Question

Media are not just passive channels of information. Not only do they supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the internet seems to be doing is chipping away our capacity for concentration. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument presented above?

• A. Nietzsche was forced to use a typewriter when he started losing his vision. After he mastered the machine, he could type with his eyes closed. It was later found that under the effect of the machine, Nietzsche’s prose “changed from arguments to aphorisms, from thoughts to puns, from rhetoric to telegram style.”
• B. One of the effects of the timekeeping instruments has been that we have started deciding on our daily activities based on the clock and not based on our senses.
• C. Studies have shown that the essay writing skills of an average 15–20 year old, who spends a lot of time browsing the internet, is comparable to what it was among the average 15–20 year old throughout the 1980s and the 1990s.
• D. A recent study has shown that the number of people who fall asleep while reading a printed book has increased in the last five years.
• E. The ability of the younger judges, who have grown up with ready access to the internet, to judge complex and intricate cases, has, on an average, become better as compared to what it was for judges of comparable age profile during the 1920s.

Hint:

For strengthen/weaken questions, always align with the core claim. Here, the claim was about “loss of concentration,” so evidence showing reduced attention span directly strengthens it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Recall the argument.
The passage argues that the internet diminishes our ability to concentrate by shaping how we process information. To strengthen this, we need evidence of declining attention spans or reduced focus.

Step 2: Evaluate options.
- (A) Shows how a machine altered Nietzsche’s prose style — relevant to media influence, but not directly about concentration decline.
- (B) Timekeeping effect → shows influence of technology but not about concentration.
- (C) Essay-writing skills remained the same → contradicts decline in concentration.
- (D) More people fall asleep while reading books (a concentration-heavy task) → clear evidence that attention spans are weakening.
- (E) Judges’ skills improved → weakens, not strengthens, the argument.


Step 3: Conclude.
Option (D) best strengthens the claim that the internet chips away at concentration. \[ \boxed{\text{(D) Falling asleep while reading books = weakened concentration.}} \]