Lesson 14: Consistency v. Inconsistency

[T.B.Justin]

Hey,

I am thinking about the idea of comparing these two concepts.

Is this an effective way to think of inconsistency as, "any thought, statement, or language that opposes, is against, something," and consistency as, any thought, statement, or language that does not oppose, is not against, something."


I appreciate your input and validity.

[Jay Donnell]

Hey!

That seems a fair synopsis, but those terms potentially have a wider range of implications.

Consistency involves being in agreement or at least similarity, and it can refer to the consistency between one's actions (someone who is consistently late, Judge X is consistent in her rulings, etc) or between one's actions and an established position (Smith's managerial style is consistent with the precedent established by the previous CEO).

Inconsistency is of course then the exact opposite, and can be used to imply how a person's actions fail to remain predictably similar (the inability to recreate the starting conditions of the experiment led to inconsistent results) or how a situation falls to match a previous (presumed similar) situation (Timmy being allowed to use his phone at the dinner table to check the baseball game score was inconsistent with the previously established dining room ground rules).

Hope that helps!

[menkenj]

Is it true that sometimes on the LSAT when the test makers use the phrase, "is consistent with.." they mean that the two ideas can coexist, meaning they don't conflict?

[evelineliu]

Hi Menkenj,

Yes, I would say that's fair!

Best,
Eveline

[Dave Killoran]

Think of consistent as "Could be True" and inconsistent as a strict Cannot Be True. So, unless there's a specific conflict, it will consistent.

Thanks!