PT55.S1.Q12 - Example of NA answer choice that is also Sufficient

twssmith

Jon's conditional breakdown shows an example of how the answer choice has to be sufficient based on the argument...
https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-55-section-1-question-12/

Cant Get Right

Nice! Thanks for posting! These are so tricky but I can never seem to find them except by mistake.

Not Ralph Nader

Thanks for sharing, the explanation was very helpful.

BinghamtonDave

44-4-7 is another example of a necessary and sufficient condition within a single answer choice. I've given this issue quite a bit of thought this week. My thoughts are that sometimes an argument on the LSAT is being fashioned with such disjointed support between premise and conclusion that the necessary bridge that must be true is also something that allows the argument to approach validity. I have found it helpful to think of the following example.

Getting rewarded with a blue belt in jiu jitsu requires at least an 8 month investment in training. Thus, getting a black belt in jiu jitsu requires at least 8 months of training.

A necessary and sufficient answer choice would be something like "No one gets a black belt in jiu jitsu without first having a blue belt."
~have blue belt---->~get black belt
get a Black belt---->have blue belt.
In other words, having a blue belt is a necessary condition for getting your black belt. Denying this conditional destroys our argument. It renders our argument superfluous. If someone can get a black belt and not have a blue belt then how can our conclusion stand?

"No one gets a black belt in jiu jitsu without first having a blue belt." Also stands as a sufficient condition. For we know from our commonsense experience with linear time that if you need at least 8 months to acquire something that is essential (blue belt) for something else, then you need at least 8 months to acquire that thing (black belt.)


I have spent the better part of the last 10 days going over 1-3 star necessary assumption questions to get a better understanding of this. I have found that sometimes when arguments are convoluted, what the LSAT is asking me to do is supply the answer choice that makes the argument a bit more reasonable.