To Know a Fly Four Levels and Question Answers
Vincent Dethier
Four Levels of To Know a Fly
-Vincent Dethier ( 1915-1993)
1.LITERAL COMPREHENSION :
“To Know a Fly” is a humorous essay about errors and mistakes that may take place during scientific experiments. Dethier has also presented how an experiment like knowing the tasting organ of a fly can be carried out by ordinary people if they become just a little careful.
The essayist believes that a properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. It always begins with the faith over reality, cause and effect relationship, discovering meaning by reason which is followed by shrewd observation and a question. An experiment is a way of asking nature a question. A scientist alters a condition, observes a result and draws a conclusion.
Scientific experiments should be carried out carefully and systemically. However many people do not carry out their experiments in a proper way. The most commonly committed scientific sin is the lack of proper experimental control. Dethier gives a funny example of a gentleman who trains a flea to leap at the command ‘jump’ to discover where its ears are located. The gentleman went on amputating the flea’s feelers, forelegs and hind legs where upon it could not jump at the command. So, he concluded that fleas hear with their hind legs.
Dethier presents another humorous case of a man who tasted varieties of wine mixing in water. Since he felt drunkenness after drinking every mixture, he thought that water was the intoxicating agent. But when he tasted water only, he got negative result and finally concluded that glass was the cause of intoxication.
Both of the above cases lacked control which is an inseparable part of experiment but sometimes controls also can be carried to absurd extremes. An atheistic scientist’s act of baptizing only one of his newly born twins and keeping the other as control to test the efficacy of religion is an example of absurd extreme of control.
Another fallacy (weak or false reasoning) that is committed in some experiments is confusing correlation with cause and effect. This is exemplified by the case of a gentleman, who upon being rescued from the rubbles of the crumpled building, claimed that the building collapsed as he pulled down the window shade. He meant pulling down of the curtain was the cause of the collapse of the building.
Likewise asking a proper question is equally important in scientific experiments. According to the writer, many researchers suffer because they have no question at all to ask while others suffer because they have no idea about what to do with the collected information. Dethier believes that meaningful questions can be asked even to a fly. Then he very simply describes the process of an experiment on how a fly tastes food and identifies sugar in substance. First, we need to take a lead pencil or a thin stick and dip it into candle wax until a fly sized gob is accumulated. The next step is anesthetizing the fly which can be done by putting it in a fridge for several minutes. Then very rapidly, the fly should be placed back side down on the wax and its wings should be sealed with a hot needle. Now, we can lower the fly gently over a saucer of water until its feet just touch. The fly may lower its proboscis if it is thirsty, otherwise it will retract it into head. Next, if we lower the fly over a saucer of sugared water just until it touches water with its feet, it flicks out its proboscis and suck in the water. But if we repeat the same over the water saucer (which is the control), the proboscis is retracted. We can do it repeatedly and can conclude that a fly tastes with its feet. Similarly, we can find out through such experiments that flies taste better than human beings. They can categorize the effectiveness of sugar and distinguish many other kinds of tastes.
2.INTERPRETATION :
This essay might be telling us that scientific experiments should be guided by proper methods and reasoning with control. Otherwise they may result in wrong findings. Scientific experiment is not a joke or game . It is not for a disorderly mind.If we want to experiment upon something , we should have valid questions and know the proper method. If we follow the systematic method we can experiment about how the tasting organ of a fly can be carried out by ordinary people.
3.CRITICAL THINKING :
This essay is very informative.It teaches us the characteristics of properly conducted scientific experiment.The information provided by essayist is quite acceptable but one thing,how is it possible to conduct scientific experiment without any mistakes?
4.ASSIMILATION :
After reading this story I came to know how to conduct scientific experiment properly. Also I understood how to do scientific experiment on a fly. I also knew that Result of experiment should be observed properly.we should not make conclusion without proper observation .
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Question Answers of To Know a Fly
Q.1.What are the characteristics of a properly conducted experiment?
ANSWER : The characteristics of a properly conducted experiment are :-
- It should be carried out systematically and carefully
- There should be proper experimental control.
-There should be valid questions.
-There is no confusion in cause and effect. -Result should be observed properly.
Q.2.What is the main argument of ‘To Know a Fly’.
ANSWER : The main argument of 'To Know a Fly' is that scientific experiment is not a joke or game . It is not for a disorderly mind.If we want to experiment upon something , we should have valid questions and know the proper method. If we follow the systematic method we can experiment about how the tasting organ of a fly can be carried out by ordinary people.
Q.3.“A properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. It is an adventure, an expedition, a conquest.” Analyze the given statement basing your answer on “To Know a Fly”.
ANSWER : "A properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing It is an adventure, an expedition, a conquest", this line is derived from an essay, 'To know a fly' written by Vincent Dethier. He believes that a properly conducted experiment is a beautiful thing. It is not a joke or game and not for a disorderly mind. It always begins with the faith over reality. Cause and effect relationship, discovering meaning by reason which is followed by shrewd way of asking nature a question. A scientist alters a condition, observes a result and draws a conclusion.
Scientific experiment should be carried out consciously and carefully because any experiment carried randomly may not give an appropriate and acceptable result. The most Common fallacies that occur in scientific experiments are lack of proper experimental control and confusing correlation with cause and effect.
A good scientist asks meaningful questions while doing his experiments that involves humans but taking information from animals, scientists use various tricks and methods. Once an experiment started on flies and found that fly tastes food with its feet and lowers. its proboscis to suck in food.
In conclusion, to do experiment upon anything, we should pay great attention in objects or things. Otherwise, our result does not get reality. While drawing conclusion, scientists may make several errors and mistakes. To avoid our wrong conclusion, it is essentially to have patience, keen observation and research on the object in while we are going to make experimentation. In the text, to know whether the fly tastes by mouth or leg, there has been done much experimentation and finally has been reached in the conclusion that a fly tastes with its legs.
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