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Eclaire1004 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary

The sort of thing that wouldn’t scan

nytimes.com/2012/06/24/opinion/sunday/your-brain-on-a-magic-trick.html

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In one study, shoppers in a blind taste test of two types of jam were asked to choose the one they preferred. They were then given a second taste from the jar they picked. Unbeknown to them, the researchers swapped the flavors before the second spoonful. The containers were two-way jars, lidded at both ends and rigged with a secret compartment that held the other jam on the opposite side — a principle that’s been used to bisect countless showgirls. This seems like the sort of thing that wouldn’t scan, yet most people failed to notice that they were tasting the wrong jam, even when the two flavors were fairly dissimilar, like grapefruit and cinnamon-apple.
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I cannot understand what the word “scan” means which appears in the article above, the title of the which is The Science of Illusion.

I think the phrase “this seems like the sort of thing that” can be generally accompanied with a figurative expression. If so, can I interpret the verb “scan” as “to conform to a metrical pattern?”

Please instruct me what it means.

Thank you in advance.
  

Top answer

eclaire1004 This seems like the sort of thing that wouldn’t scan This seems like the sort of thing that wouldn’t deceive the subjects of the experiment. The comparison is between the subjects of the experiment and a product-code scanning machine in a supermarket. If the machine recognizes a false product code, the product "won't scan".

  • eclaire1004 This seems like the sort of thing that wouldn’t scan This seems like the sort of thing that wouldn’t deceive the subjects of the experiment.
  • The comparison is between the subjects of the experiment and a product-code scanning machine in a supermarket.
  • If the machine recognizes a false product code, the product "won't scan".
  • If an experimental subject detected the trick, the trick "wouldn't scan".
  • The substitution of flavors wouldn't deceive the tasters.
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1 Answers
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eclaire1004This seems like the sort of thing that wouldn’t scan
This seems like the sort of thing that wouldn’t deceive the subjects of the experiment.

The comparison is between the subjects of the experiment and a product-code scanning machine in a supermarket. If the machine recognizes a false product code, the product "won't scan". If an experime

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