Please Help

Started by Ro13 · started 2018-08-08 20:44 · last activity 2019-02-16 17:36 · 2 replies

I went with C on this one. In lines (55-58) it states "Emeagwali believes that computer scientists in the future will look to nature for elegant solutions to complex technical problems." Is this wrong because in the passage it states computer scientists and in the answer choices it states computer designs? or is it because of another reason?

Replies

  1. claire_crites · 2019-01-16 21:15

    I also went the C on this one. Could someone explain why C is wrong?
  2. Ravi · 2019-02-16 17:36

    @Ro13 and @claire_crites, Great questions. Let's take a look. The question asks, "The passage most strongly suggests that Emeagwali holds which one of the following views?" We're looking for an answer choice that is something that Emeagwali likely believes. You both asked about (C). (C) says, "Most computer designs will in the future be inspired by natural systems." @Ro13, you asked if (C) is wrong because it talks about computer designs, whereas the passage discusses computer scientists. This is not why (C) is wrong. (C) is wrong because the passage says in lines 55 through 58 that "Emeagwali believes that computer scientists in the future will increasingly look to nature for elegant solutions to complex technical problems." The problem is that "increasingly" doesn't necessarily mean "most," which is what (C) says. While Emeagwali believes the computer scientists will look more and more to natural systems for inspiration, this does not mean that most computer designs will in the future be inspired by natural systems. It could still be a minority of computer designs. This is why (C) is incorrect. (A) says, "some natural systems have arrived at efficient solutions to problems that are analogous in significant ways to technical problems faced by computer scientists." The key portion of the text to look at is the second half of the second paragraph. In this portion of the passage, Emeagwali's exploration of the branching patterns of trees is discussed, and it's mentioned that trees evolved this way to maximize their use of taking up resources. Emeagwali's solution to model oil field flow was inspired by his examination of the trees' branching patterns, which were a natural system that solved a problem. Emeagwali then used this as a basis for a model to solve his parallel oil field modeling problem, so (A) is correct because based on the passage, it's something we have strong support that Emeagwali would agree with. Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!

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