The LSAT is a Cruise, Not T.G.I. Fridays
I came upon a great question on our forum that I want to bring up here, because there’s a valuable lesson in it. A student asked:
On the LSAT, when you have a constraint that says “T is performed EITHER immediately before F OR immediately after R” does that mean there is a potential for an RTF block? Or is that eliminated because of the EITHER/OR language?
LSAT guru Mike Kim answered:
On the LSAT, the statement either/or does not inherently rule out the possibility of both (though sometimes other factors, such as the design of the game itself, do “naturally” limit the possibility of both).
Not Pictured: The LSAT
Mike went on to use a great example of soup or salad on a menu. If you’re at a restaurant and given the option of ordering a soup or salad with your entree, does that mean you can have both? Not unless the waiter thinks you’re cute. You have to pick one or the other (or pay more). That’s the T.G.I.Friday’s Or.
The LSAT Or is not the T.G.I.Friday’s Or. The LSAT Or is the Cruise Or. I’m told (as I’ve yet to cruise) that on a luxury ship, as the ventriloquist makes you cackle so hard you spit out your unlimited soda, “soup or salad” means you can also have both (gluttonous places that cruise ships are). The same definition applies on the LSAT. As Mike indicated, unless there are other restrictions in the game that prevent “both” from being an option, the “either/or” language itself does not prevent it. Both is possible.
In case this post left you wanting to go on a cruise (think of all that simultaneous consumption of clam chowder and iceberg…), I recommend David Foster Wallace’s essay “Shipping Out.” It may change your mind. It’s also very good.