A Well-Supported Causal Analysis: Using a Source

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 Analyze 
Use the basic features.

Although Vedantam is writing for a general audience, he follows the academic convention of explicitly acknowledging his sources. In fact, Vedantam states at the beginning of paragraph 14 that psychologist Paul Slovic’s research provides the main “evidence” supporting his favored cause and cites Slovic’s research in the notes.

ANALYZE & WRITE

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Write a paragraph or two analyzing how Vedantam uses Slovic’s research:

  1. Reread paragraph 14. How does Vedantam use Slovic’s research to support his causal analysis?
  2. Reread paragraphs 12 and 15–18. What could Vedantam have added, if anything, to clarify the connection between Slovic’s research and Vedantam’s ideas about “the hidden brain” and “the telescope effect.”

    Question