Logical Reasoning · Flaw
PrepTest 121 · Section 1 · Question 21
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “never”
- “merely”
- “different”
Playground logic
Sharon's patty: the three scorekeepers never agree on the kickball score. Her top bun: none of them ever gets the real score. That is a Scope Shift: disagreement is about agreement, not about whether anyone counted right.
Step 2 · The kid story
The Kickball Scorekeepers
Recess kickball has three scorekeepers: Nadia, Owen, and Kevin. After every game, they argue. Nadia says 7 to 5. Owen says 6 to 5. Kevin says 'a dinosaur number.' Sharon stomps over. 'You three never agree on the score! So none of you ever figures out the real score. You are like storytellers. You just make up numbers.' Nadia folds her arms. 'Hey. I count every run on my fingers.' Priya sips her juice box. 'Sharon, they disagree. Fine. But disagreeing does not mean all of them are wrong. Maybe Nadia is right every time and the other two are off.' Frankie, who loves to argue with Sharon, adds, 'Two kids saying different things just means at most one of them is right. It does not mean zero.' Sharon frowns. Kevin is still counting on his toes.
Step 3 · Try the model question
Sharon: The three kickball scorekeepers never agree on the final score of a game. So the scorekeepers never find out what the real score is. Like storytellers, they just make up numbers.
Where does Sharon's reasoning go wrong?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Three Tasters
At the chili contest appeal, Mr. Whitfield faced three judges' score sheets. 'Your Honor, these three tasters never give the same chili the same score. Therefore, tasters never find out which chili is truly best. They are just guessing.' The opposing lawyer smiled. 'Your Honor, disagreement shows they are not all right. It does not show they are all wrong. One taster might be perfectly accurate.' The judge nodded. 'Mr. Whitfield, three different answers can include one correct answer. You have shown a quarrel, not a failure.' Mr. Whitfield sat down and quietly ate a spoonful of the winning chili.
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 121, Section 1, Question 21 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Find the premise: experts reach different answers. Find the conclusion: none of them finds the truth. Name the gap in your own words: disagreement shows that not everyone is right, not that nobody is. Then pick the answer that describes concluding falsehood for all from disagreement alone. Reject answers describing pieces the argument does not contain, like circular restating or contradictory premises.