IPMAT Indore 2019 (VA) - One of the dangers in adopting a binary view of the human brain is that it can | PYQs + Solutions | AfterBoards
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IPMAT Indore 2019 (VA) PYQs

IPMAT Indore 2019

VA
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Reading Comprehension

Easy

The perennial debate over gender differences threatens to remain inconclusive. Stereotypes pertaining to male superiority and female submissiveness could be traced to earlier ages where assigned roles were needed as survival measures. But, can we today see a swing away from these stereotypes, or have they established a stranglehold on our perceptions? In this gendered world, we continue to live with notions that one's gender determines one's skills and preferences, from toys and colours to career choices. So the girl child will be presented with a Barbie doll, while the boy child will receive a Lego set.
Does that mean that our brains are different? This myth has been exploded by a British professor of cognitive neuroimaging. Her research attempts to establish how these stereotypes mould our ideas of ourselves. She examines how science has been misinterpreted or misused to ask the wrong questions, instead of challenging the status quo. She urges us to move beyond a binary view of people's brains and instead to see these as highly individualised, profoundly adaptable, and full of unbounded potential. Her conclusive findings establish that no brain differences can be found that are solely gender related. In other words, modern neuroscientists have identified no decisive category-defining differences between the brains of men and women.
As a result of these findings we owe it to ourselves to dump the myths and look at ourselves afresh. We need to recognise that the male and female brain debate is a distraction, besides being based on inaccuracies. It is possibly harmful too, because it can be used as a hook to justify saying there is no point in girls doing science because they do not have a science brain; or compelling boys to opt for science because their brains are shaped for that subject. It can also condemn boys for being emotional, as this is seen as a feminine trait. And, most dangerous of all, to proclaim that boys, not girls, are meant to lead.

One of the dangers in adopting a binary view of the human brain is that it can

Correct Option: 1
  1. Promote the notion of feminine and masculine traits. - This is supported by the passage. The author mentions that adopting a binary view of the brain can lead to promoting stereotypes, such as considering emotional traits as feminine.
  2. Determine as well as limit academic choices. - While the passage does mention that a binary view can limit academic choices (e.g., girls being discouraged from science), this is not the main danger highlighted.
  3. Lead to the distortion and misinterpretation of scientific data. - The passage discusses how science has been misused or misinterpreted in the context of stereotypes, but this is not listed as a direct danger of adopting a binary view.
  4. Be used to encourage male dominance and superiority. - The passage does mention that such views can justify male dominance, but this is presented as a specific example rather than the primary danger.

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