Unit 3: The Mind Machine?

The mind is like a parachute − it works only when it is open.

Frank Zappa

WARM-UP

1. Comment on the pictures.

2. Do you agree or disagree with the quotations?

1. "If the human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we couldn’t." Emerson M. Pugh

2. "What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult." Sigmund Freud

3. "The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public." Author Unknown

4. "The difference between intelligence and education is this: intelligence will make you a good living." Charles F. Kettering

5. "Character is higher than intellect." Ralph Waldo Emerson

6. "Beauty without intelligence is a masterpiece painted on a napkin." Author Unknown

3. Discuss the following questions.

1. What is involved in "intelligence"?

2. Is an "intelligent" person someone who: is good at passing exams, is imaginative, gets what she / he wants in life, understands new ideas quickly, has a good memory, deals with people well, is sensible, reads a lot, is good at crosswords?

3. When is intelligence not enough?

4. What is the difference between intelligence and talent?

5. Is creativity connected with intelligence?

6. What is the difference between intelligence, education, and knowledge?

7. Will artificial intelligence ever match human intelligence? Give reasons.

READING

4. Underline the stressed sound in each word as in the example. Practise reading.

understanding, contain, relationship, significant, verbally, visual-spatial, blood, consumption, similarities, associations, compete, screwdriver

5. Read the article "The mind machine?" and choose the most suitable heading from the list below for each numbered part of the article. The first one has been done for you.

1. Bloodthirsty.

2. Is bigger better?

3. Make your brain work.

4. How much do we know?

5. The battle of the sexes.

6. The super computer.

7. A horrifying history.

6. Match this information with the links that are underlined in the text. On a real Internet page you can "click" on these words to get more information.

1. A nonmetallic element that exists in its free form as a colorless, odorless gas and makes up about 21 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. It is the most abundant element in the Earth's crust and occurs in many compounds, including water, carbon dioxide, and iron ore.

2. The spiral galaxy that contains our solar system. Made up of an estimated two hundred billion stars or more, it is seen from Earth as an irregular band of hazy light across the night sky.

3. He was a novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His novel "Fathers and Sons"  is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century fiction. 

4. The mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experience based on the mental processes of learning, retention, recall, and recognition.

5. He is a poet − a latter-day successor to Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Shakespeare. In "Leaves of Grass" (1855), he celebrated democracy, nature, love, and friendship. 

7. Answer the following questions.

• Are brains of very clever people physically different from those of ordinary people?

• Are there differences between the intelligence levels of males and females?

• What do you know about the peculiarities of brain?

• How can we improve the work of brain?

8. Think of other heading to the text.