Jamie Gorton . com mirror

Monday, June 1, 2009

Modern Quill

Posted: 31 May 2009 11:48 PM PDT

Well, I don’t have a magic bullet. And I don’t trust anyone who does. So, this isn’t really “How you should stay calm during the LSAT.” But that title is more search-engine friendly than “how this kid with a blog thinks he’s gonna keep his cool.” Nonetheless, here’s the list:

1. Be prepared.

As an Eagle Scout, I’ve always questioned the efficacy of “be prepared.” From experience, most Scouts live by “be resourceful” more than anything else. “Be prepared” is kind of a lofty goal, especially since Lord Baden-Powell’s only corollary, when asked “for what should I be prepared for,” was “Why, for any old thing!”

However, I feel like I am at a point of preparation where whatever score I get will be a fair and accurate score. Part of this is faith in me, and part of this is faith in the LSAT. When I try to explain the LSAT to people who have the sense to avoid it, I nearly get choked up. “No, trust me. This test is good. Really good, like perfect good. It is nearly flawless.” In a sick way, I have this level of respect for the LSAT that you normally reserve for the stern but committed authority figure who wants to make you cry only slightly less than she wants you to succeed. So the first rule is be prepared. When you respect the LSAT, and learn to play on the Testmaker’s terms, she’ll reward you.

2. Be prepared - spacially

I get the unique experience of traveling outside the US to take the LSAT: my examination will be at McGill in Montreal. I’m not sure which is scarier, going to Canada or going to Boston. But I’m still going. This means I do not have the chance of seeing the room, or building, or city I’ll be taking the exam in beforehand. Which is one of the foundational cognitive tricks you can pull: take a prep test in the same room, hopefully the same chair, as you will take the actual exam in. A psychology professor recommended this to me, which I’ve ignored ever sense.

But, even though it’s just a two hour drive, I plan on leaving at least four hours in advance. Short of breaking down, which I’m not ruling out, I should be there in plenty of time to be there in plenty of time. Sounds like a plan.

3. Bubbling after a unit

I think every single test prep company recommends this, and I do this, so I’ll pass it on. Fill in the Scantron sheet in groups. Not only is this a mini-break, but I think it also reduces transfer errors.

4. Five second vacations.

I can physically feel myself experiencing brain drain. Before I get to that point, I take a five second vacation - or rather, five deep breaths. I close my eyes, try to relax my shoulders and neck, and picture something calming: a brief cognitive break to clear the mind for the next question. I’m very lucky to be in a four-year, committed romantic relationship, and closing my eyes and picturing my partner’s face really helps. Or, picturing nothing at all: just letting it all go.

Also, the fact that we get a 15-minute break is a gift. A necessary gift maybe, but a gift still. These 15 minutes are the only 15 minutes in my life I don’t want to think about the LSAT. If it were allowed, I’d back a Gameboy in with my snack. Well, I guess they don’t make Gameboys anymore. Nonetheless, I’ll go to the bathroom and read the graffiti or something, just to clear my mind and try to be just as fresh, if not fresher, for Section 4 as I was at Section 1. The difference is I’ll be psychologically primed for Section 4!

5. My secret weapon

My secret weapon is my theme song. I’m not going to tell you what it is, because it’s mine. But if you have a theme song, carry it in your mind on the day of the test. Something uptempo and motivational. Take, for example, the Moog line from Europe’s “The Final Countdown.” Not only is it catchy, easy to remember, and upbeat, but doesn’t it just make you want to jump in a rocket and go tearing through space? That’s a great theme song, and it only takes 8 seconds to hum the first four bars.

Well, honestly I don’t know if this has the same tried-and-true cognitive effect as, say, deep breathing. However, I plan on using it. Again, I’m not telling you what my theme song is, but here are some great ones.

The “God Safe the Czar” line from the 1812 Overture.
Europe’s “The Final Countdown”
“Eye of the Tiger”
Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”
AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells.” This is a great standby. I mean, you could play this at a chess match and I’ll get pumped up enough to throw fisticuffs.

I just feel that music is very powerful and has the potential to be very uplifting. That is exactly what people taking the LSAT will need on June 8.

Stay tuned, or not, it’s up to you!

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 23

Posted: 31 May 2009 11:12 PM PDT

Even though time is running short, I couldn’t bring myself to go to Shapiro and drill out another full LSAT. Instead, I figured I’d be much better off just diagramming games. The games section gives me pause because just about anything can happen. Unlike RC, where you can predict a humanities, law, science, etc. section, or the arguments, which all look the same after a while, there seem to be nearly infinite twists the Testmaker can throw at you. For example, when I took Test 50, I tried to find the simple 6-element line game. I started swearing when I realized it wasn’t there: there was a very odd-looking grouping game instead. So I saved that one for last, only to realize that it WAS the simple, six-element line game. It just had a twist: there were only five positions, and only three elements. But each element generated a sub-element. Here’s a rough example in friendly, fair-use language:

Between 2001 to 2005, Abner, Bruce, and Carol each started a business and bought a boat. Carol bought her boat after she started her business. Bruce started his business after buying a boat. Abner and Bruce started their business the same year.

Well, that’s actually really simple. I was actually thankful I completed this game last, because I did so up against the clock and made up time!

In any event, let’s hope that I can pull off the Games section, because if I can, I can lynch my score together. However, I will be taking another diagnostic tomorrow, hoping that lightning can strike again.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Modern Quill

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 22

Posted: 31 May 2009 10:41 AM PDT

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Please assume the crash position and cover your head and faces, because we’re going through the glass ceiling like a freaking Willa Wonka movie. I took Prep Test 50 and I did it right.

This was the first full-length test where I got a score that I’m happy with. A score that I can think, “You know what, I don’t need to worry about the LSAT now.” A score that, if I can replicate in June, would allow me to shift my focus entirely onto the other portions of my application. The kind of score I’d call a “No looking back score,” because that score and its SEM are within or above the 25-75% band for my top choice schools.

Let’s break it down now:

RC: 92%
LR1: 80%
AR: 90%
LR2: 84%
LR combined: 82%

So, my total percentage was a cool 87%. This test broke from the mold in a number of different ways. For starters, it’s the first time I’ve taken two LR sections where I haven’t aced the first and bombed the second, or vice versa: my results were consistent and at a healthy level of performance. Also, when I reviewed my errors, there was only one where I did something out of sheer idiocy. There was one or two additional problems that made me think, “I can’t believe I couldn’t have sorted that one out.” The other questions I missed were, to be honest, baffling. Even with the answer sheet in front of me I couldn’t figure out what that answer was the best.

The other mold-breaker here was AR. This was the first time I completed an entire Games section, and the results show. Whereas I was once at the point where I couldn’t finish some games with all the time in the world: I’d misrepresent a rule, I’d turn “If A sometimes B” rules into “If B always A” rules, and I’d miss the secondary inferences. I still do miss the secondary inferences sometimes, but usually it’s just on one question, and when I have two possible answers I realize I’m missing something and go back and make it up. In short, now I know that if I have the time to answer a question, that answer is most likely correct. It comes down to speed, and I can drill speed.

Here’s how it went down: drove to the Shapiro Library. Brought an extra section from an old prep test: in this case Games, because I need the practice. Did that section first, to even out the effect of mental fatigue. Then did sections 1 and 2, took a 7 minute break (I would have gotten bored for a full 15) and then returned to the exam, finishing the last two sections. The last two sections were Games and LR2, and by the time I was done with Games I felt like I was finally seeing through the Matrix.

This was, however, the first time where time was an issue, at least in RC. I’ve managed to slow down the rate at which I test, to positive benefit, However, that does mean I need to make sure I’m not going too slowly, especially if RC gets thorny. That comes with practice.

The setting in Shapiro was ideal. It was supposedly a “quiet room,” but people were bringing in their lunch and crunching loud salads. One man came in, seemed like he had been out of school since the Reagan administration, and kept sighing and groaning at his books. It was just the right level of ambient noise I’d expect in the testing center: not my parents listening to Inside Edition in the next room, but not a cell in the basement of a monastery either.

Tomorrow I plan on drilling Games and maybe, just maybe, taking another full-length exam. But in the meantime, it’s to the Backroom to eat Puritan Chicken Tenders!

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 21

Posted: 31 May 2009 12:39 AM PDT

My work schedule today simply didn’t accommodate a sit-down, full-on, drag out diagnostic LSAT. I took some time to research LSAT and ginkgo biloba, and had to scoot off to work. However, I had to do a lot of thinking regarding a very important point: am I planning on taking the LSAT in September?

Because some schools still average scores, against ABA guidance, and because each individual test is an opportunity for a new calamity: H1N1, earthquake, five hours with Don Ho’s tiny bubbles stuck in your head, etc, conventional wisdom says you take the LSAT once and only once, when you are ready and prepared. Of course, I’ve already outed myself as being a big fan of unconventional wisdom. But I think there’s something to be said for deference to, saw, Cornell Law Admissions. However, let’s pace this one through:

After a certain point, LSAC doesn’t allow you to cancel your appointment. If you change your mind about taking the LSAT after their magically arbitrary date, you you’re toast. If you don’t show up, not only does the LSAC keep your money but they report that day as an “Absence,” which has a tendency to muck up an application.

However, if you know you’re not prepared, or if you contract H1N1 the morning of, there are two bubbles on the obverse of the Scantron sheet. If you are absolutely sure that you want to cancel your score, you have the luxury of filling in those two bubbles, signing your name, and skipping out of the test center knowing that you’re no worse for wear. This really reminds me of a spy movie like Goldeneye, where the device can only be armed by two people with unique keys standing just out of arms reach apart. But you still need to show up to the exam.

If you’re not sick, but say you left the entire fourth section blank because you spent 35 minutes humming Kate Perry’s “Hot and Cold,” canceling your score is the final nuclear option. However, if you fill in as many questions as you can, and it seems like this test will be around the SEM mark, what do you do?

1. Am I prepared to take the June LSAT?

Oh my. What does it mean to be prepared? For example, it seems like I have no reason to believe I will score outside the LSAT SEM of 161-165. I have never taken a prep test that has given me a higher score, and I might as well admit that, despite the fact that I want a 179 the same as anyone else, it’s probably just a fantasy. So I’m either totally unprepared, in that my score isn’t inside the middle 50% for my choice schools, or I’m completely prepared. (And honestly, how many prep tests can you take until you think, “Wow, another dinosaur extinction / historians with bias question. Yippee.”)

So, I’m going to suspend judgement on whether or not I’m prepared. The next best thing is,

2. Will I be more prepared in September?

Honestly, I wish the LSAT was on June 15. Give me a little bit here, a little bit there, and next thing you know I’m so good at logic games that I do Sudoku blindfolded. But September? Not only will I run out of modern LSATs (ie with comparative reading sections) but I will also run into boredom, sheer contempt, and (most dangerously) stagnation.

Also, the second downside is that conventional wisdom says that you ought to be the first to ask your law school to the prom, that is, get your application into the cycle as early as you can. That’s not just conventional wisdom, it’s plain old common sense for a rolling-admission system. And, since I haven’t been able to break through my glass ceiling, why should I look forward to three months of living under a glass ceiling?

My verdict: I intend to take the LSAT only once, in June, and do it correctly. Only if my score is outside the SEM band, or is indicative of some other catastrophe, will I reconsider September. However, the score essentially has to put me into “freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” territory.

But you know what? I felt a lot better when I decided to just kick back and not worry about the issue any longer. In the words of my father, the hardest part of deciding is deciding, which usually already happened while you were too busy worrying. Stay tuned, or not, it’s up to you.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Ginkgo Biloba and the LSAT

Posted: 29 May 2009 12:26 PM PDT

One of the Google hits that brought a reader here was “ginkgo biloba lsat,” so I figured I’d write on this a little bit more. Ginkgo biloba is the name of a tree, also called the Maidenhair tree, that is unique in many ways. For starters, it is most likely that native ginkgo biloba have been extinct for centuries. Cultivated ginkgo biloba has no close living relatives. This makes it a “living fossil:” it the only surviver of a group that was once widespread, but is now only found in the fossil record. Old ginkgo biloba branches form aerial roots whose purposes are unknown.

But, if you’re reading this page, you’re probably most interested in ginkgo as a nootropic supplement, that is, a “smart drug” used to enhance memory and concentration. The idea is that it helps stimulate oxygenation and blood circulation to the brain. Unfortunately, like most supplements, ginkgo biloba has not been well-studied: many studies are conflicting, inconclusive, narrow, or industry-sponsored.

The best studies indicate that ginkgo biloba did not help people over 75 delay dementia or Alzheimer’s. What promised to be a major, if not definitive study is called GUIDAGE and will be released in 2010: a study of over 2,500 people in France. There was an industy-backed study that found that people in their 60s could benefit from a faster processing time while taking ginkgo biloba, but the study has not been well received.

However, I don’t think that most people preparing for the LSAT will fall under the heading of “60-75 year olds worried about dementia.” If you are a 21 year old college undergrad, doing a Logic Game each day will most likely help build your memory performance much better than any tree bark, root, wort, or leaf. However, and here comes the money shot, a British study called “Differential cognitive effects of Ginkgo biloba after acute and chronic treatment in healthy young volunteers” was published in Psychopharmacology in 2004 with this conclusion:

The acute dose of ginkgo significantly improved performance on the sustained-attention task and pattern-recognition memory task; however, there were no effects on working memory, planning, mental flexibility or mood. After 6 weeks of treatment, there were no significant effects of ginkgo on mood or any of the cognitive tests.

Sustained-attention task? That sounds like LR and RC to me. But I was able to download the fulltext of the document from my library’s Ebsco subscription and give it a read. In the exam, the sustained attention task wasn’t the LSAT, but the PASAT: Spreen and Strauss’s Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task. The task works like this: every 1.6 or 1.2 seconds, you are given a single digit. You then have to add pairs of those digits together. The sustained test lasted for 61 digits, which means it was sustained for 1 minute 12 seconds. So, it isn’t really 6 sections of 35 minutes sustained.

Ok, but what about the other area where improvement was found? Pattern recognition?

The pattern recognition memory (PRM) task is taken from CANTAB (Owen et al. 1995). In this task, participants were presented with a series of patterns which they were instructed to memorise. In the recognition phase they had to choose between the pattern they recognised and a distracter pattern. There were two test blocks, each with 12 patterns. The percentage of correct responses and the latency to correctly respond were recorded.

Huh. Well, parallel-the-reasoning questions might be similar right? Well, maybe. But what about the type of exams that you could expect to find on the LSAT?

The Intra Dimensional/Extra Dimensional set shifting task (IDED) was taken from the CANTAB and assesses mental flexibility, which is particularly impaired by frontal lobe lesions (Owen et al. 1991) and has been shown to activate the prefrontal cortex (Rogers et al. 2000). In this task there are nine stages in which participants have to learn rules, reverse rules and shift rules. The number of stages completed were recorded for the whole group, and the number of errors before the extradimensional shift (Pre-EDS errors) and errors at the extradimensional shift (EDS errors) were recorded for those subjects who were able to complete the whole task.

Oh darn it. This is one of the areas where no improvement was shown. Perhaps most importantly for someone who is about to sit down and take a grueling 4-hour exam, there was no effect on self-reported mood.

So, that being said, there is no reason to believe that any of the functions the LSAT tests will be enhansed by ginkgo biloba. Omniously, the study suggests that the young volunteers might have developed a tolerance for ginkgo biloba, as those who took an acute does (one 120mg dose) saw more benefit than those who had been taking one 120mg dose a day for six weeks.

So, if you have a bottle of ginkgo around and both you and your doctor know its safe, it probably won’t hurt to take a 120mg dose before the exam. It probably won’t help either. I was as disappointed as you were, but it just goes to show that LSAT takers and pianists both get to the T-14 and Carnegie Hall the same way: Practice. Or a cab.

⁂

Elsabagh, S., Hartley, D., Ali, O., Williamson, E., & File, S. (2005, May). Differential cognitive effects of Ginkgo biloba after acute and chronic treatment in healthy young volunteers. Psychopharmacology, 179(2), 437-446. Retrieved May 29, 2009, doi:10.1007/s00213-005-2206-6

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 20

Posted: 28 May 2009 10:02 PM PDT

Ok, I took PrepTest 53 (Dec 2007). I remember December 2007 quite well. This test made me wish I didn’t.

Now, if you’ve been reading this blog and tracking my so-called progress, I’m going to leave a blank space so you can pretend you’re writing down your prediction for my score: ______________.

Yep, that’s correct. 79%, a 0% change from before. Δ=0. A no-slope linear equation. But what the hey, let’s look at the breakdown.

Section I: LR: 72%.
Section II: AR: 70%.
Section III: LR: 92%.
Section IV: RC: 81%.
LR combined: 82%

This is almost identical to the last full-length prep-test I took, which was Test 52 (LR: 84% AR: 60% RC: 81%).

What differences where there? Well, unlike Test 52, I banged 53 out one after another, without any sort of breaks. I was locked in my bedroom, and didn’t mosey about the library like Test 52. The TV was on in the next room, which was more distracting than I think words can describe. AND I did Test 53 as a 5-section test. I did an “experimental” section out of one of the very old Preptests. In this case, I picked LR. I did the “experimental” section first, so I wouldn’t get an abnormally high score on the first section due to low fatigue. So, theoretically I scored significantly better due to the adverse conditions I was under. I don’t believe that lie for a second.

Well, spank my hamster. The first section was the big disappointment of the exam, so I can’t blame fatigue.

I haven’t gone through my errors yet, but this is the kind of frustration that makes me think that I can get a pretty reliable guess at what my score on June 8 will be. I’m really worried that I’ve hit the wall.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 19

Posted: 28 May 2009 09:44 PM PDT

Ok, I admit I slipped today. This one, unlike Day 18, wasn’t intentional. It was because I misread my schedule (remember that shift I gave away on Day 17? I didn’t). Haukuna matata?

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 18

Posted: 28 May 2009 09:38 PM PDT

Mental health day? Mental health? There’s no such thing as mental health! You could take a thousand mental health days and still be crazy. Life sucks and then you die! ~ Michael Adams, one of America’s greatest band teachers and all around positive-thinking guy.

I’ll admit, I cracked today. This was the shift I gave away expressly for LSAT study, but I stared at the page and watched as the letters slowly rearranged themselves to become Virgil’s Eclogues. I don’t speak Latin. But that’s what the LSAT is about, right? Seeing the wires, reading the Matrix? But I had a day I wouldn’t trade for the world: breakfast with Rach, lounging about her house, lounging about my house, and then drinks with her and another old, dear friend. Today was the kind of day I needed to let the knots in my back dissolve, even if I don’t see a score increase because of it.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 17

Posted: 28 May 2009 09:28 PM PDT

Happy Memorial Day . . . Or, perhaps “Somber Memorial Day?”

As it were, I had a full shift today (thankfully, time-and-a-half). However, this really didn’t help me out with the studying. Even if I wanted to start studying at 9 PM, I learned some wonderful news: one of my oldest and closest friends, a soon-to-be-senior at UNH, scored an incredibly prestigious internship at Merck’s Drug Discovery Lab in New Jersey. He’ll be moving down to Rutgers soon, so I had to go see him while I had the chance. Congratulations!

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 16

Posted: 28 May 2009 09:23 PM PDT

The problem with most of my shifts is that they are all second shifts, which makes it difficult to study extended LSAT sittings either before or after. As a result, my studying was a lone LR section today. This is the precise opposite of what I should be doing.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 15

Posted: 28 May 2009 09:14 PM PDT

Day 14 was, as you could tell, a bit trying. I was very stressed when I went to work and saw my schedule. I took it upon myself to ditch my shift for that coming Tuesday (Day 17). I am trying to get into the zone where I can overcome the effects of mental fatigue during the administration. The stress was just enough for me to slowly work through an LR section during downtime. After I ditched that shift, I started to relax and gel.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Modern Quill

This is purely a dummy post

Posted: 23 May 2009 11:09 PM PDT

Obla dee obla duh

Obla dee Obla duh

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 14 pt 2

Posted: 23 May 2009 10:55 PM PDT

Day 14 is the Midway Point because the test day is Day 30.

Well, here’s the solution to the crisis in Part 1. When I transcribed the answers, I transposed them over slightly. The test wasn’t the best, but it was better than I made it out to be because of the scoring error. I’m going to do a quick breakdown:

LR: 84% (combined) (96% part 1, 72% section 2
RC: 81%
AR: 60%
Total: 79%

The real disappointment here isn’t RC, and it isn’t Games (I’m amazed I scored over half, I only did 2.5 games). It’s that second LR. Just look at the difference in performance: one error on the first section versus seven errors on the second. That one section was the difference between a 79% and an 85%.

For the June LSAT, I’m willing to write-off losses. The five errors on Reading were sloppy but unfortunate. The Games . . . I’m not pinning any hopes of a dramatic score increase on the games (although my highest in a Games section is 80%, so I’m not giving up).

Let’s do a strictly hypothetical test, where I entered in the purest possible form. The best test I could possibly hope to achieve, if the stars all aligned:

LR 96% combined (96% section 1, 96% section 2)
RC 81% (Let’s not change this one)
AR 80% (My personal best)
Total: 89%

That would have scaled up to a 170. Wow. So, it is possible. And right after I score 89% on the June LSAT I shall fly up and away on my wingéd pony Hyperion and have dinner with the Old King Cole in his sherbet palace. {Remember! If you plan on taking the June LSAT in a Canadian testing center, and you are an American, you will need either a passport or a passport card to cross the border! If you are traveling by land, either will work, but if you are flying on a pony named Hyperion the passport card is not valid!}

My main concern now is fatigue, or as my fellow testers in Montreal call it, fatty-gə. I love schwas. Although that second LR test had a very crafty question that set a trap I fell into perfectly, I have to assume that the biggest difference between my score on the first section and the score on the second section is the fact that they were separated by a middle section, and on the test will likely be separated by two or three sections. This is an Analytical Reasoning problem if I’ve ever heard one.

So, this is an issue, since I have a crapton of shifts at the grocery store. I was lucky enough to give one away, giving me three days off before test day. However, this means I will need find unbroken 3 hour long blocks of time to bang out full-length tests. It isn’t happening tomorrow because of a monster 8 hour shift.

As I mentioned below, I really need to trust that I will get better at keeping my sharp during this test as I go along, as long as I practice staying sharp now. But no one is looking forward to June 8 more than me, even if the only reason is that I can push the LSATs out of my mind until June 29. However, I need to pay extra TLC to the games, because I am clearly inefficient in that area. I’m not expecting a dramatic increase, as I mentioned above, but a minor increase would be delightful.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Modern Quill

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 14 pt 1

Posted: 22 May 2009 04:45 PM PDT

Ok, so I’m not saying that there’s no word in the English language that expresses the unique combination of stress, fear, disappointment, and sheer fury I experience presently, but “diskordistressecrapular” really sums it up. I also get to know that should anyone actually Google that term, I’ll be the oldest hit.

The reason for my diskordistressecrapicity is my last diagnostic exam. I took up the Butt in Chair philosophy, voyaged to my favorite study location*, and cracked out Test 53. I did not go well.

I haven’t sat down and picked apart my errors, but I had a hot start. The first section was an Arguments section, and I only made one error. Then came Games, which was par for the course. Reading was fourth and I wasn’t too impressed. But the third section, the second arguments section, was (in the words of Sean John) unforgivable.

I don’t want to chalk this up to fatigue, but maybe that’s what it was. I don’t want to chalk it up to the entire section throwing me a curveball, because this was September 2007’s test, for crying out loud, so it wouldn’t have done me any good if I was born in 1985. And besides, the LSAT is very good at one thing, and that’s not throwing curveballs at an informed test-taker. Otherwise you couldn’t prepare for the test. And you couldn’t expect to ever get through an argument section with only one error.

So maybe it’s fatigue, or maybe I just got sloppy. I can fix both. That doesn’t bother me. As long as I am making avoidable errors, those errors can be avoided. But jumping from 157 (Day 01) to a 160 (Day 14) isn’t really that fantastic. That’s less than 2% in 2 weeks.

Again, there seems to be a strange recession-towards-the-mean (see Day 13). I make only one error on the first Arguments and then catch the H1N1 flu from the second Arguments? Either the test is doing its job, or I’m not. Possibly both.

So, long story short, it isn’t the stress or the burnout that’s getting to me. It’s the schizophrenia.

* My favorite study location is the Shapiro Library at Southern New Hampshire University. Conventional wisdom (or at least Ann Levine, which is wise enough for me) is that you should weight your bat and “not study on the seventh floor of your campus library.” Shapiro doesn’t have that problem because it sees light use from the international summer students, who are a bit . . . irreverent compared to what Americans consider to be appropriate library etiquette. I don’t think they have Internet access at their apartments, because they’re prone to listening to loud J-Pop, Chinese soccer matches, traditional Cantonese opera and/or breaking into song while sitting in the study corrals. But I don’t say a word, I just smile knowingly because I know if anyone does that during test day, they will not see the light of June 9th.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Modern Quill

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 13
30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 12
30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 11
30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 10
30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 09

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 13

Posted: 22 May 2009 12:12 AM PDT

Wow, I can’t believe I’m up to date on all my LSAT blog posts.

In any event, today I did a little but of everything to some heartening, and disheartening, results. I seem to be experiencing something of a regression-to-the-mean, which of course makes no sense. I took a full diagnostic test today, and here’s the breakdown:

LR: (Combined) 80%

AR: 81% (Woo!)

RC: 70% (Boo!)

So, it looks like I’ve been making some bold claims on my RC skills which didn’t pan out, at least not for this test. Regrettable. Suppose I managed to raise RC to 85%: the scaled score difference would take me from sub-target school 50% to the 50% of the T-14 schools (again, scaled for this particular test only.)

In essence, this means I’m living on borrowed time. Dead man prepping.

But again, I’m feeling good. I just have to prove that I’m not at a glass ceiling, that I still have some surprises to learn that will let me slip past the Testmaker. I’m really, really cross about RC, don’t get me wrong. However, it’s three a.m. and I wanna go to be-eh-ehd. The agenda for tomorrow: review errors on this exam, esp. reading comprehension. Take another diagnostic and, mental faculties permitting, return to a focus on Games.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Here’s what kills me about Games. I’m getting the diagramming, I’m getting secondary inferences, but I can still go 4/6 for a game. That is what really drives me up the wall. Usually, the reason this happens is just sloppy work on my part. I ignore a rule for a question, or I mis-state a rule in the beginning setup. This is the section where “you can know you’re right,” which never helped me in 8th-grade algebra either. Just because I can “check my work” doesn’t mean I know why I’m making an error.

The worst though? Counting. For example:

Given this set of rules, what is the maximum number of Boxes of Orden* that can separate Suzie from Venezuela?

I’ll correctly diagram this:

_ S _ _ _ V

‘S V

And then I’ll select “four.”

* Really, Jamie? Do you have to be this geeky?

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 12

Posted: 21 May 2009 11:49 PM PDT

Today I had work, but it didn’t stop me from preparing for El SAT-bo. I just brought my test with me, and worked slowly and methodically through them (on my own time, of course, for I am a model employee who adds value to the company with every passing moment). The results went well: for the first time, I scored above 90% on two-consecutive Argument sections. This was, of course, working slowly and methodically through them (however, as I expressed earlier, I don’t expect time will be a limiting factor due to the rate at which I can read). Just to reaffirm what you’ve already heard:

Use process of elimination. It is much easier to pick the best out of 2 instead of the best out of 5, and with just a little bit of practice those three incorrect choices should really pop out on all but the most difficult questions.
Do not voyage beyond the argument, even if you know it’s true. The Testmaker knows you know its true, but that is almost a sure sign it should be eliminated by POE.
You don’t need to read the question stem first. While this might be helpful to someone who is just starting out, each argument is identical. You should be subconsciously sorting out “premise” “evidence” and “conclusion” as you read. I have found that reading the question stem immediately before attacking the choices reduces my risk of confusing “conclusion” with “argument” or “reasoning” when I hit the choices.
Repeat.

This is the point where, despite my earlier sensations of burnout and an uncontrollable desire to start playing World of Warcraft* again, I feel like I’m making improvements. Nothing spectacular: a 170 is (and probably ought to be) out of my reach . . . for June. However, I am empowered by my present success, and I think I ought to take the September LSAT, on my birthday though it might be, because I feel the opportunity to improve immensely between now and then. However, I will reevaluate my position when the June score comes in.

The challenge now is to return to Games.

* Unless you have played WoW, you don’t quite now how dull and tedious it is. The entire game is focused around getting to the “next” ___, be it level, or profession point, or Pioneer Trousers of the Owl (I’m not making that up). WoW is the kind of game that only an accountant can love, but I admit I indulge sometimes. Point being, the LSAT makes WoW feel like you’re playing Strip Twister-Scrabble in the Playboy Mansion.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 11

Posted: 21 May 2009 11:26 PM PDT

Tuesday afternoon . . .

Sadly, this being a day off and all, I didn’t do much studying either. Here is the second reason you shouldn’t leave all your LSAT study until 30 days out: you will burn out remarkably fast. If you do anything foreign and mentally draining for an intensive amount of time for 10 consecutive days, you’ll burn out. The first reason is you shouldn’t wait is, of course, you won’t have enough time. *

Instead, I used my time well: I met with Bojan from Die in a Hole and his lovely girlfriend to explore Manchester’s only brewpub (or brewery, for that matter): Milly’s Tavern. We enjoyed a . . . challenging beer called Bold Horizons. It’s a Berliner Weissbier, a style I had never had before, flavored with apricot. I get nervous around beers with apricot. Why? Well, Magic Hat #9.

Although it is widely acclaimed by everyone I know (especially those who don’t like beer), Magic Hat #9 amazed me the first time I had it, but now it bores me to the point of nausea. It’s supposedly a “Not Quite Pale Ale” and by “not quite” it means, “not remotely.” Their formulation of the apricot overpowers the hops, which is the very picture of a missed opportunity: the citrus aspect of the hops should be augmented by such an addition. #9 is usually highly overcarbonated and must be consumed cold. The warmer it gets, the more it unlayers, betraying a heartbreaking lack of complexity. It reminds me of being the spiritual successor to dropping a slice of lemon into a pitcher of Country Time: a rather tolerable drink that was then flavored, but not at all preferable to the real thing.

By comparison, there’s also Dogfish Head ApriHop, which is what #9 ought to want to be when it grows up. Aprihop is quite clearly a pale ale, an American IPA brewed with apricots. The brew begins with the bitter grapefruit notes of the hop, but quickly subsides to the apricot, which again gently transitions into the more subtle citrus characteristics of the hoppy IPA. But ultimately Aprihop suffers from the same problem: the base IPA needs TLC, and the apricots were later dunked in. The drinker clearly senses that this bevy is an experimental brew. However, it is still preferable to its Vermont cousin.

So, that brings us to Bold Horizons. To be honest, I didn’t take careful notes. The main difference is that the apricot notes, which emerged from the nose and first impact on the palate, sharply yielded to the tart flavor that comes with the lactobacillus culture used in the brewing. Hops? Not in the least, but I didn’t want them: it would have overloaded the beer—made the palate top-heavy, if you will—and would have undermined the tradition of the Weissbier. And the tart flavor was characteristic: just take a spoonful of unflavored yogurt to see what I mean.

At the middle of the glass, I was thinking about buying a growler, but at the end I didn’t think I’d have the constitution for it. Like her two spiritual sisters, Bold Horizons is missing something, but thankfully it’s a matter of balance, not an issue where the base beer is sub-par.

More later! Stay tuned, or not, it’s up to you.

*Of course, I mentioned when I began that my LSAT prep began long before day 01, and that this is more of a mad dash to the prize than an actual LSAT neophyte staring with wide-eyes at something his little mind had never encountered before. So even though I’m burnt out, I’m a burn-out who had encountered all of this material before.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 10

Posted: 21 May 2009 10:34 PM PDT

Indeed, Day 10 has brought me to the point where I didn’t want to go: back to work. While I had the first week off (7 intensive days certainly helped), I had to sink a lot of money into my car, which was literally money I didn’t have. So, while I have requested that my boss “take it easy” on me until June 8, I still have to cope with the demands of what is a rather wearisome job. I logged in eight hours today at the grocery store, so I took today off from preparation.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 09

Posted: 21 May 2009 10:29 PM PDT

Day 09 was an abysmal failure of my effort to keep the LSAT out of my head. I worked on a section of arguments, and the test managed to psych me out on many different levels. Here are some of my annotations (From December 2003):

Problem 7: Read every answer choice. DUH

Problem 10: DUH! Read!

Problem 13: Don’t go outside the premise

Problem 16: Wait, what?

These are the kind of hiccups that can’t occur on the test, and this is why I really regret not taking more time during second semester to practice. Looking back, I don’t see where I would have had much of an opportunity. The whole idea of structuring the 2nd semester the way I did was to help me prepare. And in many senses, it did. However, the LSAT was not one of them.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Modern Quill

Smartest thing FOX has done . . .

Posted: 18 May 2009 07:05 PM PDT

Going to school where I do, in Burlington, Vermont, there are a few things I never hear people say.

1. If it wasn’t for that lake in the way, I could get to Plattsburg in 10 minutes.

2. If it wasn’t for that mountain in the way, I could get to Rutland in like, 20 minutes.

3. I really dislike Family Guy.

So Techcrunch ≈link≈ is reporting that FOX is holding a contest to get a new animated series. Since we all know no one can pick and or keep winners like FOX, this is a brilliant move.

Jamie Gorton . com mirror

Monday, June 1, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

Friday, May 29, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

Day 14 is the Midway Point because the test day is Day 30.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

Friday, May 22, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

About Me

Blog Archive