I Want to be Famous So I Will Be (Wait… No)
Sometimes I find myself telling people (er, myself?) that I’m not writing my novel to make money. If that were my motivation I’d almost certainly write about vampires or shades of colors. But hey, if my novel sells a million copies, and I get to retire at 30, who’s complaining?
Here’s the thing: just because I’m not writing a book in order to make money doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. This personal example is now becoming uncomfortable for me so I’m going to move on.
Logical reasoning questions can sometimes hinge on understanding this difference. I’m talking about the difference between being motivated by a certain goal and actually achieving it, even though it wasn’t your motivation or primary motivation.
Say I’m stranded on the far end of a deserted island and have to trek a hundred miles by foot to the nearest small society of humans, picking berries I hope aren’t poisonous along the way, befriending my hand to fulfill socialization needs. When I finally get there and yell, “There is a group of us stranded on the other side of the island!” and someone says, “You lost weight. You look fit,” will I say, “No, I didn’t! That wasn’t my goal!”? No, I’ll say, “Yeah, I’m sure I did because I was starving.”
Just because it wasn’t my goal doesn’t mean it didn’t or can’t happen; and just because it does happen doesn’t mean it was my goal. These are separate things.
Be careful for this distinction on the LSAT. For a couple of examples, see Preptest 66, section 4, question 22, and Preptest 42, section 2, question 15.