Chapter 3 "Power Players"

What are the four power players on the LSAT?

Must, cannot, could, and not necessarily.

What are certainty power players?

Must and cannot.

What are possibility power players?

Could and not necessarily.

What does MUST mean on the LSAT?

MUST means 100%: always, every single time, no exceptions.

What does CANNOT mean on the LSAT?

CANNOT means 0%: never, impossible, no way.

What does COULD mean on the LSAT?

COULD means 1%—99%: everything is possible except 0%

What does NOT NECESSARILY mean on the LSAT?

NOT NECESSARILY means 0%—99%: everything is possible except 100%.

Why are MUST conclusions easy to attack/hard to prove?

MUST conclusions have a huge burden of proof because any reasonable loophole offering an alternative can invalidate the conclusion.

Why are CANNOT conclusions easy to attack/hard to prove?

CANNOT conclusions have a massive burden of proof because even a remote possibility can unravel the claim.

Why are COULD conclusions hard to attack/easier to prove?

To prove COULD, you only need premises that let something be a possibility.

Why are NOT NECESSARILY conclusions hard to attack/easier to prove?

To prove NOT NECESSARILY, you only need a premise showing that something does not have to happen.

What does it mean if an LSAT sentence gives no uncertainty indicator?

If the sentence does not specify uncertainty, it is claiming certainty.

What kind of premises do certainty conclusions usually need?

Certainty conclusions almost always require Certainty Premises to be valid.

What kind of premise do possibility conclusions usually need?

You want a Possibility Conclusion with a Certainty Premise

Why can’t you use a Possibility premise and a Certainty Conclusion?

You cannot prove a Certainty conclusion from any Possibility premise except in irregular circumstances

Why can’t you use Possibility Premise and Conclusion?

The arguments are almost always invalid even if you could hypothetically prove the argument

What are truthiness indicators?

True and false.

Why do true and false matter with power players?

The LSAT tests combinations like must be true, could be true, cannot be true, not necessarily true, must be false, could be false, and cannot be false.

What does equivalence tell us?

Equivalence tells us which power-player true/false pairs mean the same thing.

What is the equivalent of Must?

Cannot (and vice versa)

What is the equivalent of Could?

Not necessarily (and vice versa)

What does negation do to power players?

Negation adds or subtracts a "not" from a power player.

What is the negation of Could (be true/false)?

Cannot (be true/false)

What is the negation of Must (be true/false)?

Not Necessarily (true/false)

Why is NOT NECESSARILY TRUE the negation of MUST BE TRUE?

NOT NECESSARILY means not must, so not must be true is the negation of must be true

What is the power players gameplan?

Notice power players, remember how hard MUST and CANNOT are to prove, remember how easy COULD and NOT NECESSARILY are to prove, and translate confusing wording with the power players charts.