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How to Understand "most" questions that the curriculum FAILS to teach how to solve?

Keyboard123Keyboard123 Alum Member

I feel like I'm getting burned by questions that don't use the exhaustive formal logic to solve them.

For example, PT 126 Section 3 Question 14 uses 'most' in a 'most strongly supported' context -- here, validity of invalid/valid argument forms involving 'most' are basically irrelevant, despite the fact that the curriculum exclusively focuses on 'most' in that context. The correct answer choice makes the stimulus more likely, but it doesn't prove validity.

This is a recurring problem across several PT's. For example, see PT 127, Section 2, Question 24. Just like before, pure formal translation and logic doesn't get you the answer. Additionally, see PT 127 Section 1 Question 25. Again, where simply doing 7sage's formal translations and logic doesn't get you the answer. PT 139 Section 1 Question 22 is another example where simply translating 'most' and looking for a 'lawgic' inference doesn't guarantee success. As an additional example, I would argue that in PT 120 Section 1 Question 24 trying to translate the 'most' 'lawgic' actually gets in your way than if you just focus on the other elements of the stimulus.

The curriculum doesn't even cover that there's sometimes a more easily understand application of the word 'most.' For example, PT 119 Section 3 Question 9 uses the phrase 'the most common response' to indicate 'the #1 response.' PT 138 Section 3 Question 4 also involves this verbiage; 'the most polluted cities' are used to indicate 'the top polluted cities.'

There are also questions that reference the word 'most' but in a very irrelevant kind of way (understanding 'most' has very little to do with the reasoning to get the answer right). For example, see PT 131 Section 3 Question 7. PT B Section 4 Question 18 involves the useage of the word 'most often,' and again, formal 7sage lawgic has no answer for how to deal with the application of 'most' in this kind of question..

There are also answer choices that involve your understanding of the application of 'most' with probabilities (and what they can and can't mean). For example, PT 133 Section 3 Question 21. Another example where you need to be confident in 'most''s limitations and strengths as a strengthener is evaluating answer choice D in PT 19 Section 2 Question 18.

PT 151 Section 2 Question 12 involves a very weak usage of the word 'most' to weaken a question.

TLDR: I feel like I don't have a grasp of the word 'most' when it is not used in a formal lawgic context on the LSAT. I find it hard to push out inferences for these questions, especially because the curriculum doesn't really teach 'most' outside of a 'lawgic' context. I added a TON of examples (from across 12 prep tests!) and there are many many more I didn't include. Any advice? Tips? Recommendations? Thoughts?

Comments

  • cdot9000cdot9000 Alum Member
    166 karma

    Bottom threshold: 50% +1
    Top threshold: 100% all
    Can imply some, many is not most

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