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Stenka25 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Agreement problem
agreement problem
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
In assembling a brain, a complete genetic blueprint is out of the question for two reasons. One is that a gene cannot anticipate every detail of the environment, including the environment consisting of the other genes in the genome. It has to specify an adaptive developmental program that ensures that the organism as a whole functions properly across ?variations in nutrition, ?other genes, ?growth rates over the lifespan, ?random perturbations, and ?the physical and social environment.
In the last sentence, the phrases after 'across' seem to have a parallel relationship from #1 to #5.
But on second thought it's seems to be better that #1 is put before 'nutrition'.
I'm not sure. Hope for your replies.
Regards.
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
In assembling a brain, a complete genetic blueprint is out of the question for two reasons. One is that a gene cannot anticipate every detail of the environment, including the environment consisting of the other genes in the genome. It has to specify an adaptive developmental program that ensures that the organism as a whole functions properly across ?variations in nutrition, ?other genes, ?growth rates over the lifespan, ?random perturbations, and ?the physical and social environment.
In the last sentence, the phrases after 'across' seem to have a parallel relationship from #1 to #5.
But on second thought it's seems to be better that #1 is put before 'nutrition'.
I'm not sure. Hope for your replies.
Regards.
Top answer
Stenka25 I'm not sure. I'm not either; it is rather ambiguous. However, the term 'random perturbations' hardly needs the modification of 'variations', so I suspect that the latter was intended to modify only 'nutrition'.
- Stenka25 I'm not sure.
- I'm not either; it is rather ambiguous.
- However, the term 'random perturbations' hardly needs the modification of 'variations', so I suspect that the latter was intended to modify only 'nutrition'.
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3 Answers
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Stenka25I'm not sure.I'm not either; it is rather ambiguous. However, the term 'random perturbations' hardly needs the modification of 'variations', so I suspect that the latter was intended to modify only 'nutrition'.
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Thanks a lot as always, MM.
One last thing to ask, does 'the latter' stand for 'variations', doesn't it?
One last thing to ask, does 'the latter' stand for 'variations', doesn't it?
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Stenka25does 'the latter' stand for 'variations',Yes, right.
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