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Thinking LSAT

The Theory Trap (Ep. 516)

Thinking LSAT

Nathan Fox and Ben Olson

Education

4.8868 Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, Josh and Nate tackle the misconception that the Demon isn’t built for beginners—a belief that emerges from the absence of an introduction to LSAT “theory”. They explain that a bloated curriculum, disconnected from questions, often confuses students and can even reduce scores. The Demon advocates jumping right into questions and letting the test, paired with our explanations, be your teacher. 

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0:33 – Announcements

Registration deadlines are coming up. You know you’re ready to sign up when your practice tests match your goal score. 

Registration Deadlines

Register for Ben’s Free Class

6:07 – Logical Reasoning Mindset

Nate and Josh explore the mindset required for success in Logical Reasoning, emphasizing that each question has one objectively correct answer. Rather than starting with abstract theory, they advocate an intuitive, hands-on approach: dive into real questions, make mistakes, and learn from them. The Demon is built for beginners. By focusing on solving problems and reviewing mistakes, students can build a strong foundation for sustained success.

18:50 – Candidate Referral Service

Josh and Nate revisit the candidate referral service and consider whether it’s worth signing up. Several Demon team members share how they used the service and received CAS fee waivers to apply early and widely. Still, be cautious—don’t let school marketing sway you. Stay skeptical of marketing gimmicks from these schools and be a savvy applicant. 

LSAT Demon Scholarship Converter

26:54 – Tale of Two Careers

Jacob is thinking about a pivot to law from a very successful accounting career. Josh and Nate recognize there is a meaningful career opportunity, but caution him not to go to law school just because he has great reasoning skills. Instead, meet tax attorneys and decide if that is a job that you want. 

36:41 – Studying with a Buddy

Demon Student Alex asks how to study with a buddy. Josh and Nate encourage him to practice teaching questions to each other. Josh encourages Alex to utilize the LSAT Demon Discord to find a study buddy. 

LSAT Demon Discord

44:46 – Studying for One Hour 

Alexis doesn’t feel like she is making progress with only one hour per day during her lunch break. The guys encourage her to continue her slow and steady approach to studying, but encourage her to improve the quality of her hour. Your LSAT hour needs to be your best hour of the day: interruption-free, focused, and energized.

57:23 – Full Practice Test Fails

Paige’s scores plummet when she takes full practice tests instead of timed sections. Josh suggests that the score is distracting her from giving the test 100% of her mental effort. The guys then suggest that Paige must not be applying her normal process to practice tests. Nate concludes: You should have a growth mindset when it comes to practice tests. Ask yourself how you can learn from this test, not what score you will get. 

1:04:43 – Comparative RC

Gavin struggles with comparative passages. Josh and Nate encourage him to start explicitly focusing on comparing and contrasting as he’s reading. 

1:12:11 - Word of the Week - Specious

The difference between “literary” and “genre” fiction is a specious distinction. 

Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

And this is a little bit of a misconception that I see sometimes on social media about the demon.

0:05.0

That this isn't necessarily the best program for beginners.

0:08.6

You should go find a prep course that has extensive lessons and curriculum and start with that and then come to the demon.

0:16.3

Because then you, you know, you've got the foundation.

0:18.6

So then you can show up at the demon.

0:20.6

And the first thing we're going to say is, okay, forget all that shit.

0:30.6

Hello and welcome to episode 516 of Thinking ElSat podcast.

0:34.3

I'm Nathan Fox, one of the founders of Elsaat Demon.com and the Elsat Demon Daily

0:38.2

podcast. Joining me today is our producer and a teacher with the demon, Josh Mansfield.

0:44.7

Josh, before we dive into the agenda, just a couple real quick announcements.

0:50.0

This month's ElSat Demon free class is happening this afternoon.

1:00.7

If you're listening to the podcast as it airs on Monday, July 21st, Ben's class is at 1 p.m.

1:07.0

Eastern. Go to LSAT.com slash free to register to go do an LSAT class with Ben.

1:13.9

Also tomorrow, July 22nd is the registration deadline for the September LSAT. If you're interested, if you think you're close to ready for the September LSAT, you better register by

1:18.9

tomorrow, July 22nd. It's also the last minute to change your registration deadline. If you're

1:25.0

already registered for the September LSAT and you don't want to

1:28.7

lose your money, you can kick that registration anytime in the future, any of their available dates

1:37.3

for free. Josh, how would one decide whether they should register for the test or whether they

1:44.0

should postpone their

1:45.1

registration? Do your practice test scores align very closely to a score that you would be

1:52.4

happy applying to law schools with? So what if I'm 15 points away? Ain't going to cut it. You're not

1:58.4

going to make up. I tell my students,

...

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