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Stenka25 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
The pronoun problem
the pronoun problem
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
And so a gene that disrupts a mental ability need not be a defective version of a gene that is “for” that ability. It may produce a toxin that interferes with normal brain development, or it may leave a chink in the immune system that allows a pathogen to infect the brain, or it may make the person look stupid or sinister and thereby affect how other people react to him. In the past, geneticists couldn't rule out the boring possibilities (the ones that don't involve brain function directly), and skeptics intimated that all genetic effects might be boring, merely warping or defacing a blank slate rather than being an ineffective version of a gene that helps to give structure to a complex brain. But increasingly researchers are able to tie genes to the brain.
In this passage I am not sure what the underlined ‘that’ stands for precisely?
In a way it seems to refer to ‘a gene’ but in another it also seems possible that it represents ‘an ineffective version.’
I’m inclined to the former, but I’m not 100% sure.
Hope for your reply, thanks in advance.
The passage below is from ‘the Blank Slate’ by Steven Pinker.
http://evolbiol.ru/blankslate/blankslate.htm
And so a gene that disrupts a mental ability need not be a defective version of a gene that is “for” that ability. It may produce a toxin that interferes with normal brain development, or it may leave a chink in the immune system that allows a pathogen to infect the brain, or it may make the person look stupid or sinister and thereby affect how other people react to him. In the past, geneticists couldn't rule out the boring possibilities (the ones that don't involve brain function directly), and skeptics intimated that all genetic effects might be boring, merely warping or defacing a blank slate rather than being an ineffective version of a gene that helps to give structure to a complex brain. But increasingly researchers are able to tie genes to the brain.
In this passage I am not sure what the underlined ‘that’ stands for precisely?
In a way it seems to refer to ‘a gene’ but in another it also seems possible that it represents ‘an ineffective version.’
I’m inclined to the former, but I’m not 100% sure.
Hope for your reply, thanks in advance.
Top answer
What gives structure to a complex brain? It can only be a gene, in this case, a structure-giving gene. A version is a variety, which is an abstraction, and abstractions themselves don't affect brain development.
- What gives structure to a complex brain?
- It can only be a gene, in this case, a structure-giving gene.
- A version is a variety, which is an abstraction, and abstractions themselves don't affect brain development.
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What gives structure to a complex brain? It can only be a gene, in this case, a structure-giving gene. A version is a variety, which is an abstraction, and abstractions themselves don't affect brain development.
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