QUESTION TEXT: Paula: Earthlike planets seem to be the…
QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue: Disagree
ARGUMENTS: Paula says that most planets are like earth and so alien scientists likely will understand the same concepts as humans, and develop the same technologies, such as the radio.
Ashley says that our concepts and discoveries are based on our biology so we can’t assume aliens have the same technologies, including radio. So it’s useless to search for aliens using the radio.
ANALYSIS: On point at issue questions you need something where one person says yes, and the other says no. A lot of the wrong answers will be about something where one person gave no opinion. This is the question where both people gave an opinion:
“Will aliens have developed the same tech as humans?”
- Paula: Yes, alien scientists would probably understand the same things as us.
- Ashley: No, our science is based on our biology. Aliens would have different biology and hence difference science.
Because technology (and not the search for life) is the central point for both people, you should look for an answer based on technology.
___________
- CORRECT. Paula agrees. Whereas Ashley thinks that our technology is unique to our biology and that aliens would likely have developed different technologies.
- Ashley says no. And Paula gave no opinion about alien legal and political systems. She might agree those would be different.
- Ashley agrees with this. But Paula doesn’t say anything about this. And, when you think about it, who would completely disagree with this answer? For example, a helmet is a piece of technology. We have them because we have heads. If a species had no heads, we would not expect them to have helmets.
So Paula could hold her beliefs while still agreeing with a basic version of this answer: she would think our tech was mostly universal but a few aspects would be based on biology. “Influenced” is a weak word. - The issue is not does life exist. The issue is whether we can detect this life with radio waves. Both people might agree life exists: Ashley’s point is we can’t detect it with radio waves.
- There are two problems with this answer:
1. Ashley didn’t say all searching for intelligent life is a waste. She said searching for it with radio waves is a waste.
2. Paula might actually not agree we should spend more money. She might think we’re spending exactly the right amount of money.
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