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For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted peo
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04 Feb 2025, 01:47
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For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted people was considered something of an old canard. However, functional brain imaging now has allowed us to look inside the brains of blind people who possess what can only be termed a cerebral superpower-the ability to understand speech at up to 25 syllables per second, a speed that sounds like "noise" to sighted people (a typical sighted person understands closer to 10 syllables per second). As it turns out, a brain region called V1, situated at the back of the skull and which normally only responds to light has actually been rewired in the brains of blind people-and now processes auditory information. This is truly a stunning example of the brain's plasticity, a topic of cardinal importance in designing educational experiences and materials to best engage the brains of students.
Of course, in discussing the brain's amazing plasticity, modern thinkers take for granted something that would have been shocking to thinkers from Aristotle (who posited a holistic, non-corporeal mind in De Anima in the 4th century, BC) through Descartes (who argued, in the 17 th century, for mind-body dualism) -the idea that the mind is physically located in the brain and that our intellect, personality, and selfhood are attributable to physical processes in the brain and can be altered by brain injuries.
Question 1
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Question Stats:
48% (02:55) correct
52% (01:18) wrong based on 21 sessions
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According to the passage, the belief that blind people can hear better than sighted people
(A) is untrue (B) was not a matter of contention, but was then shown to be true (C) was, for years, thought to be true, but is now up for debate (D) is put forth by the scientific community, but this evidence is contested by many (E) was, for years, thought by many to be false, and then was shown to be true
Question 2
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Question Stats:
43% (01:12) correct
57% (02:22) wrong based on 14 sessions
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Consider each of the answer choices separately and indicate all that apply.
According to the passage, Aristotle would NOT have thought that
A. the mind is separate from the body B. the mind exists in parts or modules, rather than as one entity C. blind people can hear better than sighted people
For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted peo
[#permalink]
07 Mar 2025, 10:54
Expert Reply
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION QUESTION #1
(E).
The passage describes this belief as an "old canard." A canard is a "rumor," or "a false or baseless story." An "old canard" is one that has been passed around for awhile—very much analogous to an "urban legend." The passage goes on to say that the blind people in the study have "cerebral superpowers" and that the discovery that blind people can hear better than sighted people is "a stunning example of the brain's plasticity." Thus, choice (E) is correct.
Re: For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted peo
[#permalink]
07 Mar 2025, 10:54
Expert Reply
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION QUESTION #2
2nd only.
According to the passage, Aristotle "posited a holistic, noncorporeal mind" and would have found "shocking" the idea that "the mind is physically located in the brain." Thus, the first statement is not correct, since Aristotle believed in a "non-corporeal" (not part of the body) mind. Since Aristotle believed in a "holistic" mind, he did NOT think that "the mind exists in parts or modules." Thus, the second statement is correct. As for the third statement, the passage does not indicate what Aristotle might have thought about blind people's hearing.
gmatclubot
Re: For years, the idea that blind people can hear better than sighted peo [#permalink]
04 Feb 2025, 01:47 
48% (02:55) correct
