While developing scientific understanding we are always mired in error. The most each generation can hope for is to reduce the error bars a little, and to add to the body of data to which error bars apply. The error bar is pervasive, visible self-assessment of the reliability of our knowledge. This makes us always to accept uncertainty about scientific facts. You often see error bars in public opinion polls (‘an uncertainty of plus and minus three percent’, say). Imagine a society in which every speech in Congressional Record, every television commercial, every sermon had an accompanying error bar or its equivalent.

Select the following that best expresses the conclusion useful to public from the argument above.

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

MPSC Subordinate Services Mains 2021 (ASO) Official Paper-II (Held On: 31 Jul 2022)

People accept information without critical evaluation if it comes from dominant authorities like political and religious leaders.
Television commercials deliver information to public without acquainting them with related error bar.
Authorities should take care to acquaint people about the error bar related to the information being delivered by them.
Public should demand for error bar related to any argument though it is coming from any authority.

Answer 1

The correct answer is Public should demand for error bar related to any argument though it is coming from any authority.

Key Points

The passage states that one can reduce the error bars a little, and to add to the body of data to which error bars apply.
Error bar being pervasive makes us always to accept uncertainty about scientific facts.
Moreover, at the end of the passage, a situation has been given where every speech in Congressional Record, every television commercial, every sermon had an accompanying error bar or its equivalent.
Thus, we can draw the conclusion that authority sharing the information should also state the error bar related to the same.
Thus, option 4 is the correct answer.