Complex formal/conditional logic

[hyk1310]

Dear lsat gurus,

I've noticed many questions in the lsat that have complex conditional/formal logic structures.

An example would be this statement:

"If there are sentient being on planets outside our solar system, we will not be able to determine this anytime in the near future UNLESS some of these beings are at least as intelligent as humans"

I don't think it's correct to diagram this in the form of sentient being --> determine --> at least as intelligent.

But I also don't think it's intuitive to see them as two separate parts, cutting off right before the unless, like this:

1. sentient being--> not determine
2. determine --> at least as intelligent.

The only reasonable mapping I can conceive of is having the latter part of the statement put together, like this:

sentient being --> (determine--> at least as intelligent).

But if it's like the above, I am not sure how I should notate it's contrapositive.

I do realize that for this specific problem above, the sentient being part doesn't necessarily have to be drawn. However, I bring up this example because I am not sure how complex conditionals like these and their conditionals should be drawn.

Thank you!

[ohthatpatrick]

When I see
If X, then Y, unless Z

I always just do this
If X and ~Z, then Y

We could say
If Trump runs again in 2020, he'll win, unless Bernie runs again.

That allows us to say with certainty,
If Trump runs again in 2020 and Bernie DOESN'T run again, then Trump will win.