PrepTest 147, Section 1, Question 24
Biologist: Some computer scientists imagine that all that(46 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AThe functions of(14 more words not shown)
- BThe interactions of(21 more words not shown)
- CThe only way(16 more words not shown)
- DThe amount of(17 more words not shown)
- EIt is much(26 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Having instructions for protein structures isn't obviously the same as having an operating brain. The biologist points to the interactions of those proteins, while the proposed computer program would contain the information in the human genome.
What we’re looking for
But could the computer simulate the protein interactions? My initial thought is that the biologist may need to rule out that kind of simulation. Otherwise, perhaps the computer could reproduce the process the biologist says matters. Since the question asks for a required assumption, let's test whether that thought captures something the argument actually needs.
Working the answers
- A
This initially looks like the prediction, but it goes too far. The biologist rejects the claim that putting the genome's information into a program is all that's required. That doesn't require denying that any computer could ever simulate brain processes. Perhaps a simulation is possible with additional information beyond the genome. A would rule out far more than the particular proposal the biologist is challenging.
- BCorrect
This focuses on whether the genome already contains what is needed to determine the relevant interactions. The premise grants that protein structures are encoded in the genome. To use protein interactions as a reason the genome alone isn't enough, the biologist needs those interactions not to be determined by that information too. Otherwise, pointing to the interactions wouldn't reveal something the proposed program is missing. This is narrower than A: it concerns what the genome provides, not what computers could ever simulate.
- C
The biologist can reject this particular approach without insisting that every possible artificial intelligence must imitate a human brain. There might be entirely different ways to build one. The argument concerns whether programming the genome's information is enough, not whether that is the only kind of approach anyone may try.
- D
The objection is about whether the information is enough, not whether there is too much of it to package easily. Even a small, easy-to-store set of information could leave out something essential. Conversely, a large amount could contain everything needed. Difficulty fitting the information into a program isn't required for the biologist's reasoning.
- E
Being harder to program is different from requiring information the genome doesn't supply. The interactions could be difficult to capture even if the genome determined them completely. Or they could be easy to program once someone supplied additional information. A comparison of programming difficulty doesn't establish the missing-information point on which the biologist relies.
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