GRE写作素材Section Three: Ideas_GRE写作

GRE写作素材Section Three: Ideas

　　Think again. When we use the base-three number system, two plus two equals 11. A child learning to write numerals might insist that two and two makes 22. And a biologist might joke that two plus two adds up to a whole lot more than four when we re talking about the reproductive life of rabbits.

　　Even scientific knowledge is not certain. At a moment s notice, the world can deviate from what we call laws of nature. Those laws exist inside our heads not in the world. What s more, modern science tells us many things that contradict everyday certainties. For example, physics presents us with a world where solid objects are made of atoms spinning around in empty space, where matter and energy are two forms of the same thing. Even in mathematics and the hard sciences, the greatest advances take place when age-old beliefs are reexamined.

　　Define your terms

　　Imagining two people arguing about whether an employer should extend family health care benefits to people who live together but are unmarried. To one person, the word family means a mother, father, and children. The other person applies the word family to any long-term, supportive relationships between people who live together. Chances are, the debate will go nowhere until these people realize they re defining the same word in different ways.

　　Much opinion conflict can be resolved or at least clarified when we define our key terms up front. This is especially true with abstract, emotion-laden terms such as freedom, peace, progress, or justices. Blood has been shed over the meaning of these words. It pays for us to define them with care.