No, this might help explain the 1st fact but not the paradox.

(D) "Controversial" isn't a commonsense code word for atheist vs. religious.

(E) This is like (C). It relates only to the 1st fact.

Takeaway/Pattern: It's unusual to be able to predict the answer on Explain Discrepancy, but because this is a #1, we got rewarded with the simple idea of "People change, brah."

#officialexplanation

[stacksdoe]

QT: Resolve/Explain an apparent discrepancy
We are told about two view points regarding Socrates: one comes at an earlier period in his life, from Aristophanes "The Clouds" (which I happened to have read and actually have it right next to here, he wasn't a fan of Socrates, but that need matter here), and the other much later, both show that his issue, or rather, his focus was on two different subjects.
Clearly his concerns could have changed with age and that would explain the discrepancy, albeit I don't even see a discrepancy here.
(B) is the only viable option.
All the other answer choices are irrelevant or out of scope, in all, they don't explain the stimulus.
If anyone needs a more detailed explanation, I'll be happy to provide!