Linear Setup Practice Drill #1

[Nimra]

Hi I am having a problem with the drill#1 in chapter 3 of the logic games bible. The question on pg 93 says
Six swimmers- H,J,K!L!N and P are assigned to swimming lanes numbered 1 through 6. Exactly one swimmer is assigned to each lane. The lane assignments conform to the following conditions.
Swimminer k is assigned a lower-numbered lane than is swimmer J
Swimmer P is assigned a lower- numbered lane than is swimmer K.

Since the numerical distrbution says higher numbers are on the left and lower numbered are on the right. How come the inference from the above drill is P>K>J. Shouldn't it be J>K>P?

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi Nimra,

Thanks for your question.

First, "numerical distribution" typically refers to the allocation of one variable set onto another. Since there are exactly six swimmers and six lanes, with one swimmer assigned to each lane, the numerical distribution here is 1-1-1-1-1-1.

Second, for the purposes of our diagrams, the ">" sign is not a sign of inequality: it only represents a spatial relationship between two variables, and as such is reflective of how you orient your diagram. If you set up your base so that the lane numbers increase to the right (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), then it makes sense to diagram your rule as P > K > J (P is to the left of K, because P is assigned a lower-numbered lane than K). If we adopt your suggestion of J > K > P, then the lanes would have to go (6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1). You should use whatever orientation you feel most appropriate or intuitive, but the trick is to maintain consistency: make sure that your rule representations reflect the orientation of your set-up.

Hope this helps! Let me know

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Nimra,

Thanks for the question! You've come across a valuable learning point in the book (one that is also touched upon elsewhere, too), and that is the difference between ranks and numbers. When it comes to rankings, 1 is higher than 2, 2 is higher than 3 and so on. But, when it comes to numbers, 1 is lower than 2, 2 is lower than 3, etc. So, in that drill, when "Swimmer P is assigned a lower-numbered lane than is swimmer K," that means that P is to the left of K, hence the P > K representation in the book. So, fortunately, the book is correct

If the rules had discussed ranks, then the rule diagrams would have been flipped as you suggest. If it makes you feel any better, I'm particularly attuned to this mistake because I'm a big sports fan, and sports fans often initially run into this same confusion (what with polls, and who's #1, etc, it's easy to think of 1 as the highest number). As a result, when I run into anything dealing with lower or higher numbers in Logic Games, I always take a second to make sure that I've got it straight before moving on, because a simple mistake with the rules or setup would have a big negative effect during the questions.

LSAC even played a dirty trick of sorts with the September 1995 LSAT that exploited this same issue. Game #2 of that exam is about 6 animals in stalls, and the stalls are numbered 1 through 6. One of the rules in that game reads, "J must be assigned to a stall numbered one higher than K's stall" which, when diagrammed creates a KJ block (and a bunch of people mixed it up and created a JK block). Then, in Game #4, the scenario addresses a tennis league where "five teams occupies one of five positions, numbered 1 through 5 in order of rank, with number 1 as the highest position." So, you can see the what they did there: Game 2 is a game where 1 is lower than 2, etc, but Game 4 is one where 1 is higher than 2, and so on. That really keeps you on your toes!

In any event, it is good that you ran into this while preparing because if you happen to see this on the real test now, you will be ready for it.

Please let me know if that helps, or if you have any other questions. Thanks!