Vincent Dethier
A properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. It is an adventure. It begins with an act of faith and continues with an observation and a question. The experiment goes on until questions stop to arise there. In an experiment, a scientist alters the condition, observes a result and draws a conclusion. But the experiment is not free from mistakes.
The most commonly committed error is the lack of proper control over the experiment. The scientist must be certain that the conclusion he draws is not coincidental but a consequence of his alteration. The writer describes an experiment that goes wrong due to the lack of proper control over it. Once a gentleman conducted an experiment to find out where the flea’s ears are located. First, he amputated the antennae and commanded it to jump. The plea followed the command. Then he cut the flea’s forelegs and gave the same command. Again the flea jumped. Finally, he cut the flea’s hind leg and commanded, but the flea didn’t jump. Then he came to the conclusion that the flea’s ears are located in his hind legs.
Another common fallacy is that of confusing correlation with cause and effect. One a gentleman was rescued from the rubble of an apartment house immediately after an earthquake. When he was asked what happened, he replied that the building collapsed because he pulled the window shade.
The writer says that to conduct an experiment properly, a scientist should ask questions about nature. The research must be meaningful. He has presented an example of the properly conducted experiment done on testing the fly’s sense of taste. According to the experiment, we can seal the fly’s wings with wax and lower the fly gently over a saucer of water. If the fly is thirsty, it starts drinking water as soon as its legs touch the water. Again the fly is lowered over a saucer of sugared water the fly starts drinking the water just after its legs touch the water. But if it is put back into the plain water, it does not drink water. So, it can be said that a fly tastes with its legs.
Similarly, the writer has presented another experiment that proves that a fly has a more acute sense of taste than human beings. The experiment shows that it can taste the weakest sugar solution which a human being can’t. To experiment it we can prepare the solution by putting a spoonful sugar into a saucer. We can pour half of it into another and add water to make it full. In this way, we can prepare a series of ten saucers. Now we can lower the fly gently. The fly can taste even the weakest solution that we can’t. Again the fly accepts those which are sweet to us and rejects those which are not sweet. It refuses to take out its proboscis if its feet touch salt water with little sugar. It shows that fly’s feet are more sensitive from its mouth. If its feet touch the sugared solution in one saucer and if its mouth touches dye in another at the same time, it takes out its proboscis to drink. It proves that a fly tastes with its feet.
Literal Comprehension:
A properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. It is an adventure, exploration, and conquest. It commences with an act of faith, faith that that world is real, that our senses generally can be trusted, that effects have caused and that we can discover meaning by reason. The experiment is a way of asking nature good questions in different time and condition. The result is observed by changing condition and conclusion is drawn. But the wrong conclusion is drawn in the experiment due to the lack of proper experimental control, absurd extremities and confusing correlation with cause and effect. The writer has proved that many things can be discovered with the help of a properly conducted scientific experiment. On the other hand, improperly conducted experiments are ridiculous. To reach the right conclusion is proposes of an experiment but getting experiment with animals is challenging. The writer here presents some information about the fly. Fly possesses the sense of taste in the feet. The sense is similar to human beings but the hungry fly is ten million times more sensitive than human beings. Fly prefers sweets and rejects sour, bitter or salty. By giving examples of water and sugared water, sugared water and salt water and water with more and less sugar, he says that the feet of the fly are more sensitive than the proboscis. Sensitive feet taste the food and flick out the proboscis if the food is sweet and retracts the proboscis if the food is bitter or sour or salty.
Interpretation:
In this scientific essay, Vincent Dethier discusses on what real experiment is and how does wrong result come out in the experiment. The mistakes in an experiment he calls out fallacies. The proper experiment is undertaken with full faith in keeping the relationship between cause and effect, random guesses and improper experiment create fallacies. Due to absurdity and lack of experimental control, the wrong conclusion is drawn. By discussing on the experiment, he gives proof about the fly, its sensitive power and preferences. He says fly prefers sweet. It takes a taste with feet which is 10 million times more sensitive than a human being.
Critical Thinking:
This essay is interesting and practical. By providing different examples, he tries to convince us what the experiment is and how does wrong result comes out from there. He gives some examples and information about the fly. As a critical thinker, I like to raise some questions in the text. Are there only foolish and cruel persons in the world? Can we use the same saucer used by a fly? Are the flies really 10 million times more sensitive than mankind? Do the flies have a sense of taste on feet? Except for these points, I like this essay.
Assimilation:
This scientific essay tries to give us a practical lesson. Before reading it, I was unknown about how the wrong result comes out in a scientific experiment, how sensitive the animals and insects are? By reading the essay, I have come to know that animals are also respectable in their place. To be proud being a man is in vain. There are some animals and insects to which we have to respect. There are many things in nature to be learned by us.
A properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. It is an adventure. It begins with an act of faith and continues with an observation and a question. The experiment goes on until questions stop to arise there. In an experiment, a scientist alters the condition, observes a result and draws a conclusion. But the experiment is not free from mistakes.
The most commonly committed error is the lack of proper control over the experiment. The scientist must be certain that the conclusion he draws is not coincidental but a consequence of his alteration. The writer describes an experiment that goes wrong due to the lack of proper control over it. Once a gentleman conducted an experiment to find out where the flea’s ears are located. First, he amputated the antennae and commanded it to jump. The plea followed the command. Then he cut the flea’s forelegs and gave the same command. Again the flea jumped. Finally, he cut the flea’s hind leg and commanded, but the flea didn’t jump. Then he came to the conclusion that the flea’s ears are located in his hind legs.
Another common fallacy is that of confusing correlation with cause and effect. One a gentleman was rescued from the rubble of an apartment house immediately after an earthquake. When he was asked what happened, he replied that the building collapsed because he pulled the window shade.
The writer says that to conduct an experiment properly, a scientist should ask questions about nature. The research must be meaningful. He has presented an example of the properly conducted experiment done on testing the fly’s sense of taste. According to the experiment, we can seal the fly’s wings with wax and lower the fly gently over a saucer of water. If the fly is thirsty, it starts drinking water as soon as its legs touch the water. Again the fly is lowered over a saucer of sugared water the fly starts drinking the water just after its legs touch the water. But if it is put back into the plain water, it does not drink water. So, it can be said that a fly tastes with its legs.
Similarly, the writer has presented another experiment that proves that a fly has a more acute sense of taste than human beings. The experiment shows that it can taste the weakest sugar solution which a human being can’t. To experiment it we can prepare the solution by putting a spoonful sugar into a saucer. We can pour half of it into another and add water to make it full. In this way, we can prepare a series of ten saucers. Now we can lower the fly gently. The fly can taste even the weakest solution that we can’t. Again the fly accepts those which are sweet to us and rejects those which are not sweet. It refuses to take out its proboscis if its feet touch salt water with little sugar. It shows that fly’s feet are more sensitive from its mouth. If its feet touch the sugared solution in one saucer and if its mouth touches dye in another at the same time, it takes out its proboscis to drink. It proves that a fly tastes with its feet.
Literal Comprehension:
A properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. It is an adventure, exploration, and conquest. It commences with an act of faith, faith that that world is real, that our senses generally can be trusted, that effects have caused and that we can discover meaning by reason. The experiment is a way of asking nature good questions in different time and condition. The result is observed by changing condition and conclusion is drawn. But the wrong conclusion is drawn in the experiment due to the lack of proper experimental control, absurd extremities and confusing correlation with cause and effect. The writer has proved that many things can be discovered with the help of a properly conducted scientific experiment. On the other hand, improperly conducted experiments are ridiculous. To reach the right conclusion is proposes of an experiment but getting experiment with animals is challenging. The writer here presents some information about the fly. Fly possesses the sense of taste in the feet. The sense is similar to human beings but the hungry fly is ten million times more sensitive than human beings. Fly prefers sweets and rejects sour, bitter or salty. By giving examples of water and sugared water, sugared water and salt water and water with more and less sugar, he says that the feet of the fly are more sensitive than the proboscis. Sensitive feet taste the food and flick out the proboscis if the food is sweet and retracts the proboscis if the food is bitter or sour or salty.
Interpretation:
In this scientific essay, Vincent Dethier discusses on what real experiment is and how does wrong result come out in the experiment. The mistakes in an experiment he calls out fallacies. The proper experiment is undertaken with full faith in keeping the relationship between cause and effect, random guesses and improper experiment create fallacies. Due to absurdity and lack of experimental control, the wrong conclusion is drawn. By discussing on the experiment, he gives proof about the fly, its sensitive power and preferences. He says fly prefers sweet. It takes a taste with feet which is 10 million times more sensitive than a human being.
Critical Thinking:
This essay is interesting and practical. By providing different examples, he tries to convince us what the experiment is and how does wrong result comes out from there. He gives some examples and information about the fly. As a critical thinker, I like to raise some questions in the text. Are there only foolish and cruel persons in the world? Can we use the same saucer used by a fly? Are the flies really 10 million times more sensitive than mankind? Do the flies have a sense of taste on feet? Except for these points, I like this essay.
Assimilation:
This scientific essay tries to give us a practical lesson. Before reading it, I was unknown about how the wrong result comes out in a scientific experiment, how sensitive the animals and insects are? By reading the essay, I have come to know that animals are also respectable in their place. To be proud being a man is in vain. There are some animals and insects to which we have to respect. There are many things in nature to be learned by us.
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