Ten days ago the world lost a sporting legend, Johan Cruyff. If you've never heard the name before, you could be forgiven for thinking that he might be an old ship captain, or maybe some forgotten inventor. The name sounds a bit grizzly and angular, and would certainly fit a big game hunter or gold miner. He wasn't though—he was a world famous soccer player from the Netherlands. So, how could he possibly have any wisdom that applies to the … [Read more...]
Digging into Supreme Court Oral Arguments Part I
A question we get frequently is what to do when you want to continue studying for the LSAT but you need a break from drills and questions. One fantastic resource is the Oyez Project, an online archive of Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) oral arguments, currently maintained by the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. In this post, we'll give you a short introduction to the Oyez Project and links to a few of the most interesting oral … [Read more...]
Your Busted Bracket and the LSAT
If you're like nearly everyone who submitted picks for the NCAA men's basketball tournament this year, chances are exceptionally good that your bracket at this point is a mess. "Busted," to use the parlance of those who take these things somewhat seriously. I say that because attempting to predict winners and losers over the span of 67 match ups (give or take) is bound to meet some difficulties. This year's games seem especially determined to … [Read more...]
Get Your Daily LSAT Fix
We know you secretly want it: your daily LSAT fix. No, you don't need to call your dealer or risk a felony charge. But, let's face it: the LSAT is a controlled substance, and quantities are limited. There are only a certain amount of past official LSATs publicly available. Even with access to everything LSAC makes available, you may still want some variety from the daily grind. Maximizing your LSAT score sometimes requires taking a break from the … [Read more...]
Improbable Doesn’t Mean Impossible: LSAT Lessons from the NCAA Tourney
Tonight, the NCAA Basketball Tournament returns to action, and one of the notable games pits Texas A&M against Oklahoma. Why is this notable? Because there's no way Texas A&M should be in this game. But they pulled a miracle escape against Northern Iowa and won the game in double overtime. As always, whenever I watch sports, thoughts of the LSAT aren't far from my mind. The question is, what can we learn from their incredible comeback, … [Read more...]
March Madness and the LSAT
Recapping a Wild Week This past week featured two of my favorite events: the start of the NCAA basketball tournament and St. Patrick's Day. If you are a sports fan and Irish (I'm both), it's about as good as it gets! And the tournament this past weekend proved to be one of the most interesting in recent years: in the first round, there were 13 upsets (defined as a lower-seeded team winning versus a higher-seeded team), tied for the most ever in … [Read more...]
Studies in LSAT Perfection: Alinea
A few years ago I read an inspiring book called Life on the Line by Grant Achatz. Grant is the head chef at Chicago’s Alinea restaurant, which has repeatedly been named one of the best restaurants in the world. He rose through the chef ranks to head up his own kitchen, only to then battle tongue cancer that nearly took away his sense of taste permanently (he’s ok now, fortunately). I liked the book so much that I made a trip up to Alinea last … [Read more...]
Studies in LSAT Perfection: Oregon’s Blur Offense
For a while now, I’ve been meaning to write a series of articles on how the pursuit of perfection in various fields can teach valuable lessons for LSAT preparation, and how that pursuit sometimes conflicts with prevailing conventional wisdom. In honor of tonight’s national championship football game, we start with Oregon’s Blur Offense. The Blur Offense If you’re not familiar with football or are just a casual fan, you may not be aware that … [Read more...]