#7 - Gerald: Unless a consumer secures his or her home

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below! Thank you!

[joewoo198256]

I have question regarding Choice E: I think G and K have a different opinion regarding whether accessing someone's Wifi could be done without intending to do so: G obviously believes you can do it unintentionally since it's like enjoying the music while walking down the street. But K holds a different idea, since you have to stop for a very long time to access the wifi, that means you do it intentionally. Can someone help, thank you.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Joe,

Good question!

Remember for Point at Issue questions, we are looking for two things in a correct answer choice. First, the answer choice has to contain a statement that we can say for certain what each party would think about that statement. Second, the two speakers must have different opinions on the statement given.

The problem with answer choice (E) is that the views of both speakers are really unknown. We don't know if Gerald or Kendra believe that you could access someone else's internet unintentionally. It's true that Gerald's statement is consistent with a quick ability to access the internet, like it's coming to you through the air like music. But it doesn't say that it could be unintentional, merely that the internet is flowing outside your home, just like music would. Gerald's position on answer choice (E) is, therefore, unknown. Kendra states that it takes an extended time to access the internet, which is more consistent with a purposeful act. However, she doesn't state that it MUST be purposeful or intentional. It could potentially be done unintentionally while otherwise loitering or trespassing. Her position on answer choice (E) is also unknown.

Hope that helps!
Rachael

[glasann]

Hello - can you please explain what's wrong with answer choice B?

Does it come down to the fact that Gerald says it's 'no more like trespassing than [overhearing someone's music]"? is he conceding there that overhearing someone's music is, like internet use, essentially trespassing?

thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

Gerald is saying that it's not like trespassing, glasann, so he would for sure disagree with answer B. But for the correct answer to a Point at Issue question, we need the other party to clearly agree with that answer, and there is no evidence that Kendra would agree that the behavior in question is trespassing. She never deals with that part of the argument, but instead raises a different legal issue, loitering or harassment. Gerald would say the behavior is legal, while Kendra would say it is illegal (answer A), even while Kendra might not say that it is trespassing.

[ange.li6778]

Hi Powerscore, I can see that Gerald says accessing someone’s wireless Internet service while walking down the street cannot be considered illegal under current laws while Kendra says it can be "considered loitering or even harassment." But it seems that for A to be correct, we have to assume that "loitering or even harassment" is illegal under current law. While I'm pretty sure that's true and seems like common sense, it feels like an unfounded assumption that I usually avoid when answering LSAT questions, since the stimulus doesn't say whether loitering or harassment is illegal under current law. Any insight is appreciated here!

[Adam Tyson]

While we are generally supposed to avoid making outside assumptions, ange.li6778, that prohibition is limited to those assumptions that are considered implausible or otherwise inconsistent with common sense. If the stimulus says the sun is shining directly overhead, it's not wrong to assume that it's daytime! And "loitering" and "harassment" are not just descriptions of general behavior, but also of crimes, at least in some cases and in some places. That assumption does not conflict with common sense, but follows it.

But even if we aren't completely convinced that those are crimes, we still have to ask ourselves which of these answers is better than the others, and in this case, even if we are a little unsure about those assumptions about answer A, it is far better than any other answer, because to select any of them would require even more assumptions that are even less supported by the stimulus. A is, at worst, the "least awful" answer, and that makes it the best one!

Sometimes, the best answer is just the one that you hate the least!

[gtruss01]

7) Argument Part (G: Not illegal or like trespassing because it is like listening to others music. K: It could be illegal because you could stand for long time)

A- Arguing over if it is illegal or not. CORRECT

B- G talks about that not K. So K may not have an opinion

C- Not taking about the future of the law

D- G doesn't talk about time. Don't know opinion

E- Not even mentioned by either side.

[Robert Carroll]

gtruss01,

Sounds good!

Robert Carroll