Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory,

Question

170. Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory,  BEAM robots are not programmed to walk: instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error .

A. BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error
B. BEAM robots learn to walk through trial and error by using brainlike circuits called neural networks instead of by programming them
C. BEAM robots are not being programmed to walk but instead using brainlike circuits called neural networks and learning to walk through trial and error
D. brainlike circuits called neural networks are used instead of programming for BEAM robots learning to walk through trial and error
E. brainlike circuits called neural networks are being used for BEAM robots that learn to walk through trial and error instead of being programmed

The question may not brutal, but I am shock when I found my choice too far away from OA!

abhijit_sen · Answer

A. BEAM robots are not programmed to walk; instead they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error
Referent for "they" is not clear.

B. BEAM robots learn to walk through trial and error by using brainlike circuits called neural networks instead of by programming them
Referent for "them" is not clear.

C. BEAM robots are not being programmed to walk but instead using brainlike circuits called neural networks and learning to walk through trial and error.
"Being" is unnecessary here, so this makes option incorrect.

D. brainlike circuits called neural networks are used instead of programming for BEAM robots learning to walk through trial and error.
This one seems to be correct.

E. brainlike circuits called neural networks are being used for BEAM robots that learn to walk through trial and error instead of being programmed.
"Being" is unnecessary here, so this makes option incorrect.

So for me Answer is D.

sondenso · Answer

Hi, Nice to see you on the same boat! but D is not OA

anirudhoswal · Answer

I am not sure of my reasoning but I would go for A. They cannot refer to scientists here because scientists is used in in a Possesive sense owning the act of pioneering?
Anyways the placement of "BEAM robots" rules out D and E for me.
The usage of being rules out C.
Lack of parallelism rules out B.

raconteur · Answer

A for me.

I don't see anything wrong with A. Unless there is a specific rule regarding ";" that I'm missing, I don't see how they is unclear. I would love a definitive answer as to why they is clear though if anyone has that.

D and E are ruled out because it's altered intent -- the sentence is about the robots, not the circuits. Pioneered by Scientists....BEAM Robots... (this is smooth).

B puts too much emphasis on the Scientists. It starts out passive (Pioneered by scientists...) because it's putting the focus on the robots, not the programming that the scientists did.

C just seems awkward to me in every way. The use of the present future tense seems unnecessary and the use of "being" is always a red flag.

jallenmorris · Answer

OA is A

wizardofwashington · Answer

Yay. I got this one right on the money. A seems to be the best choice among all available. Sondenso, thanks again for coming up with such good ones.

rishi2377 · Answer

OA is A

I dont know why OA is A, A looks like an okay answer but it has a major problem. Semi colon (;). Rule says that semi colon is a connector of two independent clauses.
 now, in 
A. BEAM robots are not programmed to walk;  instead  they use brainlike circuits called neural networks to learn to walk through trial and error.

Is " instead  they use brainlike circuits....." an independent clause?
nah! I dont think so.

So I choose E for being a lesser evil.

jallenmorris · Answer

That's not a semicolon. That's a colon. : not ;

sondenso · Answer

I guess you a monster about "Pronoun Error". Can you shed some light on "they" in A? it is really unclear for me! In my opinion, "they" in A can refer to "robots", but the meaning of A seems that "they" refer to "scientists". Really confused! Thanks!

Pioneered by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory,

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