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Stenka25 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
The meaning of 'spin-doctored'
the meaning of 'spin-doctored'
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
The human genome, then, is fully capable of building a complex brain, in spite of the bizarre proclamations of how wonderful it is that people are almost as simple as worms. Of course “the wonderful diversity of the human species is not hard-wired in our genetic code,” but we didn't need to count genes to figure that out — we already know it from the fact that a child growing up in Japan speaks Japanese but the same child growing up in England would speak English. It is an example of a syndrome we will meet elsewhere in this book: scientific findings spin-doctored beyond recognition to make a moral point that could have been made more easily on other grounds.
In this passage I want to know what the underlined 'spin-doctored' means in this context.
I think I know 'spin-doctor' is a propagandist.
But here it seems to mean 'distorted.'
Am I right?
Regards.
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
The human genome, then, is fully capable of building a complex brain, in spite of the bizarre proclamations of how wonderful it is that people are almost as simple as worms. Of course “the wonderful diversity of the human species is not hard-wired in our genetic code,” but we didn't need to count genes to figure that out — we already know it from the fact that a child growing up in Japan speaks Japanese but the same child growing up in England would speak English. It is an example of a syndrome we will meet elsewhere in this book: scientific findings spin-doctored beyond recognition to make a moral point that could have been made more easily on other grounds.
In this passage I want to know what the underlined 'spin-doctored' means in this context.
I think I know 'spin-doctor' is a propagandist.
But here it seems to mean 'distorted.'
Am I right?
Regards.
Top answer
In this context "spin-docored" means deliberately altered to suit a particular purpose or agenda. "Beyond recognition" implies beyond acceptable (scientific) limits.
- In this context "spin-docored" means deliberately altered to suit a particular purpose or agenda.
- "Beyond recognition" implies beyond acceptable (scientific) limits.
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4 Answers
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In this context "spin-docored" means deliberately altered to suit a particular purpose or agenda.
"Beyond recognition" implies beyond acceptable (scientific) limits.
"Beyond recognition" implies beyond acceptable (scientific) limits.
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In a ball game, very skilled players can hit or throw the ball in such a way to make it spin. This causes the ball to curve through the air rather than traveling straight, or bounce in an odd direction, thus thwarting the opponent. By analogy, reporters can "spin" the news to slant it to a conservative or liberal viewpoint.
To doctor means to operate - to take out some parts, an
To doctor means to operate - to take out some parts, an
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Thanks a lot for your detailed statement about 'spin-doctor,' AlpheccaStars.
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