RC: In American Genesis, which covers the century of technol

[Khush]

In American Genesis, which covers the century of technological innovation in the United States beginning in 1876, Line Thomas Hughes assigns special prominence to Thomas Edison as archetype of the independent nineteenth-century inventor. However, Hughes virtually ignores Edison’s famous contemporary and notorious adversary in the field of electric light and power, George Westinghouse. This comparative neglect of Westinghouse is consistent with other recent historians’ works, although it marks an intriguing departure from the prevailing view during the inventors’ lifetimes (and for decades afterward) of Edison and Westinghouse as the two "pioneer innovators" of the electrical industry.
My recent reevaluation of Westinghouse, facilitated by materials found in railroad archives, suggests that while Westinghouse and Edison shared important traits as inventors, they differed markedly in their approach to the business aspects of innovation.
For Edison as an inventor, novelty was always paramount: the overriding goal of the business of innovation was simply to generate funding for new inventions. Edison therefore undertook just enough sales, product development, and manufacturing to accomplish this. Westinghouse, however, shared the attitudes of the railroads and other industries for whom he developed innovations: product development, standardization, system, and order were top priorities. Westinghouse thus better exemplifies the systematic approach to technological development that would become a hallmark of modern corporate research and development.

question#1

According to the passage, Edison’s chief concern as an inventor was the

A. availability of a commercial market

B. costs of developing a prototype

C. originality of his inventions

D. maintenance of high standards throughout production

E. generation of enough profits to pay for continued marketing

OA: C

I chose B ( from passage : "the overriding goal of the business of innovation was simply to generate funding for new inventions" )

Although you may say that passage does not discuss development of any one particular prototype, i could not find an evidence to select C.
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Hi Ron,

How will you answer the above question if you don't know the meaning of the word "novelty" ?

Please let me know.

[RonPurewal]

"Novelty" is not an advanced vocabulary word.
If English isn't your first language, then, sure, there will"”from time to time"”be words that you don't understand.

Still, the words that you need to answer questions will almost never be "advanced" words. This just isn't that kind of test (as opposed to, say, the GRE, which tests vocabulary heavily).
This kind of instance"”i.e., a word is actually necessary to answer a question, but you don't know it"”should be rare.

(On the other hand, the technical words introduced in RC passages are meant to be unfamiliar to absolutely everyone reading the passage. In fact, part of the goal of RC is to test whether you can understand the main point of a passage WITHOUT understanding all the technical details.)

[RonPurewal]

In any case, even if you don't know the word "novelty", that word is adequately explained in the following sentence. Basically, the following sentence says that Edison only did other business things until he had enough money to go invent something else again"”and no more.
From that description, it should be absolutely clear that innovation, not development, was Edison's #1 concern.

Moreover, the "prototype" answer is specifically refuted by the fact that product development is listed as one of the "other business things""”i.e., the tasks that Edison grudgingly undertook for just long enough to make enough money to allow him to invent again.

[Khush]

In any case, even if you don't know the word "novelty", that word is adequately explained in the following sentence. Basically, the following sentence says that Edison only did other business things until he had enough money to go invent something else again"”and no more.
From that description, it should be absolutely clear that innovation, not development, was Edison's #1 concern.

Moreover, the "prototype" answer is specifically refuted by the fact that product development is listed as one of the "other business things""”i.e., the tasks that Edison grudgingly undertook for just long enough to make enough money to allow him to invent again.

oh i see it now. I thought it is the other way round. I thought the overriding goal of business of innovation was also the most important goal of Edison.
I could also have noticed the word "new inventions", which means the original thing.

You are right , Ron!

Thank You very much!

[Khush]

Question #2

The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. reevaluate a controversial theory

B. identify the flaws in a study

C. propose a new method of historical research

D. compare two contrasting analyses

E. provide a fresh perspective

OA: E
I chose the correct answer E.
However, I want to know the meaning of "controversial theory" in choice A.
In choice A , the word "reevaluate" is correct. But, in the passage, the author himself reevaluates the position of Westing House, which was ignored by Thomas Hughes. In addition, the passage refers to this as "Comparative Neglect of Westinghouse". Hence, I considered that "ignoring the importance of contributions of some legend" cannot be controversial as the theory of Thomas Hughes does not at the first place contradict the prevailing view of that time. Hence rejected A and chose E.
Am I correct in my understanding here Ron?

[RonPurewal]

Yeah, basically, there's no evidence of any controversy. So, any choice referring to controversy can't be right.

Also, I'm not sure I would call anything in this passage a "theory", either.

[Khush]

Thanks for confirming , Ron!

[RonPurewal]

You're welcome.

[NL]

Why don't we have a spoiler to hide answers in this forum? Seeing answers makes my brain less activate. (I wish it could catch points as quick as it caught already-presented answers)

[NL]

Question #2

The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. reevaluate a controversial theory

B. identify the flaws in a study

C. propose a new method of historical research

D. compare two contrasting analyses

E. provide a fresh perspective

Does "fresh perspective" mean new opinion here?

[RonPurewal]

Basically, yes, although "perspective" implies much more concern with the actual point of view from which the opinion is formed (rather than just the opinion itself).

[NL]

Thanks Ron.

So I should simplify big words. One way to improve this skill is to build a habit. For example: I would say "My dog knows how to perform a process of eliminating accumulated liquid-formed waste" instead of "My dog knows how to pee". Got it!

[RonPurewal]

Thanks Ron.

So I should simplify big words. One way to improve this skill is to build a habit. For example: I would say "My dog knows how to perform a process of eliminating accumulated liquid-formed waste" instead of "My dog knows how to pee". Got it!

In written language, always a good thing.

[targetgmat]

I am not aware if this has been answered yet.

Here is my question:
The author of the passage implies that the shift away from the views of Westinghouse's contemporaries should be regarded as
A a natural outgrowth of the recent revival of interest in Edison
B a result of scholarship based on previously unknown documents
C reflective of modern neglect of the views of previous generations
D inevitable, given the changing trends in historical interpretations
E surprising, given the stature that Westinghouse once had

The answer is (E). But I don't know how to arrive at this one.

I marked it as (C) since this option at least relates to passage as the passage mentions "comparative neglect".

Ron,

Plz help

[RonPurewal]

I am not aware if this has been answered yet.

Here is my question:
The author of the passage implies that the shift away from the views of Westinghouse's contemporaries should be regarded as
A a natural outgrowth of the recent revival of interest in Edison
B a result of scholarship based on previously unknown documents
C reflective of modern neglect of the views of previous generations
D inevitable, given the changing trends in historical interpretations
E surprising, given the stature that Westinghouse once had

The answer is (E). But I don't know how to arrive at this one.

That shift is described as "an intriguing departure from the prevailing view".

"- Intriguing = provoking curiosity. If something is expected, it won't provoke curiosity. So, this was unexpected (surprising).

"- Prevailing view = how Edison and Westinghouse were viewed at the time.