Sat - MC Grawhill part 76 pot

740 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE 3. The executives could only hope that the com- pany’s poor first-quarter performance was not of the year to come. (A) an amalgam (B) a harbinger (C) an arbiter (D) a deception (E) a talisman 4. Around 1850, abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass sought to those op- pressed by slavery by facilitating the under- ground railroad, a widespread network of individuals and organizations that worked to transport former slaves out of bondage. (A) evaluate (B) encumber (C) unfetter (D) disorient (E) forgo 5. Known for her and decorative poetry, the author demonstrated her by scribing a keenly analytical mystery novel. (A) flamboyant . . immutability (B) austere . . elegance (C) unadorned . . flexibility (D) florid . . versatility (E) grandiloquent . . insurgence 6. Because the mechanisms by which cancers at- tack the body are so , scientists have been in their efforts to find a universal cure. (A) efficacious . . bilked (B) multifarious . . stymied (C) conspicuous . . thwarted (D) consistent . . hampered (E) lucid . . proscribed 1. The latest review for the restaurant was , suggesting that the cuisine came close to compensating for the insipid decor. (A) glowing . . indefatigable (B) banal . . mediocre (C) ambivalent . . sublime (D) severe . . piquant (E) antiquated . . tepid 2. As unexpected as the results of the experiment were, Dr. Thompson refused to characterize them as (A) meticulous (B) belligerent (C) anomalous (D) convergent (E) warranted 8 8 888 8 SECTION 8 Time—20 minutes 19 questions Turn to Section 8 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section. Directions: For each question in this section, select the best answer from among the choices given and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. Each sentence below has one or two blanks, each blank indicating that something has been omitted. Beneath the sentence are five words or sets of words labeled A through E. Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole. EXAMPLE: Rather than accepting the theory unquestion- ingly, Deborah regarded it with . (A) mirth (B) sadness (C) responsibility (D) ignorance (E) skepticism A C D E B Questions 7–19 are based on the following passages. The following passages are excerpts from a recent debate between two well-known astronomers. The author of Passage 1 is a professor of geolog- ical sciences and the author of Passage 2 is a principal scientist in the Department of Space Studies in Boulder, Colorado. PASSAGE 1 There is a cultural assumption that there are many alien civilizations. This stems in no small way from the famous estimate by Frank Drake—known as the “Drake Equation”—that was later amended by Drake and Carl Sagan. They arrived at an estimate that there are per- haps a million intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way Galaxy alone. The Drake and Sagan estimate was based on their best guess about the number of plan- ets in the galaxy, the percentage of those that might harbor life, and the percentage of plan- ets on which life not only could exist but could have advanced to culture. Since our galaxy is but one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe, the number of intelli- gent alien species would be numbered in the billions. Surely, if there are so many intelli- gent aliens out there, then the number of CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST 3 741 8 8 888 8 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE planets with life must be truly astronomical. But what if the Drake and Sagan estimates are way off? If, as could be the reality, our civi- lization is unique in the galaxy, does that mean that there might be much less life in general as well? In my view, life in the form of microbes or their equivalents is very common in the uni- verse, perhaps more common than even Drake and Sagan envisioned. However, complex life is likely to be far more rare than commonly assumed. Life on earth evolved from single celled organisms to multi-cellular creatures with tissues and organs, climaxing in animals and higher plants. But is Earth’s particular history of life—one of increasing complexity to an animal grade of evolution—an inevitable result of evolution, or even a common one? Perhaps life is common, but complex life— anything that is multicellular—is not. On Earth, evolution has undergone a pro- gressive development of ever more complex and sophisticated forms leading ultimately to human intelligence. Complex life—and even intelligence—could conceivably arise faster than it did on Earth. A planet could go from an abiotic state to a civilization in 100 million years, as compared to the nearly 4 billion years it took on Earth. Evolution on Earth has been affected by chance events, such as the configuration of the continents produced by continental drift. Furthermore, I believe that the way the solar system was produced, with its characteristic number and planetary posi- tions, may have had a great impact on the history of life here. It has always been assumed that attaining the evolutionary grade we call animals would be the final and decisive step. Once we are at this level of evolution, a long and continuous progression toward intelligence should occur. However, recent research shows that while attaining the stage of animal life is one thing, maintaining that level is quite another. The geologic record has shown that once evolved, complex life is subject to an unending succes- sion of planetary disasters, creating what are known as “mass extinction” events. These rare First passage: Peter Ward, “Great Debates Part I ,” Astrobiology Magazine , 2003 Second passage: David Grinspoon, “Great Debates Part III ,” Astrobiology Magazine , 2003 Line 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 The passages below are followed by questions based on their content; questions following a pair of related passages may also be based on the relationship between the paired passages. Answer the questions on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage and in any in- troductory material that may be provided. 742 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT 8 8 888 8 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE but devastating events can reset the evolution- ary timetable and destroy complex life while sparing simpler life forms. Such discoveries suggest that the conditions allowing the rise and existence of complex life are far more rig- orous that are those for life’s formation. On some planets, then, life might arise and ani- mals eventually evolve—only to be soon destroyed by a global catastrophe. PASSAGE 2 It is always shaky when we generalize from experiments with a sample size of one. So we have to be a bit cautious when we fill the cos- mos with creatures based on the time scales of Earth history (it happened so fast here, therefore it must be easy) and the resourceful- ness of Earth life (they are everywhere where there is water). This is one history, and one example of life. I am not convinced that the Earth’s carbon-in-water example is the only way for the universe to solve the life riddle. I am not talking about silicon, which is a bad idea, but systems of chemical complexity that we have not thought of, which may not manifest them- selves at room temperature in our oxygen at- mosphere. The universe is constantly more clever than we are, and we learn about com- plex phenomena, like life, more through ex- ploration than by theorizing and modeling. I think there are probably forms of life out there which use different chemical bases than we, and which we will know about only when we find them, or when they find us. An obvious rejoinder to this is, “But no one has invented another system that works as well as carbon-in-water.” That is true. But to this I would answer, “We did not invent carbon-in-water!” We discovered it. I don’t believe that we are clever enough to have thought of life based on nucleic acids and pro- teins if we hadn’t had this example handed to us. This makes me wonder what else the uni- verse might be using for its refined, evolving complexity elsewhere, in other conditions that seem hostile to life as we know it. I think it is a mistake to look at the many specific peculiarities of Earth’s biosphere and how unlikely such a combination of charac- teristics seems, and to then conclude that complex life is rare. This argument can only be used to justify the conclusion that planets exactly like Earth, with life exactly like Earth- life, are rare. My cat, “Wookie” survived life as a near starving alley cat and wound up as a beloved house cat through an unlikely series of bio- graphical accidents, which I won’t take up space describing but, trust me, given all of the incredible things that had to happen in just the right way, it is much more likely that there would be no Wookie than Wookie. From this I do not conclude that there are no other cats (The Rare Cat Hypothesis), only that there are no other cats exactly like Wookie. Life has evolved together with the Earth. Life is opportunistic. The biosphere has taken ad- vantage of the myriad of strange idiosyncrasies that our planet has to offer. So it is easy to look at our biosphere and conclude that this is the best of all possible worlds; that only on such a world could complex life evolve. My bet is that many other worlds, with their own peculiar characteristics and histories, co-evolve their own biospheres. The complex creatures on those worlds, upon first developing intelligence and science, would observe how incredibly well adapted life is to the many unique features of their home world. They might naively assume that these qualities, very different from Earth’s, are the only ones that can breed complexity. 7. The discussion of the Drake equation in the first paragraph indicates that the author holds which of the following assumptions? (A) The Drake equations are too complicated for most people to understand. (B) Mathematical formulas can influence public opinion. (C) Sagan did not substantially alter the Drake equation. (D) Mathematics tend to obscure scientific exploration. (E) Drake was not as reputable a scientist as Sagan was. 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST 3 743 8 8 888 8 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE 8. Which of the following best describes the func- tion of the third paragraph? (A) It asks more questions similar to those posed in the second paragraph. (B) It provides more background informa- tion on the debate discussed in the passage. (C) It explains a comment made in the second paragraph. (D) It defines an important term mentioned in the second paragraph. (E) It presents an opinion contrary to one presented in the second paragraph. 9. In line 46, the word “abiotic” most nearly means (A) resistant to bacteria (B) devoid of life (C) highly populated (D) extremely advanced (E) quick growing 10. Which of the following best summarizes the main idea of Passage 1? (A) The conditions that support complex life may be much more difficult to maintain than is widely assumed. (B) The Drake equation is not a valid predic- tor of life in the universe. (C) Evolution on Earth has made it very un- likely that there would be complex life on other planets. (D) The number of planets in the universe with complex life is astronomical. (E) Conditions allowing for the existence of microbes are rare. 11. In line 57, “grade” most nearly means (A) level (B) slope (C) evaluation (D) life (E) quantity 12. The author of Passage 1 makes all of the follow- ing claims in support of his argument EXCEPT (A) Complex life on Earth was due in part to haphazard events. (B) Higher life forms sometimes face the likelihood of extinction due to cata- strophic events. (C) The Earth’s carbon-in-water example is probably not the only way for life to come into existence. (D) Simple forms of life are far more com- mon than highly evolved life forms. (E) The evolution of life can be affected by the positions of planets around a star. 13. The “sample size of one” (line 78) refers to (A) the Milky Way galaxy (B) Drake and Sagan’s data (C) the planet Earth (D) the Sun of our solar system (E) mass extinction events 14. The quotations in lines 101–105 serve to (A) show how the author would respond to someone who disagrees with him (B) illustrate an argument for why there is no life on neighboring planets (C) explain a theory the author has disagreed with his entire career (D) describe a conversation the author had with a colleague (E) illustrate the author’s confusion about the origin of alternate life forms 15. The author includes the anecdote in lines 121–131 in order to (A) compare his cat to the complex life forms in nearby galaxies (B) give supporting evidence to the claim that life in the universe is unique to the Earth (C) caution scientists about drawing premature conclusions from one specific occurrence (D) mock scientists who believe that animals such as cats can live on other planets (E) show the result of an evolutionary process 744 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT 8 8 888 8 16. In saying that “Life is opportunistic” (lines 132–133), the author of Passage 2 suggests that (A) only the most cunning animals survive (B) evolution takes advantage of the unique features of many different environments (C) humans will likely always be the domi- nant species on Earth (D) the theory of evolution is probably wrong (E) all life forms seek to dominate others 17. The author of Passage 2 suggests that the “com- plex creatures” discussed in lines 142–148 are likely to believe that (A) technological advancements are critical to their survival (B) life is unique to planet Earth (C) there is no life on other planets (D) life on all planets originates in the same manner (E) carbon is essential to the creation of life 18. The author of Passage 1 would most likely re- spond to the statement in Passage 2 that “The biosphere . . . offer” (lines 133–135) by saying that (A) our planet also offers many dangers to the biosphere (B) the biosphere is filled with far more complex life forms (C) life on Earth has not evolved to such a high level (D) our planet does not offer so many idiosyncrasies (E) carbon is one of the most complex elements in the universe 19. The authors of both passages would most likely agree with which of the following statements? (A) The estimates made by the Drake Equation are surprisingly accurate. (B) Mass extinction events are not a factor in predicting the existence of extraterres- trial life. (C) Mathematical models are the most help- ful means of learning about the develop- ment of life in the universe. (D) There is likely an abundance of life in the universe that has yet to be discovered. (E) Complex life is very common in the universe. STOP If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only. Do not turn to any other section of the test. CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST 3 745 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE 1. His morning routine included eating an English muffin with grape jelly, then to drink coffee from a styrofoam cup, and sitting down to draw his daily comic strip. (A) then to drink coffee from a styrofoam cup (B) drinking coffee from a styrofoam cup (C) then drink coffee from a styrofoam cup (D) from a styrofoam cup he would drink coffee (E) he would drink coffee from a styrofoam cup 2. Pretending to be hurt to avoid running sprints at the end of practice, Mark’s attempt failed to convince his coach. (A) Mark’s attempt failed to convince (B) Mark’s attempted to fail to convince (C) Mark attempt to convince failed (D) Mark failed to convince (E) Mark failed but attempt to convince 3. The flier describing the details of the blood drive requested that we are in the hospital lobby promptly at 10 A.M. (A) are in the hospital lobby (B) should get at the hospital lobby (C) be in the hospital lobby (D) would be to the hospital lobby (E) should have been at the lobby of the hospital A C D E B 9 9 999 9 SECTION 9 Time—10 minutes 14 questions Turn to Section 9 of your answer sheet to answer the questions in this section. Directions: For each question in this section, select the best answer from among the choices given and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet. The following sentences test correctness and effectiveness of expression. Part of each sen- tence or the entire sentence is underlined; beneath each sentence are five ways of phras- ing the underlined material. Choice A repeats the original phrasing; the other four choices are different. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A; if not, select one of the other choices. In making your selection, follow the require- ments of standard written English; that is, pay attention to grammar, choice of words, sentence construction, and punctuation. Your selection should result in the most effective sentence— clear and precise, without awkwardness or ambiguity. EXAMPLE: The children couldn’t hardly believe their eyes . (A) couldn’t hardly believe their eyes (B) could hardly believe their eyes (C) would not hardly believe their eyes (D) couldn’t nearly believe their eyes (E) couldn’t hardly believe his or her eyes 746 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT 9 9 999 9 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE 4. Known for his temper, impatience, and how easily he can be irritated, Dr. McGee was not well liked by his patients. (A) Known for his temper, impatience, and how easily he can be irritated (B) Knowing his temper, impatience, and irritability (C) Known for his temper, impatience, and irritability (D) Known for his temper, impatience, and irritation (E) Known for his temper, for his impa- tience, and his irritability 5. Winning the final match, Courtney gave a gra- cious speech thanking her competitor, the sponsors, and the spectators. (A) Winning (B) Having won (C) Being that she won (D) If she had won (E) For her winning 6. Generally regarded as the most influential social science treatise of the 20th century, John Maynard Keynes wrote a book, The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money that forever changed the way scientists looked at the economy. (A) John Maynard Keynes wrote a book, The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money that (B) a book by John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, that (C) John Maynard Keynes’ book The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money had already (D) John Maynard Keynes wrote a book The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money having (E) John Maynard Keynes’ book The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money 7. Neither of the warriors were aware of the mas - sive wounds they had suffered because each was so intently focused on vanquishing the other. (A) Neither of the warriors were aware of the massive wounds they had suffered (B) Neither of the warriors was aware of the massive wounds they had suffered (C) The wounds suffered by the warriors who were not aware (D) Having suffered massive wounds, neither of the warriors was aware (E) Despite the wounds suffered, neither of the warriors was aware 8. The Chief of Staff stayed up the entire night to prepare the President’s speech for the following night. (A) to prepare (B) in preparing (C) for the preparation of (D) in order for preparation of (E) for preparing 9. Twenty-foot high waves crashed into the shore, covering the stores along the boardwalk and many cars in the parking lots were swept away. (A) boardwalk and many cars in the parking lots were swept away (B) boardwalk with many cars in the parking lot having been swept away (C) boardwalk and sweeping away many cars in the parking lot (D) boardwalk, and the sweeping away of many cars in the parking lot (E) boardwalk; sweeping away many cars having been in the parking lot CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST 3 747 9 9 999 9 10. The life of the ShinZanu tribesman of the Australian Outback, which are realistically depicted in the books written by Ronald Skinner. (A) The life of the ShinZanu tribesman of the Australian Outback, which are realistically depicted in the books written by Ronald Skinner. (B) The books written by Ronald Skinner realistically depict the life of the ShinZanu tribesman of the Australian Outback. (C) The life of the ShinZanu tribesmen of the Australian Outback being realistically depicted in the books written by Ronald Skinner. (D) Ronald Skinner realistically depicting in his books the life of the ShinZanu tribesmen of the Australian Outback. (E) Ronald Skinner, whose books realisti- cally depicting the life of the ShinZanu tribesmen of the Australian Outback. 11. At the age of seven, my father took me to a base - ball game for the very first time. (A) At the age of seven, my father took me to a baseball game for the very first time. (B) At the age of seven, my father took me to my first baseball game. (C) My father took me at seven years old to a baseball game for the first time. (D) When I was seven years old, my father took me to my first baseball game. (E) At the age of seven, I was being taken by my father to my first baseball game. 12. Dealing skillfully with Congress, President Ronald Reagan obtained legislation to stimu - late economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. (A) obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employ- ment, and strengthen national defense (B) obtained legislation to stimulate eco- nomic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthening national defense (C) obtaining legislation to stimulate eco- nomic growth, curbing inflation, increasing employment, and strengthen- ing national defense (D) obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, to curb inflation, increasing employment, and strengthen national defense (E) had obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, to curb inflation, to in- crease employment, and to strengthen national defense 13. If anyone asks for a doctor, send them directly to the nurses’ station for immediate assistance. (A) If anyone asks for a doctor, send them (B) Having asked for a doctor, send them (C) When anyone asks for a doctor, they should be sent (D) Had anyone asked for a doctor, send them (E) Send anyone who asks for a doctor 14. Even if they have been declawed as kittens , adult cats often run their paws along tall objects as if to sharpen their claws. (A) Even if they have been declawed as kittens (B) Even though they should have been de- clawed when being kittens (C) Even when being declawed as kittens (D) Declawed when kittens nevertheless (E) Declawed as kittens STOP If you finish before time is called, you may check your work on this section only. Do not turn to any other section of the test. 748 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT ANSWER KEY Critical Reading Section 3 Section 6 Section 8 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. A1 2. C2 3. B3 4. E3 5. E3 6. A4 7. D4 8. C4 9. B3 10. E1 11. A4 12. A3 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 13. A1 14. D2 15. C3 16. D3 17. E4 18. E3 19. A3 20. D5 21. A3 22. B3 23. C4 24. E4 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. A1 2. D3 3. E3 4. A4 5. B5 6. C3 7. E4 8. C3 9. A1 10. B2 11. E3 12. D4 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 13. A3 14. A4 15. C3 16. D5 17. C2 18. E2 19. B4 20. D2 21. C2 22. A3 23. D4 24. A4 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. C3 2. C2 3. B3 4. C4 5. D4 6. B5 7. B4 8. E3 9. B2 10. A3 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 11. A4 12. C2 13. C1 14. A3 15. C2 16. B3 17. D3 18. A4 19. D3 Number correct Number incorrect Number correct Number incorrect Number correct Number incorrect COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. A1 2. B2 3. D2 4. D3 5. D2 6. E2 7. C3 8. C3 9. A3 10. D3 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 11. B4 12. B3 13. B 3 14. C4 15. B4 16. B3 17. D5 18. C4 19. E4 20. D5 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. B1 2. B3 3. C3 4. B3 5. C3 6. D4 7. A5 8. D5 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 9. 12 10. 750 2 11. 32 12. 32 3 13. 93 14. 34 15. 1.5 or 3/2 4 16. 18 4 17. 20 4 18. 25 5 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. D2 2. C2 3. A2 4. C3 5. A3 6. B3 7. A3 8. B4 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 9. C4 10. D3 11. D3 12. E4 13. D4 14. C4 15. D5 16. B5 Number correct Number incorrect Number correct Number incorrect Number correct (9–18) Number correct Number incorrect Math Section 2 Section 5 Section 7 Multiple-Choice Student-produced Questions Response questions Writing Section 4 Section 9 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. C1 2. A1 3. D2 4. B2 5. C3 6. E2 7. C3 8. D3 9. C4 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 10. C3 11. B3 12. D1 13. C3 14. E3 15. B3 16. D4 17. B3 18. B2 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 19. C3 20. D3 21. C3 22. A3 23. E4 24. D4 25. C4 26. B3 27. C4 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 28. E4 29. B5 30. B3 31. A3 32. D3 33. B4 34. C3 35. E3 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 1. B1 2. D2 3. C2 4. C3 5. B4 6. C3 7. B5 COR. DIFF. ANS. LEV. 8. A4 9. C3 10. B4 11. D4 12. A4 13. E3 14. A4 NOTE: Difficulty levels are estimates of question difficulty that range from 1 (easiest) to 5 (hardest). Number correct Number incorrect Number correct Number incorrect CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST 3 749 SCORE CONVERSION TABLE How to score your test Use the answer key on the previous page to determine your raw score on each section. Your raw score on each section except Section 5 is simply the number of correct answers minus 1 ⁄ 4 of the number of wrong answers. On Section 5, your raw score is the sum of the number of correct answers for questions 1–18 minus 1 ⁄ 4 of the number of wrong answers in questions 1–8. Next, add the raw scores from Sections 3, 6, and 8 to get your Critical Reading raw score, add the raw scores from Sections 2, 5, and 7 to get your Math raw score, and add the raw scores from Sections 4 and 9 to get your Writing raw score. Write the three raw scores here: Raw Critical Reading score: ____________ Raw Math score: ____________ Raw Writing score: ___________ Use the table below to convert these to scaled scores. Scaled scores: Critical Reading: _____________ Math: _____________ Writing: _____________ Critical Critical Reading Math Writing Reading Math Writing Raw Scaled Scaled Scaled Raw Scaled Scaled Scaled Score Score Score Score Score Score Score Score 67 800 32 520 570 610 66 800 31 510 560 600 65 790 30 510 550 580 64 780 29 500 540 570 63 770 28 490 530 560 62 750 27 490 520 550 61 740 26 480 510 540 60 730 25 480 500 530 59 720 24 470 490 520 58 700 23 460 480 510 57 690 22 460 480 500 56 680 21 450 470 490 55 670 20 440 460 480 54 660 800 19 440 450 470 53 650 800 18 430 450 460 52 650 780 17 420 440 450 51 640 760 16 420 430 440 50 630 740 15 410 420 440 49 620 730 800 14 400 410 430 48 620 710 800 13 400 410 420 47 610 710 800 12 390 400 410 46 600 700 790 11 380 390 400 45 600 690 780 10 370 380 390 44 590 680 760 9 360 370 380 43 590 670 740 8 350 360 380 42 580 660 730 7 340 350 370 41 570 650 710 6 330 340 360 40 570 640 700 5 320 330 350 39 560 630 690 4 310 320 340 38 550 620 670 3 300 310 320 37 550 620 660 2 280 290 310 36 540 610 650 1 270 280 300 35 540 600 640 0 250 260 280 34 530 590 630 −1 230 240 270 33 520 580 620 −2 or less 210 220 250 . 740 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE 3. The executives could only hope that the com- pany’s poor first-quarter performance was not of the year to. the passage and in any in- troductory material that may be provided. 742 MCGRAW-HILL’S SAT 8 8 888 8 GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE but devastating events can reset the evolution- ary timetable and destroy. manifest them- selves at room temperature in our oxygen at- mosphere. The universe is constantly more clever than we are, and we learn about com- plex phenomena, like life, more through ex- ploration