Privileges Revoked (Ep. 166)
The boys are back in the saddle fresh after election night and the show takes off with a rowdy discussion about politics. Or, y’know, a discussion about how the guys don’t really care about them. Ben shares his voting record. Nathan reveals his questionable voting behavior. And they both agree that one year in law school will destroy all your fucks about how our government operates. Then? They tee up episode 166.
You know all the privileges you’ve had revoked over the years, dear listeners? Semicolons and the like? Well today yer gonna get a refresher course. You like it when the guys eviscerate law school communications? Well, Barrie law’s at it again with some hilarious acceptance letters. Curious about how to get an edge on your RC sections? One of Ben’s students tells a tale about switching up RC strategies. Plus, the guys go over the necessary/sufficient distinction. And we learn about a bubbling fiasco. Lastly, Nathan and Ben dive into some more LSAT India questions.
As always, if you like the show and you want to get more from the Thinking LSAT community, check out the links below. You can connect with other folks studying for the LSAT, and get more useful resources from Nathan and Ben.
The Thinking LSAT Facebook Group.
Find us on Twitter. Nathan’s Twitter handle. Ben’s Twitter handle.
The Thinking LSAT personal statement review.
6:49 – Email 1—The guys get an email from a concerned fan. Apparently there’s a hack that allows you to extend your free trial of the LSAT Demon. And because the tool’s “freaking awesome,” this helpful user writes in to alert Nathan and Ben of the issue and to ask how they can get signed up to pay. In fact, several users have written in with similar notes. Thanks for your honesty, y’all. Glad you’re digging the LSAT Demon—the issue should be resolved.
10:01 – Ben and Nathan give you the rundown on everything you’re NOT allowed to do in your writing. Not when you’re writing emails to the show. Not when you’re writing Nathan or Ben with a question. And definitely not when you’re writing a personal statement for law school. Privileges: revoked. Get it? For long time listeners this is bound to be a review, and for n00bs? A list of caution.
25:24 – Email 2—Joseph forwards what may well be the worst law school missive the guys have yet seen. It’s from our old friends over at Barrie Law. They sent Joseph an email giving him a $15k discount for the 2019 school year. And then they followed up a few hours later with a second identical email offering an $18k discount. The wildest part? Joseph doesn’t even have an official test score yet. Pretty cray, yeah? Joseph wonders: if he keeps waiting, will they eventually let him go for free?
32:51 – Email 3—Mohammed is getting frustrated with all the wrangling with necessary and sufficient conditions. He wants to know if there’s an easier way to understand these conditions without diving into the nitty gritty of everything. The guys dive in to necessary and sufficient conditions a bit, but they agree it mostly comes down to common sense. Work hard to develop an understanding of these concepts and as you read them, you’ll intuitively understand what’s necessary and what’s sufficient each time.
48:57 – Email 4—Do you ever wake up in a cold sweat having dreamt of mis-bubbling your way through the LSAT only to discover your mis-steps on the final question? Well, dear listeners, that nightmare was a reality for one of Ben’s students. But after diligent research, mucking through the bowels of online-LSAT forumdom, this student with a misplaced pencil found a solution to his problem. Hand scoring. Nathan and Ben have only heard whispers of this ancient form of reviewing a test, and had doubts as to whether the student would be granted such luxury. However, he groveled to LSAC and they agreed to hand score the test. Tune in to hear how his score changed.
54:26 – LSAT India Time! Picking up right where they left off last episode, the guys answer question number two in section one of an old LSAT India test. This time ‘round we’re transported to the cities of Davisville and Millersburg to help sort a legal quandary about whether it’s legal to drink in the airport. The guys have a brief laugh about odd names of these cities, prompting a discussion of terrible/amazing naming conventions in 80s video games. Then Ben and Nathan swiftly answer this rather easy question, and explain their thinking along the way.