Question

excerpt from chapter 2 in phineas gage: a gruesome but true story about brain science by john fleischman
what we thought about how we thought
the boston doctors watching phineas in 1850 havent a clue about neurons, which wont be discovered for another twenty years. still, these doctors know that the brain sits atop the spinal cord, a thick, bundled cable of thousands of threads. doctors do not know that each thread is a bundle of microscopic neurons. they do know that cutting the spinal cord results in paralysis. the higher the break in the spinal cord, the more complete the paralysis. they know that if the cord is cut at the base of the brain stem, the patient dies.
thats why phineas interests the doctor

1. which statement is most true, according to the passage?

a the localizers were right and the whole brainers were wrong.
b the whole brainers were right and the localizers were wrong.
c the whole brainers and the localizers were both completely wrong.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the passage. The Boston doctors in 1850 (related to early brain science views) didn't have a clue about neurons for 20 years, implying old views (Localizers and Whole Brainers) were wrong. Option C says "The Whole Brainers and the Localizers were both completely wrong" which aligns with the idea that old understanding (before neuron discovery) was incorrect. Option A says Localizers were right (wrong), Option B says Whole Brainers were right (wrong). So C is correct.

Answer:

C. The Whole Brainers and the Localizers were both completely wrong.