This is the second part of the Flaw lesson. Before listening, it is recommended that you listen to Season 2 Episode 11 first. 

In this episode, Shana and Trudel unpack Analogy, Data Sampling, and Sufficient/Necessary Conflation Flaws. They also bust myths about whether motivation is necessary in order to study for the LSAT, and whether getting approved  for LSAT accommodations means you will automatically be approved for law school accommodations as well.  

Flaw Pt. II Notes:  

Remember when we talked about Willy Wonka and the Golden Tickets in Season 1? If you recall, Charlie’s golden ticket to get into the Chocolate Factory was both a necessary and sufficient condition. Why? Because he needed the ticket to enter, however, it was not the only ticket given out—there were five given out. It would be accurate to say that “If Charlie doesn’t lose his golden ticket, then he can enter the Chocolate Factory.” But, it would not be accurate to say “Only if Charlie doesn’t lose his golden ticket will he be able to enter the factory.” Why? Because there are 4 other tickets, and if he’s really lucky, maybe he can find one of the others. Here’s how that would look symbolically: 

GT 1 → CF

(Golden Ticket #1) → Get to enter the Chocolate Factory 

It would be a flaw or error in the reasoning to simply negate the conditional statement above: 

~GT 1 → ~CF 

Why is this flawed? Because if Charlie has GT2, GT3, GT4, or GT5, he can still get into the Chocolate Factory.

Thus, a negation of sufficient condition creates a flawed necessary condition, which is not true. You will see an answer choice to reflect this that takes the following form: “...takes a condition that by itself makes an action possible, to also be necessary in order for the action to be possible.”

Hosted by Shana Ginsburg, Esq., CEO of Ginsburg Advanced Tutoring. This podcast is developed, edited and mixed by Shana Ginsburg. Music by Taha Ahmed.

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