Technology historians acknowledge that Steve Jobs's vision was crucial to Apple's early success, but many overlook Steve Wozniak's role as...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Technology historians acknowledge that Steve Jobs's vision was crucial to Apple's early success, but many overlook Steve Wozniak's role as an innovative engineer in his own right. Before co-founding Apple, Wozniak had already demonstrated remarkable technical creativity, designing circuits for Hewlett-Packard and creating the groundbreaking Apple I computer architecture. Hence, those who chiefly regard Wozniak as implementing Jobs's ideas _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
misunderstand the marketing strategies that made Apple's products appealing to consumers.
overlook the technical challenges involved in early personal computer development.
undervalue Wozniak's independent engineering innovations and technical expertise.
fail to recognize how consumer demand shaped Apple's product development priorities.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Technology historians acknowledge that Steve Jobs's vision was crucial to Apple's early success,' |
|
| 'but many overlook Steve Wozniak's role as an innovative engineer in his own right.' |
|
| 'Before co-founding Apple, Wozniak had already demonstrated remarkable technical creativity,' |
|
| 'designing circuits for Hewlett-Packard and creating the groundbreaking Apple I computer architecture.' |
|
| 'Hence, those who chiefly regard Wozniak as implementing Jobs's ideas _____' |
|
Part B: Main Point
Main Point: While historians credit Jobs's vision, they underestimate Wozniak's independent engineering contributions that were crucial to Apple's technical foundation.
Step 2: Interpret the Question
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 argues that Wozniak was an independent technical innovator before Apple, not just someone who carried out Jobs's ideas
- The right answer should point out what these people are failing to recognize - specifically, that they're not giving proper credit to Wozniak's own engineering abilities and innovations that existed independently of Jobs
misunderstand the marketing strategies that made Apple's products appealing to consumers.
- This focuses on marketing strategies and consumer appeal
- The passage discusses Wozniak's technical engineering work, not marketing
overlook the technical challenges involved in early personal computer development.
- This is about technical challenges in early computer development generally
- The passage isn't about development challenges - it's specifically about recognizing Wozniak's independent contributions
undervalue Wozniak's independent engineering innovations and technical expertise.
- Directly addresses what the passage argues - that Wozniak made independent engineering innovations
- 'undervalue' matches the logic: if people only see him as implementing Jobs's ideas, they're not properly valuing his own contributions
fail to recognize how consumer demand shaped Apple's product development priorities.
- Focuses on consumer demand shaping product development
- The passage doesn't mention consumer demand or product development priorities