Referential phrase: "otherwise"

akistotle

This post contains spoilers to PT80.S4.Q15

I had trouble parsing out the stimulus of PT80.S4.Q15 (which is supposed to be an easy MSS question) because I did not understand what "... than otherwise would be" was referring to at first.

I was advised that I should make a post to practice using "otherwise" as appeared in the stimulus.

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• During this holiday season, I gained more weight than I otherwise would, since studying for the LSAT stressed me out.
Comparison: weight gain during the holiday season with the LSAT v. weight gain during holiday seasons without the LSAT
https://media.giphy.com/media/uPRX2fS9wVVx6/giphy.gif

• The increase in my LSAT score is more than it otherwise would be, since I have the best LSAT teacher.
Comparison: The increase in LSAT score with @"J.Y. Ping" v. The increase in LSAT score without @"J.Y. Ping"
https://media.giphy.com/media/sJMDOVSvKlXMs/giphy.gif

• I am less worried about the law school application process than I otherwise would be, since I have the 7Sage Admission Course.
Comparison: Me with 7Sage v. Me without 7Sage
https://media.giphy.com/media/l2JhtY8TXJVPIAenS/giphy.gif

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I need to come up with more, but I can't seem to get my mind off of LSAT/law school apps.

Happy holidays, everyone! ☃️

goingfor99th

Great post! I've stumbled over the word in other stimuli before. 'Otherwise' seems to function as a 'logical opposite' indicator word. Do you agree?

This word functions a lot like 'either/or' does, imo.

akistotle

@goingfor99th said:
Great post! I've stumbled over the word in other stimuli before. 'Otherwise' seems to function as a 'logical opposite' indicator word. Do you agree?

This word functions a lot like 'either/or' does, imo.

Thanks for the comment!

Yea, I think so too. "Otherwise" = "If not." There are rules in LG; for example, PT55.S4.Game 4's last rule says "otherwise, G is not...." This means "If J is not...., G is not...." This one references to something that appeared before it, and it's easy to see what it is referring to.

But "than otherwise would be, since...." does not clearly indicate what it is referring to, and we don't understand what "otherwise" situation is until after we read the whole sentence. So this one is hard to mechanically translate.

goingfor99th

Yeah, it's confusing because it refers to both the object of the comparison and the degree to which the comparison is made.

It seems to negate the status of the preceding term (whatever that is) by introducing a counter-premise ('otherwise'), and then it directly supports that counter-premise. It's an interesting mechanism.