Accidental Scientists Reading Answers

Apr 7, 2025

Accidental Scientists is an IELTS Reading Answer which contains 14 questions and needs to be completed within 20 minutes. This reading answer also helps you to prepare for your IELTS exam. Accidental Scientists Reading Answer consists of questions like: Write no more than two words, choose the correct letter, and write the appropriate number. Participants should go through the IELTS Reading passage to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions. Also, Accidental Scientists Reading Answers chats about the unexpected scientific breakthroughs that changed history. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Accidental Scientists Reading Answer

A. A paradox lies close to the heart of scientific discovery. If you know just what you are looking for, finding it can hardly count as a discovery, since it was fully anticipated. But if, on the other hand, you have no notion of what you are looking for, you cannot know when you have found it, and discovery, as such, is out of the question. In the philosophy of science, these extremes map onto the purist forms of deductivism and inductivism: In the former, the outcome is supposed to be logically contained in the premises you start with; in the latter, you are recommended to start with no expectations whatsoever and see what turns up.

B. B As in so many things, the ideal position is widely supposed to reside somewhere in between these two impossible-to-realise extremes. You want to have a good enough idea of what you are looking for to be surprised when you find something else of value, and you want to be ignorant enough of your end point that you can entertain alternative outcomes. Scientific discovery should, therefore, have an accidental aspect, but not too much of one. Serendipity is a word that expresses a position something like that. It's a fascinating word, and the late Robert King Merton — "the father of the sociology of science" -liked it well enough to compose its biography, assisted by the French cultural historian Elinor Barber.

C. The word did not appear in the published literature until the early 19th century and did not become well enough known to use without explanation until sometime in the first third of the 20th century. Serendipity means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise", specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful without looking for it. The first noted use of "serendipity" in the English language was by Horace Walpole. He explained that it came from the fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip (the ancient name for Ceylon, or present day Sri Lanka), whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of.

D. Antiquarians, following Walpole, found use for it, as they were always rummaging about for curiosities, and unexpected but pleasant surprises were not unknown to them. Some people just seemed to have a knack for that sort of thing, and serendipity was used to express that special capacity. The other community that came to dwell on serendipity to say something important about their practice was that of scientists, and here usages cut to the heart of the matter and were often vigorously contested. Many scientists, including the Flarvard physiologist Walter Cannon and, later, the British immunologist Peter Medawar, liked to emphasise how much of scientific discovery was unplanned and even accidental. Amane needles Rhetoric bout he set enco efyatene method was so much hot dir. indeld, rs ed a war insister, were is no su co

a magnetic needle. Rheto-ric about the sufficiency of the rational method was so much hot air. Indeed, as Medawar insisted, thing as The Scientific Method," no way at all of systematis-ing the process of discovery. Really important discoveries had a way of showing up when they had a mind to do so and not when you were looking for them. Maybe some scientists, like some book collectors, had a happy knack; maybe serendipity described the situation rather than a personal skill or capacity.

E. Some scientists using the word meant to stress those accidents belonging to the situation; some treated serendipity as a personal capacity; many others exploited the ambiguity of the notion. Yet what Cannon and Medawar took as a benign nose-thumbing at Dreams of Method other scientists found incendiary. To say that science had a significant serendipitous aspect was taken by some as dangerous denigration. If scientific discovery were really accidental, then what was the special basis of expert authority? In this connection, the aphorism of choice came from no less an authority on scientific discovery than Louis Pasteur: "Chance favors the prepared mind." Accidents may happen, and things may turn up unplanned and unforeseen, as one is looking for something else, but the ability to notice such events, to see their potential bearing and meaning, to exploit their occurrence and make constructive use of them-these are the results of systematic mental preparation. What seems like an accident is just another form of expertise. On closer inspection, it is insisted, accident dissolves into sagacity.

F. The context in which scientific serendipity was most contested and had its greatest resonance was that connected with the idea of planned science. The serendipitists were not all inhabitants of academic ivory towers. As Merton and Barber note, two of the great early-20thcentury American pioneers of industrial research—Willis Whitney and Irving Langmuir, both of General Electric-made much play of serendipity, in the course of arguing against overly rigid research planning. Langmuir thought that misconceptions about the certainty and ratio-nality of the research process did much harm and that a mature acceptance of uncertainty was far more likely to result in productive research policies. For his own part, Langmuir said that satisfactory outcomes "occurred as though we were just drifting with the wind. These things came about by accident." If there is no very determinate relationship between cause and effect in research, he said, "then planning does not get us very far." So, from within the bowels of corporate capitalism came powerful arguments, by way of serendipity, for scientific spontaneity and autonomy. The notion that industry was invariably committed to the regimentation of scientific research just doesn't wash.

G. For Merton himself-who one supposes must have been the senior author-serendipity represented the keystone in the arch of his social scientific work. In 1936, as a very young man, Merton wrote a seminal essay on "The Unanticipated Consequences of Purposive Social Action." It is, he argued, the nature of social action that what one intends is rarely what one gets: Intending to provide resources for buttressing Christian religion, the natural philoso-phers of the Scientific Revolution laid the groundwork for secularism; people wanting to be alone with nature in Yosemite Valley wind up crowding one another. We just don't know enough—and we can never know enough-to ensure that the past is an adequate guide to the future: Uncertainty about outcomes, even of our best-laid plans, is endemic. All social action, including that undertaken with the best evidence and formulated according to the most rational criteria, is uncertain in its consequences.

Questions 27-32

Choose the most suitable heading for paragraphs A-G from the list

of headings below. Write the appropriate number, i-x.

List of Headings

i. Examples of some scientific discoveries

ii. Horace Walpole's fairy tale

ili. Resolving the contradiction

iv. What is the Scientific Method

v. The contradiction of views on scientific discovery

vi. Some misunderstandings of serendipity

vii. Opponents of authority

viii. Reality doesn't always match expectation

ix. How the word came into being

x. Illustration of serendipity in the business sector

27. Paragraph A

Answer: v. The contradiction of views on scientific discovery

Supporting statement: "A paradox lies close to the heart of scientific discovery. If you know just what you are looking for, finding it can hardly count as a discovery… But if, on the other hand, you have no notion of what you are looking for, you cannot know when you have found it."

Keywords: scientific discovery, paradox

Keyword Location: para A, line 1-4

Explanation: The paragraph highlights the contradiction between planned and accidental discoveries in science, making "the contradiction of views on scientific discovery" the best heading.

28. Paragraph C

Answer: ix. How the word came into being

Supporting statement: "The first noted use of 'serendipity' in the English language was by Horace Walpole. He explained that it came from the fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip."

Keywords: Horace Walpole, The Three Princes of Serendip

Keyword Location: para C, line 4-6

Explanation: This paragraph discusses the origin of the word "serendipity" and how it entered the English language, making "How the word came into being" the most appropriate heading.

29. Paragraph D

Answer: i. Examples of some scientific discoveries

Supporting statement: "Many scientists, including the Harvard physiologist Walter Cannon and, later, the British immunologist Peter Medawar, liked to emphasise how much of scientific discovery was unplanned and even accidental."

Keywords: scientific discovery, Peter Medawar

Keyword Location: para D, line 5-7

Explanation: The paragraph gives examples of scientific discoveries made through serendipity, making this the most relevant heading.

30. Paragraph E

Answer: vi. Some misunderstandings of serendipity

Supporting statement: "Some scientists using the word meant to stress those accidents belonging to the situation; some treated serendipity as a personal capacity; many others exploited the ambiguity of the notion."

Keywords: accidents, serendipity

Keyword Location: para E, line 1-3

Explanation: This paragraph discusses how different scientists interpret serendipity in different ways, leading to misunderstandings, making this the best heading.

31. Paragraph F

Answer: x. Illustration of serendipity in the business sector

Supporting statement: "The serendipitists were not all inhabitants of academic ivory towers… two of the great early-20th-century American pioneers of industrial research—Willis Whitney and Irving Langmuir—made much play of serendipity."

Keywords: American pioneers, serendipitists

Keyword Location: para F, line 2-5

Explanation: This paragraph discusses how the concept of serendipity was used in industrial research, particularly in business and corporate research settings.

32. Paragraph G

Answer: viii. Reality doesn’t always match expectation

Supporting statement: "All social action, including that undertaken with the best evidence and formulated according to the most rational criteria, is uncertain in its consequences."

Keywords: formulated, best evidence

Keyword Location: para G, line 8-10

Explanation: The paragraph highlights how planned actions often lead to unexpected results, which aligns with the idea that reality doesn’t always match expectations.

Questions 33-37

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

33. In paragraph A, the word "inductivism" means

A. anticipate results in the beginning.

B. work with prepared premises.

C. accept chance discoveries.

D. look for what you want.

Answer: C. accept chance discoveries.

Supporting statement: "In the philosophy of science, these extremes map onto the purist forms of deductivism and inductivism: In the former, the outcome is supposed to be logically contained in the premises you start with; in the latter, you are recommended to start with no expectations whatsoever and see what turns up."

Keywords: science, deductivism

Keyword Location: para A, line 5-7

Explanation: The definition of inductivism suggests that it involves starting without expectations and being open to discoveries that arise unexpectedly, which aligns with accepting chance discoveries.

34. Medawar says "there is no such thing as The Scientific Method" because

A. discoveries are made by people with determined mind.

B. discoveries tend to happen unplanned.

C. the process of discovery is unpleasant.

D. serendipity is not a skill.

Answer: B. discoveries tend to happen unplanned.

Supporting statement: "Indeed, as Medawar insisted, there is no such thing as The Scientific Method, no way at all of systematising the process of discovery. Really important discoveries had a way of showing up when they had a mind to do so and not when you were looking for them."

Keywords: science, deductivism

Keyword Location: para D, line 7-9

Explanation: Medawar argues that discoveries occur spontaneously rather than following a strict, systematic method, reinforcing the idea that they often happen unplanned.

35. Many scientists dislike the idea of serendipity because

A. it is easily misunderstood and abused.

B. it is too unpredictable.

C. it is beyond their comprehension.

D. it devalues their scientific expertise.

Answer: D. it devalues their scientific expertise.

Supporting statement: "To say that science had a significant serendipitous aspect was taken by some as dangerous denigration. If scientific discovery were really accidental, then what was the special basis of expert authority?"

Keywords: dangerous denigration, serendipitous

Keyword Location: para E, line 3-5

Explanation: Scientists feared that attributing discoveries to serendipity undermined their expertise, as it suggested that discoveries happened by chance rather than skill or knowledge.

36. The writer mentions Irving Langmuir to illustrate

A. planned science should be avoided.

B. industrial development needs uncertainty.

C. people tend to misunderstand the relationship between cause and effect.

D. accepting uncertainty can help produce positive results.

Answer: D. accepting uncertainty can help produce positive results.

Supporting statement: "Langmuir thought that misconceptions about the certainty and rationality of the research process did much harm and that a mature acceptance of uncertainty was far more likely to result in productive research policies."

Keywords: Langmuir, research policies

Keyword Location: para F, line 6-8

Explanation: Langmuir believed that embracing uncertainty rather than rigid planning led to more successful scientific research, showing the benefits of unpredictability.

37. The example of Yosemite is to show

A. the conflict between reality and expectation.

B. the importance of systematic planning.

C. the intention of social action.

D. the power of anticipation.

Answer: A. the conflict between reality and expectation.

Supporting statement: "Intending to provide resources for buttressing Christian religion, the natural philosophers of the Scientific Revolution laid the groundwork for secularism; people wanting to be alone with nature in Yosemite Valley wind up crowding one another."

Keywords: Scientific Revolution, Yosemite Valley

Keyword Location: para G, line 4-6

Explanation: The example of Yosemite demonstrates how intended outcomes can differ from actual results, highlighting the conflict between expectation and reality in social actions.

Questions 38-40

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer. Write

38. Who is the person that first used the word "serendipity"?

Answer: Horace Walpole

Supporting statement: "The first noted use of 'serendipity' in the English language was by Horace Walpole."

Keywords: serendipity, Horace Walpole

Keyword Location: para C, line 5

Explanation: The passage explicitly states that Horace Walpole was the first to use the word "serendipity" in English.

39. What kind of story does the word come from?

Answer: Fairy tale

Supporting statement: "He explained that it came from the fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip..."

Keywords: fairy tale, The Three Princes of Serendip