Cookie Cutter Review
PSA - (C) says P -> C


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Cookie Cutter Review
Lawgic, formulaic

Most successful entrepreneurs work at least 18 hours a day, and no one who works at least 18 hours a day has time for leisure activities. But all happy entrepreneurs have time for leisure activities.

Summary
The stimulus can be diagrammed as follows:

Notable Valid Inferences
Most successful entrepreneurs are not happy.
Most successful entrepreneurs don’t have leisure time.

A
Anyone who has no time for leisure activities works at least 18 hours a day.
This could be true. From the diagram, we see “18+ hrs/day→ /leisure time.” (A) says /leisure time→ 18+ hrs/day. (A) confuses the sufficient and necessary conditions. It’s not a MBT, but it could be true.
B
Some entrepreneurs who work at least 18 hours a day are successful.
This must be true. We already know that most successful entrepreneurs work 18+ hrs/day, so it is the case that some entrepreneurs who work 18+ hrs/day are successful.
C
Some happy entrepreneurs are successful.
This could be true. We know that most successful entrepreneurs are not happy, but this does not mean that there is no overlap between entrepreneurs that are successful and those who are happy. “Most” doesn’t mean “all.”
D
Some entrepreneurs who work at least 18 hours a day are happy.
This must be false. We know that all people who work 18+ hrs/day are unhappy. This means that all entrepreneurs who work that much are unhappy. It must be false that someone in this group is happy.
E
Some successful entrepreneurs work less than 18 hours a day.
This could be true. We know that most successful entrepreneurs work 18+ hrs/day, but most doesn’t mean all. It could definitely be the case that some successful entrepreneurs work less than 18 hrs/day.

17 comments

Cookie Cutter Review
NA - premise-conclusion bridge


65 comments

Cookie Cutter Review
(E) conflation of distinct ideas. Understanding that a phenomenon has property X doesn't mean that we should use reasoning with property X to understand that phenomenon.

Supplementary explanation
This is a very silly argument that reads like it's actually reasonable.

We're presented with a thing called nature. We're told that nature has certain properties, XYZ. Therefore, we're told, that the thinking used to understand nature should also have those properties, XYZ.

This argument is insane. It escapes our insanity detector only because the LSAT writers are clever and picked out the "XYZ" so as not to raise alarm. They wrote "organic, holistic, etc", which to us are familiar properties of thinking/reasoning.

But by that logic, I can say, "Hey look at that stupid bear over there, scratching his ass on that tree cause his stupid paws can't reach. The best way to understand the bear is as a hairy beast. Therefore, use we should use our hairy beastly thinking when trying to study and analyze the bear."

Can we all say in unison: "No, dumbass. Use Biology."

See how that didn't escape our insanity detector? That's because "hairy beastly thinking" is obviously not a thing whereas "organic holistic thinking" is.

(E) calls the argument out on its absurdity. Properties of the object to be studied shouldn't be projected onto the reasoning used to study that object.

(B) is having his own conversation over in the corner of the room by himself. It's saying that the structure of nature isn't identical to the structure of how people reason about nature. Okay, sure. Let's not even argue what the overall "structure" of nature is and just concede that it's "organic". So (B) is saying that that's not always identical to the structure of how people reason about nature. In other words, people don't always reason organically about it. Again, okay sure. So what? Is that a bad thing? Should people reason organically about it?

The argument isn't terrible because sometimes the structure of a phenomenon is not identical with the structure of reasoning people use to understand that phenomenon.


20 comments

Cookie Cutter Review
SA - formulaic


6 comments

Environmentalist: Discarding old appliances can be dangerous: refrigerators contain chlorofluorocarbons; electronic circuit boards and cathode-ray tubes often contain heavy metals like lead; and old fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, another heavy metal. When landfills are operated properly, such materials pose no threat. However, when landfills are not operated properly, lead and mercury from them contaminate groundwater, for example. On the other hand, when trash is incinerated, heavy metals poison the ash and escape into the air.

Summary

Discarding old appliances can be dangerous because some contain harmful heavy metals. When landfills are operated properly, the heavy metals pose no threat. When landfills are not operated properly, lead and mercury can contaminate groundwater. When trash is burned, heavy metals poison the ash and are released into the air.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

Old appliances that contain heavy metals should not be burned when discarded.

A
Old fluorescent bulbs should be recycled.

This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus what “recycling” involves. We only know from the stimulus that old fluorescent bulbs should not be incinerated.

B
Appliances containing heavy metals should not be incinerated.

This answer is strongly supported. Since incineration causes heavy metals to poison the ash, these appliances should not be incinerated.

C
Chlorofluorocarbons are harmful to the atmosphere.

This answer is unsupported. We only know from the stimulus that heavy metals, when incinerated, are harmful to the atmosphere. It’s unclear from the stimulus whether chlorofluorocarbons are heavy metals.

D
Newer appliances are more dangerous to the environment than older ones.

This answer is unsupported. The stimulus is limited to older appliances. We don’t know anything about newer appliances in order to draw this comparison.

E
Appliances should be kept out of landfills.

This answer is unsupported. The stimulus is limited to older appliances. This answer applies to appliances generally and is therefore too strong.


12 comments

Since the sweetness of sugared beverages makes athletes more likely to drink them, they can be helpful in avoiding dehydration. Furthermore, small amounts of sugar enhance the body’s absorption of water and delay muscle fatigue by maintaining the body’s glucose level. Still, one must use sugared beverages cautiously, for large amounts draw water from the blood to the stomach, thereby exacerbating the dehydration process.

Summary
The sweetness of sugared beverages can be helpful in avoiding dehydration because it makes athletes more likely to drink the beverages.
Small amounts of sugar help the body absorb water.
Small amounts of sugar delay muscle fatigue by maintining body’s glucose level.
Large amounts of water take water from the blood to the stomach, which makes dehydration worse.

Notable Valid Inferences
There’s no clear inference to draw from the facts. I’d rely on process of elimination to identify which answer must be false.

A
Glucose is not the only type of sugar whose absence or scarcity in one’s diet causes muscle fatigue.
Could be true. We don’t know about other kinds of sugars besides glucose. So it could be true that other kinds of sugar can affect muscle fatigue.
B
Problems caused by dehydration are invariably exacerbated if substances that delay muscle fatigue are consumed.
Must be false. We know sugar is a subtance that delays muscle fatigue. And small amounts of sugar can help athletes avoid dehydration. So not all substances that delay muscle fatigue will “invariably” exacerbate dehydration problems.
C
Dehydrated athletes find beverages containing large amounts of sugar to be too sweet.
Could be true. We don’t know how dehydrated athletes find the taste of large amounts of sugar. They might think it’s too sweet.
D
Some situations that exacerbate the problems caused by muscle fatigue do not exacerbate those caused by dehydration.
Could be true. The stimulus doesn’t indicate anything about situations that exacerbate the problems of muscle fatigue. So it could be true that some situations that exacerbate muscle fatigue don’t exacerbate dehydration.
E
The rate at which the body absorbs water depends primarily on the amount of water already present in the blood.
Could be true. We don’t know the primary factor that affects water absorption rate of the body. So it could be true that the primary factor is the amount of water already present in the blood.

Cookie Cutter Review
(B) conditional negation, just like question 10 from this section. Also uses abstract and referential phrasing typically found in flaw questions.


15 comments