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Insight or Evolution Reading Answers

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Sayantani Barman

Experta en el extranjero | Updated On - Jan 11, 2023

Insight or Evolution Reading Answers contains sample answers about innovations and evolutions that took place in scientific fields. Insight or Evolution Reading Answers has 14 different questions. IELTS Insight or Evolution Reading Answers contains three types of questions: write the correct letter, yes/no/not given and complete the summary. Candidates are required to read the IELTS Reading passage to choose the correct option to answer the question regarding the passage. Candidates need to thoroughly go through each paragraph to answer whether the given statement matches with the claim of the writer or not. Write not given, if it is not stated in the passage. For the last set of questions, candidates are supposed to complete the summary of the passage using the words from the given list. Candidates can gain proficiency on diverse topics by undertaking IELTS Reading practice papers.

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Insight or Evolution Reading Answers

Two scientists consider the origins of discoveries and other innovative behaviour

Scientific discovery is popularly believed to result from the sheer genius of such intellectual stars as naturalist Charles Darwin and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. Our view of such unique contributions to science often disregards the person's prior experience and the efforts of their lesser-known predecessors. Conventional wisdom also places great weight on insight in promoting breakthrough scientific achievements, as if ideas spontaneously pop into someone's head - fully formed and functional.

There may be some limited truth to this view. However, we believe that it largely misrepresents the real nature of scientific discovery, as well as that of creativity and innovation in many other realms of human endeavour.

Setting aside such greats as Darwin and Einstein - whose monumental contributions are duly celebrated - we suggest that innovation is more a process of trial and error, where two steps forward may sometimes come with one step back, as well as one or more steps to the right or left. This evolutionary view of human innovation undermines the notion of creative genius and recognizes the cumulative nature of scientific progress.

Consider one unheralded scientist: John Nicholson, a mathematical physicist working in the 1910s who postulated the existence of proto-elements' in outer space. By combining different numbers of weights of these proto-elements' atoms, Nicholson could recover the weights of all the elements in the then-known periodic table. These successes are all the more noteworthy given the fact that Nicholson was wrong about the presence of proto-elements: they do not actually exist. Yet, amid his often fanciful theories and wild speculations, Nicholson also proposed a novel theory about the structure of atoms. Niels Bohr, the Nobel prize-winning father of modern atomic theory, jumped off from this interesting idea to conceive his now-famous model of the atom.

What are we to make of this story? One might simply conclude that science is a collective and cumulative enterprise. That may be true, but there may be a deeper insight to be gleaned. We propose that science is constantly evolving, much as species of animals do. In biological systems, organisms may display new characteristics that result from random genetic mutations. In the same way, random, arbitrary or accidental mutations of ideas may help pave the way for advances in science. If mutations prove beneficial, then the animal or the scientific theory will continue to thrive and perhaps reproduce.

Support for this evolutionary view of behavioural innovation comes from many domains. Consider one example of an influential innovation in US horse racing. The so-called 'acey-deucy stirrup placement, in which the rider's foot in his left stirrup is placed as much as 25 centimetres lower than the right, is believed to confer important speed advantages when turning on oval tracks. It was developed by a relatively unknown jockey named Jackie Westrope. Had Westrope conducted methodical investigations or examined extensive film records in a shrewd plan to outrun his rivals? Had he foreseen the speed advantage that would be conferred by riding acey-deucy? No. He suffered a leg injury, which left him unable to fully bend his left knee. His modification just happened to coincide with enhanced left-hand turning performance. This led to the rapid and widespread adoption of riding acey-deucy by many riders, a racing style which continues in today's thoroughbred racing.

Plenty of other stories show that fresh advances can arise from error, misadventure, and also pure serendipity - a happy accident. For example, in the early 1970s, two employees of the company 3M each had a problem: Spencer Silver had a product - a glue which was only slightly sticky- and no use for it, while his colleague Art Fry was trying to figure out how to affix temporary bookmarks in his hymn book without damaging its pages. The solution to both these problems was the invention of the brilliantly simple yet phenomenally successful Post-It note. Such examples give lie to the claim that ingenious, designing minds are responsible for human creativity and invention. Far more banal and mechanical forces may be at work; forces that are fundamentally connected to the laws of science.

The notions of insight, creativity and genius are often invoked, but they remain vague and of doubtful scientific utility, especially when one considers the diverse and enduring contributions of individuals such as Plato, Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Galileo, Newton, Kepler, Curie, Pasteur and Edison. These notions merely label rather than explain the evolution of human innovations. We need another approach, and there is a promising candidate.

The Law of Effect was advanced by psychologist Edward Thorndike in 1898, some 40 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking work on biological evolution, On the Origin of Species. This simple law holds that organisms tend to repeat successful behaviours and to refrain from performing unsuccessful ones. Just like Darwin's Law of Natural Selection, the Law of Effect involves an entirely mechanical process of variation and selection, without any end objective in sight.

Of course, the origin of human innovation demands much further study. In particular, the provenance of the raw material on which the Law of Effect operates is not as clearly known as that of the genetic mutations on which the Law of Natural Selection operates. The generation of novel ideas and behaviours may not be entirely random, but constrained by prior successes and failures of the current individual (such as Bohr) or of predecessors (such as Nicholson).

The time seems right for abandoning the naive notions of intelligent design and genius, and for scientifically exploring the true origins of creative behaviour.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Question 1 - 5
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write the correct letter in boxes on your answer sheet.

  1. The purpose of the first paragraph is to
  1. defend particular ideas.
  2. compare certain beliefs.
  3. disprove a widely held view.
  4. outline a common assumption.

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: Conventional wisdom also places great weight on insight in promoting breakthrough scientific achievements
Keyword : wisdom, weight, breakthrough, convention
Keyword Location: paragraph 1, line 5-6
Explanation: According to the first paragraph, common wisdom gives insight a lot of credit for advancing ground-breaking scientific discoveries. Like concepts just appear completely developed and usable out of thin air.

  1. What are the writers doing in the second paragraph?
  1. criticising an opinion
  2. justifying a standpoint
  3. explaining an approach
  4. supporting an argument

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: However, we believe that it largely misrepresents the real nature of scientific discovery, as well as that of creativity and innovation in many other realms of human endeavour.
Keyword: believe, largely misrepresents, human endeavour
Keyword Location: paragraph 2, lines 1-3
Explanation: Lines 1-3 of paragraph 2 portrays that there may be some limited truth to a particular view as mentioned. Nonetheless, the scientists believe that it largely misrepresents the real nature of scientific discovery. It also misinterprets creativity and innovation in many other domain of human efforts and ventures.

  1. In the third paragraph, what do the writers suggest about Darwin and Einstein?
  1. They represent an exception to a general rule.
  2. Their way of working has been misunderstood.
  3. They are an ideal which others should aspire to.
  4. Their achievements deserve greater recognition.

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: innovation is more a process of trial and error, where two steps forward may sometimes come with one step back
Keyword : innovation, process, trial and error
Keyword Location: paragraph 3, line 2-3
Explanation: The idea that creativity is more of a process of trial and error is mentioned in paragraph 3. One step back, as well as one or more steps to the right or left, might occasionally accompany two steps ahead. This evolutionary perspective on human invention rejects the idea of creative genius while recognising the cumulative nature of scientific advancement.

  1. John Nicholson is an example of a person whose idea
  1.  established his reputation as an influential scientist.
  2. was only fully understood at a later point in history.
  3. laid the foundations for someone else's breakthrough.
  4. initially met with scepticism from the scientific community.

Answer: C
Supporting Sentence: Bohr, the Nobel prize-winning father of modern atomic theory, jumped off from this interesting idea to conceive his now-famous model of the atom.
Keyword : jumped, conceive, famous model, atom
Keyword Location: paragraph 4, last few lines
Explanation: John Nicholson proposed the existence of proto-elements in outer space, according to paragraph 4. Nicholson also implied a fresh hypothesis concerning the structure of atoms among his many imaginative notions and wild guesses. From this intriguing notion, Niels Bohr leaped to create his now-famous model of the atom.

  1. What is the key point of interest about the 'acey-deucy' stirrup placement?
  1. the simple reason why it was invented
  2. the enthusiasm with which it was adopted
  3. the research that went into its development
  4. the cleverness of the person who first used it

Answer: A
Supporting Sentence: His modification just happened to coincide with enhanced left-hand turning performance.
Keyword : happened, coincide, left hand, performance
Keyword Location: paragraph 6, line 9
Explanation: According to paragraph 6, the change just so occurred to correspond with improved left-hand turning performance. Due to this, many riders quickly and widely adopted riding acey-deucy, a racing style that is still used in thoroughbred racing today.

Question 6 - 10

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in the Reading Passage?

In boxes on your answer sheet, choose

YES if the statement agrees with the information
NO if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

  1. Acknowledging people such as Plato or da Vinci as geniuses will help us understand the process by which great minds create new ideas.

Answer: No
Supporting Sentence: These notions merely label rather than explain the evolution of human innovations. We need another approach, and there is a promising candidate.
Keyword : label, explain, evolution, innovations
Keyword Location: paragraph 8, last few lines
Explanation: As per Paragraph 8, the concepts of insight, creativity, and genius are frequently cited, but they remain ambiguous and of dubious scientific utility. particularly when taking into account the varied and lasting contributions of individuals. Instead of explaining the development of human advances, these ideas only identify it. We require a different strategy, and one that shows promise is available.

  1. The Law of Effect was discovered at a time when psychologists were seeking a scientific reason why creativity occurs.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: The relevant information regarding the statement is not given in the paragraph.

  1. The Law of Effect states that no planning is involved in the behaviour of organisms.

Answer: Yes
Supporting Sentence: organisms tend to repeat successful behaviours and to refrain from performing unsuccessful ones
Keyword : organism, behaviours, refrain, unsuccessful
Keyword Location: paragraph 9, line 8-9
Explanation: In 1898, psychologist Edward Thorndike introduced The Law of Effect, as per paragraph 9. On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin's seminal work on biological evolution, was published almost 40 years ago. Based on this basic concept, organisms prefer to repeat successful behaviours over unsuccessful ones.

  1. The Law of Effect sets out clear explanations about the sources of new ideas and behaviours.

Answer: No
Supporting Sentence: the provenance of the raw material on which the Law of Effect operates is not as clearly known
Keyword : raw material, provenance, operates
Keyword Location: paragraph 10, line 2
Explanation: As per paragraph 10, it is not entirely obvious where the Law of Effect's base material originates. For instance, the genetic mutations that the Law of Natural Selection relies on. It may not always be random how new concepts and behaviours emerge. However, it is restricted by the past triumphs and mistakes of the present person (such as Bohr) or his forebears (such as Nicholson).

  1. Many scientists are now turning away from the notion of intelligent design and genius.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: The relevant information regarding the statement is not given in the passage.

Question 11-14

Complete the summary using the list of words, A-G, below.

Write the correct letter, A-G, in boxes on your answer sheet

  1. invention
  2. goals
  3. compromise
  4. mistakes
  5. luck
  6. inspiration
  7. experiments

The origins of creative behaviour

The traditional view of scientific discovery is that breakthroughs happen when a single great mind has sudden 11 _________ . Although this can occur, it is not often the case. Advances are more likely to be the result of a longer process. In some cases, this process involves 12_________, such as Nicholson's theory about proto- elements. In others, simple necessity may provoke innovation, as with Westrope's decision to modify the position of his riding stirrups. There is also often an element of 13__________ for example, the coincidence of ideas that led to the invention of the Post-It note. With both the Law of Natural Selection and the Law of Effect, there may be no clear 14_______. involved, but merely a process of variation and selection.

Question: 11

Answer: F
Supporting Sentence: promoting breakthrough scientific achievements, as if ideas spontaneously pop into someone's head
Keyword : promoting, breakthrough, spontaneously
Keyword Location: paragraph 1, 2nd last line
Explanation: According to paragraph 1, conventional wisdom gives insight a lot of weight when encouraging scientific breakthroughs. It's as though completely formed, usable ideas just appear out of nowhere.

Question: 12

Answer: D
Supporting Sentence: the fact that Nicholson was wrong about the presence of proto-elements: they do not actually exist
Keyword : Nicholson, wrong, presence
Keyword Location: paragraph 4, line 5
Explanation: According to paragraph 4, Nicholson was mistaken about the existence of proto-elements and they don't actually exist. This shows that errors are frequently a part of these processes.

Question: 13

Answer: E
Supporting Sentence: His modification just happened to coincide with enhanced left-hand turning performance
Keyword : modification, coincide, enhance
Keyword Location: paragraph 6, 3rd last line
Explanation: The modification was made at the same time as improved left-hand turning performance, as per paragraph 6. This phrase argues that innovations were frequently made possible by chance and coincidence.

Question: 14

Answer: B
Supporting Sentence: the Law of Effect involves an entirely mechanical process of variation and selection, without any end objective in sight.
Keyword : mechanical process, variation, selection, objective
Keyword Location: paragraph 9, last line
Explanation: As per paragraph 9, the Law of Effect is purely a mechanical process of variation and selection. There was no clear end goal in sight.

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