LOGIC GAMES: The LSAT is Not Two-Toned
The second game on PrepTest 35 is an open assignment game about new cars. Each new car is equipped with one or more of the following: power windows, leather interiors, and/or a sunroof. The diagram we draw for this game is the standard for open assignment games: the open board. The open board is awesome for open assignment games because it provides a means to track how many features each car has. (Remember, each of these cars could have anywhere from one to three features.)
Stiletto Feature Sold Separately
A student recently asked, “Could it have more than one sunroof?” I told her no, that she should assume no duplicates. To illustrate, I said, “Think of how absurd it would be to have a car with multiple leather interiors.” She raised her eyebrows. “I’ve seen it.” (I convinced her with the power windows feature.)
Two-tone leather interiors aside, it struck me that this may be a point worth making clear for you guys: the LSAT is not two-toned.
Here’s what I mean. In an open assignment game, what makes it “open” is that you don’t know if one group “has” all the elements in the other group or not. It could have one of them, some of them, or all of them. Sometimes, it could have none of them, depending on what the game tells you. What you can assume it doesn’t have (unless the game makes very clear otherwise) are duplicates of a single element (like more than one leather interior, or two sun roofs).
For example, suppose you’re told that four students each review one to three plays. That means we don’t know whether each student reviews one, two, or three. But can a student review the same play multiple times? Unless it tells you explicitly so, then no. There are no duplicates unless you are told otherwise.
This conversation prompted me to research Guinness World Records in hope of finding the “most leather interiors” in a car. I had no luck, which means if you’re interested in setting a record, this may be your opportunity. It sure seems easier (or at least safer) than the one I did find: Most Times to be Hit by a Car in Two Minutes: //www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/dedication/most-times-hit-by-a-car-in-two-minutes
Can you imagine doing that and only two people liking it on Facebook? Way to go, Dietmar. You don’t need Facebook “Likes” for your lunacy to be appreciated in the Manhattan LSAT community.