Clarification on some terms/concepts

[Foti]

Hi! Any help on clarifying the following would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

- What does LSAT mean exactly when it says "prescription"? How does this relate to "prediction"?
- Can incompatible/compatible be approached the same as inconsistent/consistent?
- What exactly does LSAT mean by implication? I understand that it is some sort of fact or a conclusion that can be
inferred from the facts given. Is there any difference between and implication and an inference or are the two
terms interchangeable?
- What level of certainty is “in general”?

[Adam Tyson]

A prescription is a recommendation, Foti. If something is prescribed, it is suggested or recommended, but not necessarily required. Don't confuse this with a PROscription, which is a prohibition. If something is proscribed it is forbidden, not allowed. A prescription is not a prediction, because it is not about what WILL happen, but is instead about what someone thinks SHOULD happen.

Incompatible/compatible does indeed mean the same as inconsistent/consistent.

An implication is something that is strongly suggested or probable, while an inference is something certain or proven. Think of those as being the difference between a Most Strongly Supported question stem and a Must Be True question stem - the first one asks for an implication, which may not be guaranteed, while the second asks for an inference, which is guaranteed.

"In general" is pretty broad, but it means, at a minimum, more than half. Think of it as being the same as "usually" and "tends to" and "most."