Writing Feedback / "Information described as 'factual' - skepticism" - GRE Analytical Writing [4]

The question comes from a practice test. Here's the prompt:

"Scientific theories, which most people consider as 'fact,' almost invariably prove to be inaccurate. Thus, one should look upon any information described as 'factual' with skepticism since it may well be proven false in the future."

Write an essay in which you take a position on the statement above. In developing and supporting your viewpoint, consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true.

Here's my Response::

Although many scientific theories exist today - and many believe them to be true - there are many cases in which this is not the case. From the start, a theory does not in any way imply that what it says is true. A theory exists only to attempt to explain a phenomenon through numerous experiments. However, even if tens of thousands of experiments prove the theory to be true, it takes just one experiment to falsify the theory. Therefore, one should look upon theories with some degree of skepticism.

Sir Isaac Newton developed a very famous equation that many people are familiar with. This equation states that force is equal to the product of mass and acceleration. This equation was regarded to be true for many centuries. However, when Einstein's theory of relativity was developed, scientists and engineers had account for the affects that relativity had on Newton's equation. If even such a famous equation, which stood for centuries, was proven to be inaccurate, how many more are there?

Even a more queer phenomenon would be quantum physics. Many theories in quantum physics do explain some phenomena, yet there are cases in which their mathematical models contradict one another. Neil Bohr stated that matter had wavelengths, and when scientists formulated an experiment, it proved Neil Bohr was right. In the experiment, scientists projected beams of electrons through two thin slits. The electrons would diffract as light would, which proved the wave nature of electrons. However, when scientists tried to observe how the electrons were traveling, the electrons behaved like matter, thus no diffraction was observed.

There are many, many things that science currently does not offer an explanation for. For example, what is mass? Why is gravity much weaker than the other three fundamental forces? As scientists explore more and more, they would definitely prove more and more previous theories wrong. Thus, as a responsible learner, one should keep skepticism and an open mind when coming across theories.

Writing Feedback / GRE: As technology becomes more and more advanced.. people rely on technology [5]

Hi everyone,
this is a practice essay from the GRE issue pool. There are some typos (i left them in purposely so i could figure out what i spell wrong).

Any feedbacks welcome :)

As people rely more and more on technology to solve problems, the ability of humans to
think for themselves will surely deteriorate.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the
statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting
your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true
and explain how these considerations shape your position.

As technology becomes more and more advance and prevalent, people become more
and more reliant on technology. With more powerful computers and softwares, people do
become a bit less capable of thinking of some aspects of a problem. However, this does
not mean that the thinking ability of humans are detiorating nor will it any time soon.

The current form of technology which aids thinking is mainly software. We use
softwares for multifarious purposes, such as text editing, making financial reports,
calculating strength requirements for a car. However, these softwares do not obviate
people who use them. Softwares alone cannot think, they can only aid. Almost all
introductory programming lectures will always mention an acronym: GIGO. GIGO stands for
"garbage in, garbage out". This proves that softwares alone cannot check whether the
input data is reasonable, nor can it check the validity of the output.

Sure, we all use spell checkers, grammar checkers, calculators and other forms
of technology, but we must realize that we still are the brains of what we do. Typing an
essay with the aid of a spell checker and grammar checker improves performance of the
writer. The writer no longer needs to worry about minutae and can now focus on bigger
parts of integration. Scientists and engineers may rely on calculators or programs to
expedite calculation and prediction processes. But these two examples have one common
aspect: humans always do the thinking and input their thought to the gadgets.

A more concrete example would be found in the financial industry. People working
in the industry rely ever more on the technology that has been created. Internet and
computers have helped people aggragate information so they no longer have to spend time
and effort piecing out the tiny details. Now they can rely on data that is presented to
them and make calls quicker than ever before. And in the field of finance, time is
money.

Although many of us who rely on technology may forget the spelling of some words
or forget the calculation procedures of differentiation, we are no longer caught up in
tiny details that impede the developement of a larger scheme. Relying on technology,
instead of deteriorating our ability to think, has helped us improve our ability to
think more abstractly than ever before.