PrepTest 94+, Section 3, Question 11
Passage A is adapted from a book review by physicist Freeman Dyson. Passage B is adapted from a response to the review.
Passage A
There are two extreme views concerning the role of science in human understanding. The reductionist view holds that all kinds of knowledge, from physics to ethics, can be reduced to science. The traditional view holds that science is one of many independent sources of knowledge. Most people hold views between these two extremes. Skeptics of paranormal phenomena are generally near the reductionist extreme, while I am near the traditional extreme.
The question of the limits of science is closely connected to the possible existence of paranormal phenomena. Scientific attempts to study extrasensory perception and telepathy have failed. Skeptics conclude from this that paranormal phenomena do not exist. I do not accept this conclusion because I am not a reductionist. Paranormal phenomena may exist but be inaccessible to scientific investigation. This is just a hypothesis, but one that I find tenable and plausible.
This hypothesis is supported by abundant evidence (stories of ordinary people who apparently possess paranormal abilities) collected by the Society for Psychical Research and similar organizations. This evidence is anecdotal rather than scientific, since it cannot be reproduced under controlled conditions. But the organizations have conscientiously interviewed eyewitnesses right after the events and carefully documented the stories. These stories make it clear that if paranormal events occur, they occur only when people are under stress and experiencing strong emotion. This would explain why paranormal phenomena are not observable in well-controlled scientific experiments. Strong emotion and stress are incompatible with scientific procedures.
Paranormal phenomena and the scientific method may be complementary. "Complementary" is a technical term in quantum physics, meaning that two descriptions of nature are both valid but cannot be observed simultaneously. The classic example of complementarity is the dual nature of light. Light behaves as a wave in one experiment and as particles in another, but we cannot see both in the same experiment.
Passage A is adapted from a book review by physicist Freeman Dyson. Passage B is adapted from a response to the review.
Passage A
There are two extreme views concerning the role of science in human understanding. The reductionist view holds that all kinds of knowledge, from physics to ethics, can be reduced to science. The traditional view holds that science is one of many independent sources of knowledge. Most people hold views between these two extremes. Skeptics of paranormal phenomena are generally near the reductionist extreme, while I am near the traditional extreme.
The question of the limits of science is closely connected to the possible existence of paranormal phenomena. Scientific attempts to study extrasensory perception and telepathy have failed. Skeptics conclude from this that paranormal phenomena do not exist. I do not accept this conclusion because I am not a reductionist. Paranormal phenomena may exist but be inaccessible to scientific investigation. This is just a hypothesis, but one that I find tenable and plausible.
This hypothesis is supported by abundant evidence (stories of ordinary people who apparently possess paranormal abilities) collected by the Society for Psychical Research and similar organizations. This evidence is anecdotal rather than scientific, since it cannot be reproduced under controlled conditions. But the organizations have conscientiously interviewed eyewitnesses right after the events and carefully documented the stories. These stories make it clear that if paranormal events occur, they occur only when people are under stress and experiencing strong emotion. This would explain why paranormal phenomena are not observable in well-controlled scientific experiments. Strong emotion and stress are incompatible with scientific procedures.
Paranormal phenomena and the scientific method may be complementary. "Complementary" is a technical term in quantum physics, meaning that two descriptions of nature are both valid but cannot be observed simultaneously. The classic example of complementarity is the dual nature of light. Light behaves as a wave in one experiment and as particles in another, but we cannot see both in the same experiment.
Passage B
Freeman Dyson makes a ridiculous plea for openness to the paranormal because he is not a reductionist and because anecdotal evidence convinces him that under certain conditions (e.g., stress), some people exhibit paranormal powers, unless they are placed in controlled scientific conditions, in which case the powers mysteriously disappear. A scientist of Dyson's caliber should know that anecdotes do not make a science. The only way to find out if anecdotes represent real phenomena is controlled experimental tests. Paranormal phenomena have repeatedly been subjected to rigorous scientific experiments, and the results are unequivocal: psychic power is a chimera. Dyson recognizes that his belief in the possibility of paranormal phenomena conflicts with his scientific views, but he responds by invoking the principle of complementarity. Sorry, but the principle does not apply to the paranormal. Either people can read other people's minds or they cannot. Science has demonstrated that they cannot. And being a holist instead of a reductionist or reading about weird things that happen to people does not change this scientific fact.
Passage A is adapted from a book review by physicist Freeman Dyson. Passage B is adapted from a response to the review.
Passage A
There are two extreme views concerning the role of science in human understanding. The reductionist view holds that all kinds of knowledge, from physics to ethics, can be reduced to science. The traditional view holds that science is one of many independent sources of knowledge. Most people hold views between these two extremes. Skeptics of paranormal phenomena are generally near the reductionist extreme, while I am near the traditional extreme.
The question of the limits of science is closely connected to the possible existence of paranormal phenomena. Scientific attempts to study extrasensory perception and telepathy have failed. Skeptics conclude from this that paranormal phenomena do not exist. I do not accept this conclusion because I am not a reductionist. Paranormal phenomena may exist but be inaccessible to scientific investigation. This is just a hypothesis, but one that I find tenable and plausible.
This hypothesis is supported by abundant evidence (stories of ordinary people who apparently possess paranormal abilities) collected by the Society for Psychical Research and similar organizations. This evidence is anecdotal rather than scientific, since it cannot be reproduced under controlled conditions. But the organizations have conscientiously interviewed eyewitnesses right after the events and carefully documented the stories. These stories make it clear that if paranormal events occur, they occur only when people are under stress and experiencing strong emotion. This would explain why paranormal phenomena are not observable in well-controlled scientific experiments. Strong emotion and stress are incompatible with scientific procedures.
Paranormal phenomena and the scientific method may be complementary. "Complementary" is a technical term in quantum physics, meaning that two descriptions of nature are both valid but cannot be observed simultaneously. The classic example of complementarity is the dual nature of light. Light behaves as a wave in one experiment and as particles in another, but we cannot see both in the same experiment.
Passage B
Freeman Dyson makes a ridiculous plea for openness to the paranormal because he is not a reductionist and because anecdotal evidence convinces him that under certain conditions (e.g., stress), some people exhibit paranormal powers, unless they are placed in controlled scientific conditions, in which case the powers mysteriously disappear. A scientist of Dyson's caliber should know that anecdotes do not make a science. The only way to find out if anecdotes represent real phenomena is controlled experimental tests. Paranormal phenomena have repeatedly been subjected to rigorous scientific experiments, and the results are unequivocal: psychic power is a chimera. Dyson recognizes that his belief in the possibility of paranormal phenomena conflicts with his scientific views, but he responds by invoking the principle of complementarity. Sorry, but the principle does not apply to the paranormal. Either people can read other people's minds or they cannot. Science has demonstrated that they cannot. And being a holist instead of a reductionist or reading about weird things that happen to people does not change this scientific fact.
Passage A is adapted from a book review by physicist Freeman Dyson. Passage B is adapted from a response to the review.
Passage A
There are two extreme views concerning the role of science in human understanding. The reductionist view holds that all kinds of knowledge, from physics to ethics, can be reduced to science. The traditional view holds that science is one of many independent sources of knowledge. Most people hold views between these two extremes. Skeptics of paranormal phenomena are generally near the reductionist extreme, while I am near the traditional extreme.
The question of the limits of science is closely connected to the possible existence of paranormal phenomena. Scientific attempts to study extrasensory perception and telepathy have failed. Skeptics conclude from this that paranormal phenomena do not exist. I do not accept this conclusion because I am not a reductionist. Paranormal phenomena may exist but be inaccessible to scientific investigation. This is just a hypothesis, but one that I find tenable and plausible.
This hypothesis is supported by abundant evidence (stories of ordinary people who apparently possess paranormal abilities) collected by the Society for Psychical Research and similar organizations. This evidence is anecdotal rather than scientific, since it cannot be reproduced under controlled conditions. But the organizations have conscientiously interviewed eyewitnesses right after the events and carefully documented the stories. These stories make it clear that if paranormal events occur, they occur only when people are under stress and experiencing strong emotion. This would explain why paranormal phenomena are not observable in well-controlled scientific experiments. Strong emotion and stress are incompatible with scientific procedures.
Paranormal phenomena and the scientific method may be complementary. "Complementary" is a technical term in quantum physics, meaning that two descriptions of nature are both valid but cannot be observed simultaneously. The classic example of complementarity is the dual nature of light. Light behaves as a wave in one experiment and as particles in another, but we cannot see both in the same experiment.
Passage A, but not passage B, refers to
scientific experiments
anecdotal evidence
stress
reductionism
the dual nature of light
Explanations
The question asks us to pick the answer choice explicitly mentioned in passage A that isn't mentioned in passage B.
Let's think of some things it won't be—in other words, what both passages mention:
- experiments with controlled conditions
- anecdotal evidence
- the paranormal
- stress
- reductionist scientific views
- the "complementary" aspect of some scientific phenomena
Those are just the ones I could think of without re-reading.
From that list, I notice a few things. First, both authors discuss reductionist science, but author A calls the counter view (and self-describes as) traditional, whereas author B calls this—what was it?—holist. That might be the answer. I also noticed the "complementary" thing. Author A uses the specific example of light acting as wave in one sense and particle in another. Author B doesn't touch this topic specifically. That mght be it, too.
Let's see.
Nah, they both mention experiments.
Nope. They both mention anecdotal evidence.
No. They each directly discuss stress.
Nope. They both bring up reductionism (I better love E).
Perfect! And it matches one of our predictions. Author A discusses this explicitly. Author B alludes to it, but doesn't bring it up.
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