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Stenka25 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
Pronoun problem
pronoun problem
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
So patterns in the input can tune a patch of sensory cortex to mesh with that input, but only within the limits of the wiring already present. Sur suggests that the reason the auditory cortex in the rewired ferrets can process visual information at all is that certain kinds of signal processing may be useful to perform on raw sensory input, whether it is visual, auditory, or tactile:
On this view, one function of sensory thalamus or cortex is to perform certain stereotypical operations on input regardless of modality [vision, hearing, or touch]; the specific type of sensory input of course provides the substrate information that is transmitted and processed....
I'd like to ask a question regarding the underlined 'it'.
It seems to refer to 'signal' in this context.
But I'm not 100% sure.
Regards.
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
So patterns in the input can tune a patch of sensory cortex to mesh with that input, but only within the limits of the wiring already present. Sur suggests that the reason the auditory cortex in the rewired ferrets can process visual information at all is that certain kinds of signal processing may be useful to perform on raw sensory input, whether it is visual, auditory, or tactile:
On this view, one function of sensory thalamus or cortex is to perform certain stereotypical operations on input regardless of modality [vision, hearing, or touch]; the specific type of sensory input of course provides the substrate information that is transmitted and processed....
I'd like to ask a question regarding the underlined 'it'.
It seems to refer to 'signal' in this context.
But I'm not 100% sure.
Regards.
Top answer
Yes, it is ambiguous. 1) It could refer to "certain kinds of signal processing" (in which case I would have said " they are visual, auditory, or tactile"). 2) It could refer to "signal processing" (not "signal," which is an adjective telling you what kind of processing it is).
- Yes, it is ambiguous.
- 1) It could refer to "certain kinds of signal processing" (in which case I would have said " they are visual, auditory, or tactile").
- 2) It could refer to "signal processing" (not "signal," which is an adjective telling you what kind of processing it is).
- " (Or else: "...
- ") Does this help?
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2 Answers
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Yes, it is ambiguous.
1) It could refer to "certain kinds of signal processing" (in which case I would have said "they are visual, auditory, or tactile").
2) It could refer to "signal processing" (not "signal," which is an adjective telling you what kind of processing it is). In that case, I would have said "whethe
1) It could refer to "certain kinds of signal processing" (in which case I would have said "they are visual, auditory, or tactile").
2) It could refer to "signal processing" (not "signal," which is an adjective telling you what kind of processing it is). In that case, I would have said "whethe
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