There is a Light and it Never Goes Out

"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hears through the Holy Spirit who was given to us"

-Romans 5:3-5

Well the time just flew, and test date is now officially two weeks away.  LSATs are grueling to say the least.  There is a huge sense of uneasiness that is setting in but at the same time, I am looking forward to the prospect of being done (with this phase of the process at least).  Though I don't feel quite ready, I will be.

I feel that through this whole process, my prayer life has gotten a lot stronger than before.  Part of it has to do with those moments when I'm just completely sick of doing logic games, or assumption questions and I want to take my eyes off 12pt. Times New Roman for a bit.  But, the bigger part of it is that I feel I am becoming more cognizant of my role in God's "big picture".  To clarify, I am beginning to understand what is required of me as a part of the bigger picture, and one important realization is that there is absolutely nothing I can do without God.  There is no characteristic I possess that allows me to be less reliant on God than any other person, and in light of this fact, I have been seeking God much more fervently.  The joy of realizing how little I can do on my own comes from knowing that I can always seek an audience with God to ask for help.  It is not on the basis of this alone that I glorify Him, but it does strengthen the case.

So as I descend into the last two weeks of LSAT fun, I ask for your prayers.  Don't pray that I get a 180 on test day, but pray that whatever I do is God's will.  If I do get a 180, awesome.  If I get really sick and throw up on my test and get banned from all administrations of the LSAT for life, great.  I will praise God either way.

P.S. The title of this post is a song by The Smiths.  It's not related to anything in this post, but it is an awesome song (very much worth an illegal download).

And the Survey Says...

I was taking a practice LSAT today and I came across a LR question that made me LOL while taking the test.

"Polling data reveal that an overwhelming majority of nine-year-olds can correctly identify the logos of major cigarette brands.  However, of those nine-year-olds who recognize such logos, less than 1 percent smoke.  Therefore, there is little or no connection between recognition of cigarette brands and smoking."

If you are really bored, here is the prompt and answer choices.

Which one of the following uses flawed reasoning most similar to the flawed reasoning above?

(A) The concern about the long-term effects on dolphins of small quantities of mercury in the ocean is unfounded.  During a three-month observation period, 1,000 dolphins were exposed to small quantities of mercury in seawater, with no effect on the animals.

(B) Many ten-year olds dream of becoming actors. Yet it is not likely they will seriously consider becoming actors, because most parents discourage their children from pursuing a highly competitive career.

(C) Most dentists recommend using fluoride to reduce the incidence of cavities, but few recommend giving up candy entirely; so, using fluoride is probably more effective in preventing cavities than is avoiding sweets.

(D) A large percentage of men exercise moderately throughout their lives, but the average life span of those do so is not significantly greater than of those who get little or no exercise.  So there is little or no correlation between moderate exercise and good health.

(E) Most people cannot name their legislative representatives. Nonetheless, this is insignificant for when queried, most of them displayed an adequate command of current political issues.

edit (highlight for answer):

The correct answer is (A).  The flaw in the original statement is that the experiment is set up in a way that will yield an incorrect conclusion.  You can't determine the correlation between cigarette ad recognition and smoking if your sample group is a bunch of 9yr olds.  The same goes for (A).  You can't determine the long-term effects of mercury on dolphins if you only study them for 3 mos. 

The Weather is Better in Southern California

College football season has truly started with another overrated Cal team plunging from the rankings and UCLA bending over to take it from BYU (just getting ready to set up another big upset...who will it be this year???)... which means USC fags fans are back in bloom!

Just in time, because I found a lovely article by an OSU fan about his impression of these dodgy characters that can be read here.

(root for your OWN school.  if your school doesn't have D1 football, WNBA season is going on right now)

On an unrelated side note... 4-0 vs. Toon, 3-0 vs. Twente, 4-0 vs. Rovers, 11-nil to the ARSENAL

Ephesians 5:1-2

"If you are repentant, it means that you love.  And if you love, you already belong to God... With love everything is bought, everything is saved.  If even I, a sinful man, just like you, was moved to tenderness and felt pity for you, how much more will God be.  Love is such a priceless treasure that you can buy the whole world with it, and redeem not only your own but other people's sins.  Go, and do not be afraid"

-The elder Zosima, from the Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor, you slay me with your words... God, you bring me to my knees.