Hendricks 1

Austin Hendricks

Lisa Weaver

406 LNG

24 March 2011

Mixing the Modes Questions

QoM-

1. In order for an idea to be a scientific hypothesis, it must be testable and have real,

tangible evidence that can be observed. Speculation occurs when someone proposes an idea that

cannot be tested and proven right or wrong. Gould states this idea when he says, “the proper

criterion lies in evidence and methodology…,” as well as when he says, “it is simply untestable

and unusable.”

2. Gould’s thesis in his essay is that if a hypothesis is not testable and lacks tangible

evidence, then it cannot be considered a hypothesis and is instead random speculation.

4. Gould connects nuclear holocaust and the extinction of the dinosaurs by saying that if

nuclear holocaust occurred, the resulting cloud of dust could cause an extinction of the human

race similar to that of the dinosaurs. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand the

ramifications of such actions.

QoWS-
 Hendricks 2

1. Gould’s first phrase implies that we are intrigued by these ideas based on primal

fascination instead of scientific inquiry. His tone is sill and joking because he does not believe

that the first two hypotheses have any basis in real science.

2. I believe that it is necessary to understand the poem in order to catch Gould’s references.

He is trying to explain that we should not simply accept these ridiculous hypotheses as facts and

should instead “rage” against them because they are pure speculation.

4. Without Gould’s process analysis, his essay would be difficult to understand by those

outside the scientific community that do not understand how a hypothesis works. If he did not

explain how the dinosaurs became extinct or how the other scientists came to their conclusions,

then his essay would be like their hypotheses, pure speculation without facts of evidence.

QoL-

1. Gould means that the extinction of the dinosaurs was not a single, solitary event, but

instead was a smaller piece of a much larger extinction. Therefore, any hypothesis should also be

able to explain the larger, global extinction, not just the dinosaurs.