In question #1 I chose C, but for me B looks good too. The only reason I chose C rather than B was that the passage spent a lot of time refuting the Searle's argument and not so much time talking about the Brain's function itself (processing info). Is sound this reasoning?

The idea of the brain as an information processor—a machine manipulating blips of energy according to fathomable rules—has come to dominate neuroscience. However, one enemy of the brain-as-computer metaphor is John R. Searle, a philosopher who argues that since computers simply follow algorithms, they cannot deal with important aspects of human thought such as meaning and content. Computers are syntactic, rather than semantic, creatures. People, on the other hand, understand the meaning because they have something Searle obscurely calls the causal powers of the brain.

Finding the main idea at a glance seems the easiest task. However, it is the most difficult one because the students try to crack it down to a formal logic where instead find the main idea is something related to the feeling you have of the passage as a whole. I.E. it is a process related NOT to the formal logic but to the other extreme of the spectrum: real world. Please be kind to read the following https://gre.myprepclub.com/forum/gre-readi ... 20658.html

back to the question: the brain does not work as a machine but is something more related also to our way of thinking NOT just HOW we think

C is the best answer and you find it in the 1st paragraph. The rest is just a deep analysis of the implication about the main idea

Hope this helps
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Thanks! Yeah, the shortcut to know the main topic for me is the "hammer", as GregMat call it. Some words like 'But', 'However', etc. I agree with what did you say about the "feeling" rather than the logic. This is likely the problem.

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Please read the link suggested. Greg is a great tutor. However, the key words work to some extent. It is all about the passage as a whole.

Think for instance the medium or short passages - they do not have a clear structure, they do not have all the time the contrast or shift words.....then what ??

You must understand what you read. That is the simple yet more powerful tool.

Regards
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1) The main purpose of the passage is to
Paragraph 2 refers to the author's point that he is clearly opposing Searle's point
A) propose an experiment
<detail - incorrect>
B) analyze a function
<detail - it doesn't cover the entire paragraph - incorrect >
C) refute an argument
<the 2nd paragraph clearly refutes Searle's point - correct>
D) explain a contradiction
< passage does more than explaining the contradiction - understatement - incorrect >
E) simulate a process
<detail - incorrect >

2) Which of the following is most consistent with Searle's reasoning as presented in the passage?
Searle's reasoning is presented throughout the passage, so we need to verify details of each of the answer options.
A) Meaning and content cannot be reduced to algorithms.
<line "Searle would claim that the machine would not really be thinking" proves this answer choice - correct >
B) The process of digestion can be simulated mechanically, but not on a computer.
<out of scope, as second half of the answer choice has not been mentioned - incorrect >
C) Simulated thoughts and real thoughts are essentially similar because they are composed primarily of information.
<reverse of what Searle claims - incorrect >
D) A computer can use "causal powers" similar to those of the human brain when processing information.
<reverse of choice A - incorrect >
E) Computer simulations of the world can achieve the complexity of the brain's representations of the world.
<reverse of choice A - incorrect >

3) The author of the passage would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements about the simulation of organ functions?
Inference question type - we need to refer the para-2 and 3; we need to focus on the author's point not the S's point.
A) An artificial device that achieves the functions of the stomach could be considered a valid model of the stomach.
<line - "His argument proceeds thus: if a computer were used to simulate a stomach, with the stomach's churnings faithfully reproduced on a video screen, the machine would not be digesting real food." mentions the opposite view point of the author - hence inference is what this choice says - correct >
B) Computer simulations of the brain are best used to crack the brain's codes of meaning and content
<"best" is red flag; also there is no such correlation mentioned - incorrect >
C) Computer simulations of the brain challenge ideas that are fundamental to psychology and neuroscience.
<reverse of what the author says - incorrect>
D) Because the brain and the stomach both act as processors, they can best be simulated by mechanical devices.
<"best" is red flag; also there is no such correlation mentioned - incorrect >
E) The computer's limitations in simulating digestion suggest equal limitations in computer-simulated thinking.
<opposite of what the passage says - incorrect >

4) It can be inferred that the author of the passage believes that Searle's argument is flawed by its failure to
This inference question redirects us to go back to the area where author negates the Searle's point - "But even if a computer could simulate the workings of the mind, Searle would claim that the machine would not really be thinking;.................it is hard to see how one and not the other could be said to think."
A) distinguish between syntactic and semantic operations
<no such flaw is referred; wrong connection between the points - incorrect>
B) explain adequately how people, unlike computers, are able to understand meaning
<"able to understand meaning -> is same as -> thinking" ; rewording of the idea mentioned into the passage - correct >
C) provide concrete examples illustrating its claims about thinking
<might be a true reason of the failure of the argument but it is not highlighted or referred as a flaw by the author in the passage - incorrect >
D) understand how computers use algorithms to process information
<same reasons as for option C - incorrect >
E) decipher the code that is transmitted from neuron to neuron in the brain
<out of context - incorrect >

5) From the passage, it can be inferred that the author would agree with Searle on which of the following points?
A) Computers operate by following algorithms.
B) The human brain can never fully understand its own functions.
C) The comparison of the brain to a machine is overly simplistic.
D) The most accurate models of physical processes are computer simulations.
E) Human thought and computer-simulated thought involve similar processes of representation.

The correct answer option for this question is A - as provided by various forums.
I was not able to find the clear reason to reject the answer choice E - in this passage, so need your help - how to reject E and select A?
In the passage, I can see the line "John R. Searle, a philosopher who argues that since computers Simply follow algorithms," but where does the author agrees with this point?

6) Which of the following most accurately represents Searle's criticism of the brain-as-computer metaphor, as that criticism is described in the passage?
Question type seems - "why does Searle think that brain is not a computer?" Answer seems directly quoted in the line "However, one enemy of the brain-as-computer metaphor is John R. Searle, a philosopher who argues that since computers Simply follow algorithms, they cannot deal with important aspects of human thought such as meaning and content."
A) The metaphor is not experimentally verifiable.
<out of scope - incorrect >
B) The metaphor does not take into account the unique powers of the brain.
<paraphrase of the line mentioned above - correct >
C) The metaphor suggests that a brain's functions can be simulated as easily as those of a stomach.
<two far distant points are being correlated un-necessarily - incorrect >
D) The metaphor suggests that a computer can simulate the workings of the mind by using the codes of neural transmission.
<too much misaligned ; far-fetched inference - incorrect >
E) The metaphor is unhelpful because both the brain and the computer process information.
<not even related to what question asks - incorrect >
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For question 5, where in the passage does the author agree that computers operate by following “algorithms “?

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Question #5 OE



This is an official GMAT passage

Ask if something is still unclear

regards
_________________

Thanks

I am not seeing any part of the passage touch upon an agreement between Searle and tge author of the passage that computers work by following algorithms. While Searle and the author don’t disagree on this point (which is actually a universally established fact I.e. no one will actually disagree that computers use algorithms)…nothing in the passage (ironically- “information” that is provided) compels me to infer that the author agrees with Searle on this point.