Q9 - The use of phrases like

[mrudula_2005]

What's so wrong with B?

If it hadn't had the line "but he had done the same thing many times before" to confuse things, I would have easily chosen it before getting to E because why would his friends be "surprised" if the force of selfishness is inevitable and calculable? It seems like his friends reactions went directly against how the quote dictates one should anticipate that kind of behavior.

So where exactly does B go wrong?

Thanks!

[giladedelman]

Thanks for the detailed post! We always appreciate when you let us know how you've been thinking about a problem.

We're looking for an inappropriate usage of a phrase according to the principle that the "as so-and-so said" formulation shouldn't be used following a counterexample to the quote being introduced.

Answer (E) fits the bill because Raoul's trip, which went great until he broke his leg, pretty plainly did not "end well."

So why is (B) incorrect? That is, in what way is the example mentioned in (B) not inappropriate?

Well, the quote here is about the inevitability of selfishness. Harold's friends were surprised by his behavior, we're told, but, he's done it many times before. The implication is indeed that they should not have been surprised, so the quote seems appropriate. At the very least, it's definitely not inappropriate, because if Harold is doing something here that he's done many times before, this can't be a counterexample to the quote that the force of selfishness is inevitable. A counterexample would have to involve selfishness not occurring when you'd expect it to.

Does that make sense to you?

[LSAT-Chang]

Does that make sense to you?

Hi giladedelman!
Could you please walk me through this whole problem step by step?
This is one of the few problems where I did not understand the argument at ALL nor any of what the answer choices meant.
Since I didn't understand what the argument was about, there was no way I could to eliminate any of the answer choices...
What is this "so-and-so-said" stuff about.. I'm just totally confused. I have no clue as to what the two posts posted above are referring to/talking about.. Please help!!

[giladedelman]

It's just saying that when you say something like, "As Lee Durocher said, Nice guys finish last," you should be commenting on an example of a nice guy finishing last. If a nice guy ends up getting rewarded for his niceness, it wouldn't make sense to say "Nice guys finish last."

So (E) is a good example because the trip ends terribly, and then we get "All's well that ends well." But it DIDN'T end well, so this makes no sense.

(A) is out because this does seem to be an example of someone learning her own ignorance as a result of knowing a lot about a subject.

(B) is incorrect as explained above.

(C) is out because the phrase "A penny saved is a penny earned" is completely applicable to this guy who's saving his money.

(D) is incorrect because, again, this is a good example: the husband is willing to accommodate the wife's love of cats.

Does that help at all?

[LSAT-Chang]

It's just saying that when you say something like, "As Lee Durocher said, Nice guys finish last," you should be commenting on an example of a nice guy finishing last. If a nice guy ends up getting rewarded for his niceness, it wouldn't make sense to say "Nice guys finish last."

So (E) is a good example because the trip ends terribly, and then we get "All's well that ends well." But it DIDN'T end well, so this makes no sense.

(A) is out because this does seem to be an example of someone learning her own ignorance as a result of knowing a lot about a subject.

(B) is incorrect as explained above.

(C) is out because the phrase "A penny saved is a penny earned" is completely applicable to this guy who's saving his money.

(D) is incorrect because, again, this is a good example: the husband is willing to accommodate the wife's love of cats.

Does that help at all?

Yes!! Now that I know what the argument is saying, it is not even that "hard" of a question; and in fact, (E) is so obviously the correct answer!! After I solved it again, (B) was a little confusing, but after having read (E), it was so clear to me that it is a counterexample of the quote stated. Thanks for your help!!!

[porsupuesto3798]

I still don't understand this one.
For (E), I think a counterexample to "All's well that ends well" is a situation that shows that even if it does not end well, it is still overall well. But (E) only has the part that it does not end well, but does not mention whether all is well or not. Could someone help me to answer my question? Thanks!

[giladedelman]

Actually, I think the perfect answer would be an example of something ending well, but being bad overall. But this doesn't matter. The saying goes, "All's well that ends well." Here we have a situation where things definitely did NOT end well. So it's not illustrating the saying; it's a completely contrary situation, so the quote is completely inapplicable. This is the only answer that we can say this about, so it's the best answer.

[nflamel69]

I have a different perspective on why B is incorrect. Sure, he might have done this many times before, but whos to say that he isn't a forgetful person? maybe he paid them back afterwards, maybe even more. I think the problem is attributing his actions to selfishness. I don't know if such a logical jump is permissible. However, the inconsistency in E is so blatant that there's no other way to interpret it unless you can argue that breaking a leg and going to hospital is a good thing.

Can any geeks clarify this?

[deedubbew]

This one was VERY confusing for me. Even though the trip did not end well in E, it still seemed consistent with the quote. After all, if "Alls well that ends well" and it did not end well, all not well. It still seemed like an example that supported the quote.

On the other hand, in B the word "surprised" and calculable were contradictory. Therefore, the answer choice seemed to give a counterexample. That it happened many times before, does not mean it is inevitable.

If anything, B seemed more out of scope, and E seemed more directly counter to the quote.