The following text is adapted from a biography of mathematician Emmy Noether. Dr. Noether was a graduate student at the...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
The following text is adapted from a biography of mathematician Emmy Noether. Dr. Noether was a graduate student at the University of Göttingen in the early 1900s.
Among her professors, Dr. Noether formed a singular attachment to David Hilbert. While she attended other faculty lectures and participated in seminars led by various mathematicians, her intellectual passion was reserved entirely for Hilbert's work. She would politely acknowledge insights from Klein or Minkowski, but these interactions remained formal and distant. When other students sought her collaboration on projects supervised by different professors, Dr. Noether would decline, preferring to dedicate her research efforts exclusively to problems within Hilbert's mathematical framework.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
Dr. Noether regarded Hilbert as intellectually superior to her other professors.
Dr. Noether was unable to understand the mathematical approaches of most faculty members.
Dr. Noether preferred working independently rather than collaborating with fellow students.
Dr. Noether received more encouragement from Hilbert than from her other professors.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Among her professors, Dr. Noether formed a singular attachment to David Hilbert." |
|
| "While she attended other faculty lectures and participated in seminars led by various mathematicians, her intellectual passion was reserved entirely for Hilbert's work." |
|
| "She would politely acknowledge insights from Klein or Minkowski, but these interactions remained formal and distant." |
|
| "When other students sought her collaboration on projects supervised by different professors, Dr. Noether would decline, preferring to dedicate her research efforts exclusively to problems within Hilbert's mathematical framework." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Dr. Noether had a uniquely close intellectual relationship with Professor Hilbert while maintaining only formal, distant relationships with her other professors.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that Dr. Noether formed a special attachment to Hilbert, then demonstrates this through three types of evidence: her intellectual passion was reserved for his work alone, her interactions with other professors remained formal despite being polite, and she chose to work exclusively within Hilbert's mathematical framework even when offered other collaborations.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage is entirely about how Dr. Noether related differently to Hilbert compared to her other professors
- The right answer should capture that she had a special, intellectually passionate relationship with Hilbert while her relationships with other professors were polite but formal and distant
- The key elements are:
- Hilbert held a special place in her intellectual life
- This was different from how she related to other professors
- Her preference for Hilbert influenced her research and collaboration choices
Dr. Noether regarded Hilbert as intellectually superior to her other professors.
✓ Correct
- Captures the core relationship described in the passage
- "Regarded as intellectually superior" aligns with her "intellectual passion was reserved entirely for Hilbert's work"
Dr. Noether was unable to understand the mathematical approaches of most faculty members.
✗ Incorrect
- Passage shows she attended lectures and acknowledged insights from others
- No evidence she couldn't understand other approaches—she simply preferred Hilbert's
Dr. Noether preferred working independently rather than collaborating with fellow students.
✗ Incorrect
- Focuses on collaboration with students rather than relationships with professors
- Misses the main point about her special connection to Hilbert
Dr. Noether received more encouragement from Hilbert than from her other professors.
✗ Incorrect
- No mention of encouragement levels from any professor in the passage
- Passage focuses on her intellectual attachment, not on what professors gave her