7 sage logic games.

Lsatbreakingnews

Hi guys so I just started the logic games part of the curriculum. It seems like JY's videos focus a lot less on teaching you inference rules/tricks/notations than certain books do..am I correct in this observation? What I am trying to get at is there doesn't seem to be much up front info other than going through the actual game. So are we supposed do develop our own methodology as we do LG's and review the explanations?

stepharizona

I guess I never noticed. I believe he does show how to diagram and make inferences as he goes. Tricks can be really dangerous, and it seems like the way he does games really shows how to discover and make inferences. Its been a long time since I did the LG course, but I know a lot of my games methods were formed from just watching JYs games that are free. It was part of the reason I decided to join 7sage as I felt it gave me a great foundation. Not sure what others have for thoughts on this.

jknauf

I'd say that's accurate. I think the Powerscore LG bible and JYs method compliment each other nicely. JYs method is far superior to any I've came across so I would focus primarily on that. That being said, it is healthy to have multiple sources of knowledge so you can pick and choose what works best for you. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Cheers!

civnetn

I think to answer that correctly, I'd have to ask you to clarify what you mean by inference rules/tricks/notations. I'm only a free subscriber so I gained my foundation from the Powerscore books, but I rely mainly on the techniques J.Y. teaches.

If I'm understanding you correctly:

As far as I know there aren't really "rules" per say that relate to inferences. For example, you're not going to find a rule that says, "When you have two if-->then statements you can make such and such inference." Inferences result from pushing rules up against each other. It's something that you just get better at with practice and drills.

Tricks are not something you should be concerned with. This is one of those "silver bullet" concepts that a lot of prep companies propagate. You're not going to find tricks. And if you do, they will be very rare. Relying on tricking...isn't reliable. Instead you should focus on building solid formal logic skills, learning the different game types and practice making inferences.

I will say that seeing how J.Y makes his notations is very helpful. Many of the books like the bibles have very "stiff" notation styles. When you get to games that twist it up a bit, this can cause you to panic. I remember before coming to 7sage seeing weird games and thinking, "OMG how do I notate that?" One thing I learned from J.Y. is that some rules just don't notate well so you just have to write down what you think best describes the rule.

@Euthyphro said:
What I am trying to get at is there doesn't seem to be much up front info other than going through the actual game. So are we supposed do develop our own methodology as we do LG's and review the explanations?

One thing you'll realize after going through a bunch of games is that the most important thing is that:

1.) You realize what type of game you are playing
2.) Once you realize that game you are playing you can setup the game board (different types of
games have different types of setups)
3.) You can push rules together to make inferences.

IMO these are the 3 most important things. Other than that, there's actually not much to a logic game. J.Y's videos are helpful because they help you get better at each of these 3 steps. A lot of prep books make it seem like you have to have a terribly complicated methodology for each game type. When I read the bibles that was probably the most intimidating part. But there's actually not much to the different game types. You don't have to develop much of a methodology.

tanes256

@Euthyphro I think JY does teach you how to make inferences. I'm not sure how far you've gotten in the course but the "not both" and "or" rules will help you make tons of inferences. You just have to be practiced enough to notice it. Once you have chained your rules you have to be able to see more than just what is stated. If you were given /T -> D and after chaining you arrive at /P -> /T -> D you have to know that T and D cannot both be out. One must be in, but both can be in. You should also see the inference that the same applies for P and D. I know that there have been plenty of times that I've completed a game, got them all right, but after watching the video noticed an inference that I didn't make. Some games hinge on inferences and others don't. Also, the games that depend on numbers have inferences. It may not seem big but it's still an inference. If you have 6 players and the rules tell you only 2 are out, then you need to make the inference that 4 have to be in. That is an inference because it's not specifically stated in the rules. If any AC have something about 3 players being out then you can automatically eliminate without second thought. Making inferences comes with practice. Once you master the fundamentals you'll be able to see inferences better.

Cant Get Right

Yeah, 7Sage doesn't do "tricks" in any part of the curriculum. Tricks are just code for trying to answer questions without having to learn the foundational skills that the question is built on. When you learn LG with tricks, it becomes really easy to get thrown off when a game doesn't fit neatly into a category. JY teaches much deeper level skills than any trick or rule can express. Except for in the broadest sense, there really is no concrete step-by-step approach to games. The only consistent steps are: figure out the game board, identify the game pieces, translate the rules, see how it all interacts. That's really all there is to it. Logic Games is all about building the necessary experience to recognize games and rules and inferences quickly. Think of the curriculum as a guided start to developing your experience bank.

Alex

@"Cant Get Right" said:
Yeah, 7Sage doesn't do "tricks" in any part of the curriculum. Tricks are just code for trying to answer questions without having to learn the foundational skills that the question is built on. When you learn LG with tricks, it becomes really easy to get thrown off when a game doesn't fit neatly into a category. JY teaches much deeper level skills than any trick or rule can express. Except for in the broadest sense, there really is no concrete step-by-step approach to games. The only consistent steps are: figure out the game board, identify the game pieces, translate the rules, see how it all interacts. That's really all there is to it. Logic Games is all about building the necessary experience to recognize games and rules and inferences quickly. Think of the curriculum as a guided start to developing your experience ban

Couldn't have said it better! @"Cant Get Right" is the chosen one!

Cant Get Right