But as the behavioral economists like to remind us, we are already prone to all sorts of reductions as a species. It’s not just the scientists. We compress complex reality down into abbreviated heuristics that often work beautifully in everyday life for high-frequency, low-significance decisions. Because we are an unusually clever and self-reflective species, we long ago realized that we needed help overcoming those reductive instincts when it really matters. And so we invented a tool called storytelling. At first, some of our stories were even more reductive than the sciences would prove to be: allegories and parables and morality plays that compressed the flux of real life down to archetypal moral messages. But over time the stories grew more adept at describing the true complexity of lived experience, the whorls and the threadlike pressures. One of the crowning achievements of that growth is the realist novel. That, of course, is the latent implication of Prince Andrei’s question: “innumerable conditions made meaningful only in unpredictable moments” would fare well as a description of both War and Peace and Middlemarch, arguably the two totemic works in the realist canon. What gives the novel the grain of truth lies precisely in the way it doesn’t quite run along the expected grooves, the way it dramatizes all the forces and unpredictable variables that shape the choices humans confront at the most meaningful moments of their lives.
When we read those novels—or similarly rich biographies of historical figures—we are not just entertaining ourselves; we are also rehearsing for our own real-world experiences….
Which of the following is the BEST interpretation regarding reductive instincts?
- Reductive instincts tell us to reduce every situation to a heuristic.
- After the invention of storytelling, humans have overcome their reductive instincts.
- Reductive instincts can help us in handling uncertainty.
- Reductive instincts have to be overcome for survival in the real world.
- Reductive instincts led to compression of complex reality to moral messages.
The Correct Option is
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Analyze the passage.
The passage discusses how humans naturally reduce complex realities into simplified forms, often as a way of managing their understanding. Storytelling is presented as a tool invented to address these reductive instincts and express complex realities in nuanced ways.
Step 2: Evaluate the options.
- Option 1: Incorrect. While reductive instincts simplify situations, they don’t reduce everything to heuristics.
- Option 2: Incorrect. Storytelling helps manage reductive instincts but does not eliminate them.
- Option 3: Incorrect. The passage does not explicitly connect reductive instincts to uncertainty.
- Option 4: Incorrect. The passage does not emphasize survival as a purpose of overcoming reductive instincts.
- Option 5: Correct. The passage explicitly states that reductive instincts led to storytelling that simplified reality into archetypal moral messages.
Final Answer: (5)
Why would a realist novel consist of “innumerable conditions made meaningful only in unpredictable moments?”
- To keep the reader engaged till the end of the novel.
- To bring in as much content as possible without making it seem forced.
- To showcase unexpected complexity while making it seem relevant in the given context.
- To show to the reader that realist novel does not work on expected lines.
- To engage the reader with realism and fantasy at the same time.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Analyze the phrase “innumerable conditions made meaningful only in unpredictable moments.” The phrase highlights the unpredictable nature of events and how realist novels aim to portray the complexity of human life through such moments.
Step 2: Evaluate the options.
- Option 1: Incorrect. While engagement is important, it is not the primary focus of the phrase.
- Option 2: Incorrect. Including content without force is not central to the concept of unpredictability in realist novels.
- Option 3: Correct. Realist novels focus on presenting unexpected complexity to reflect the intricacies of life.
- Option 4: Incorrect. This option is irrelevant to the meaning of the phrase.
- Option 5: Incorrect. Realism and fantasy are not the focus of the passage or the phrase.
Final Answer: (3)
Top Questions on Reading Comprehension
Read the sentence and infer the writer's tone: "The politician's speech was filled with lofty promises and little substance, a performance repeated every election season."
- CUET (UG) - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the sentence and answer the question: ``Not only did he forget my birthday, but he also ignored my calls the next day." Which of the following best describes the tone?
- CUET (UG) - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the passage and answer the The Reserve Bank of India was established in the year 1935. The Central office of RBI is in Mumbai. The main function of the Reserve Bank of India is to regulate the issue of Bank Notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in India. It generally operates the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage. In this passage, ‘Bank Notes’ refers to
- KMAT KERALA - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the passage and answer the Animals are the most adorable and loving creatures existing on Earth. They may not be able to speak but they can understand. Domestic animals mostly move with humans. Wild animals generally live in forests. Animals play a vital role in maintaining nature’s balance. This passage primarily focused on the importance of
- KMAT KERALA - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
- Read the passage and answer the A psychotropic drug is a chemical substance that changes the function of the nervous system. If the charges under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic substances Act are proved, the accused will get a deterrent punishment. Police will take in drug addicts and admit them in centres for rehabilitation. This passage primarily focused on
- KMAT KERALA - 2025
- English
- Reading Comprehension
Questions Asked in XAT exam
- In an 8-week course, the teacher conducts a test every week, and the scores are in the range of 1–4. There are only two students enrolled in the course, \(R\) and \(S\). The following conditions are given:
- \(R\) and \(S\) scored the same on the first test.
- From the second test onwards, \(R\) consistently scored the same (a non-zero score).
- The total of the first three test scores of \(R\) equals the total of the first two test scores of \(S\).
- From the fifth test onwards, \(S\) scored the same as \(R\).
- The scores of \(S\) from the first two tests and all the remaining tests follow a geometric progression.
- XAT - 2025
- Algebra
- Arya, a graduate from a reputable institute, got a job in an IT company but became bored after a year. Her best friend S, who worked at the same company, joined a top-tier B-school for an MBA, which tempted Arya to pursue the same path. Her friend assured her that an MBA would boost her career prospects and salary. Arya started preparing for an MBA while continuing her job, but the challenge of balancing preparation with work made her consider leaving the job.
- XAT - 2025
- Analytical Decision Making
- There’s a community 30 km outside of the main city. Mr. S started a grocery business in the community after winning the bid by offering way above the rent initially drafted by the community council. The community council, led by Mr. D, agreed to the offer with a performance review every three years. Mr. S also agreed to provide an additional 15% of his grocery sales to the council, banking on the prospect of selling in higher volumes. After setting up his business, Mr. S noticed that SUV owners in the community usually bought goods in bulk from the city once a week and used his store primarily for daily necessities and occasional big purchases like mixer grinders.
- XAT - 2025
- Analytical Decision Making
- Four reviewers (R1, R2, R3, R4) are in charge of reviewing products from companies A, B, C, and D. Each reviewer provides a rating between 1 and 5 for the products. Due to a technical glitch, the original ratings were deleted, and only the averages calculated for each product (A, B, C, D) and each reviewer (R1, R2, R3, R4) were saved. The data available is as follows:Tasks:
A B C D Average 3 4 4 ? 4 3 ? 5 ? 4 ? 3 3 ? 4 ? ? ? ? 4.25 4 4 4 4.25
1. What are the missing values in the table?
2. How were the missing values calculated?
3.Verify the correctness of the given averages for both rows and columns. - A bought a phone from a store and paid \(\frac{1}{6}\) of the price using UPI, \(\frac{1}{3}\) of the price in cash, and the remaining balance a year later. He also paid 10% interest on the remaining balance after one year. What was the original price of the phone?
- XAT - 2025
- Percentage