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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. From what was Alex suffering at the time?

2. What did others say about the incident?

3. What does Eagleman say we cannot choose?

4. What does Eagleman think some people would have said about Whitman had he lived?

5. What does Eagleman say about the question as to whether the actor is racist or not?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Eagleman have readers consider about Whitman?

2. What comparison of thought to wavelengths does Eagleman make?

3. What does Eagleman suggest about our culpability in our actions, particularly males?

4. What does Eagleman say about our ability to perceive light versus that of insects?

5. How does a rat react to conflicting choices?

6. How does Eagleman compare the conscious mind to our senses?

7. To what part of the body are newborns drawn and what does this imply about human beings' predisposition?

8. What happens when the frontal cortex is damaged?

9. What does Eagleman write about Kenneth Parks?

10. How does Eagleman interpret the incident?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Eagleman presents the example of an experiment where men were shown photographs of the faces of several women and asked to rate their attractiveness. Photographs where the women's eyes had been dilated were consistently ranked as more attractive. When asked why they had chosen some women as more attractive than others, the subjects did not mention the dilated eyes as a factor, yet they clearly were. Eagleman adds that dilated pupils in a woman indicate a state of sexual arousal, suggesting that the subjects who found these photos more attractive were acting on a natural impulse of their unconscious minds.

1. Do you think attraction is a conscious choice or and unconscious one? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

2. Discuss one situation in which you were attracted to something, e.g. a person, a food dish, a car, etc. but were not sure why you felt the way you did and relate it to Eagleman's idea of unconscious attraction. Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

3. If Eagleman is correct about why men might be attracted to a woman, what do you think that might mean about most marriages? Use examples from your own life and Incognito to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

There are a number of interesting questions raised by Incognito. Questions that Eagleman most likely want readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

2. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Eagleman's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Wilson's probable agenda concerning that idea.

2. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

3. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

4. Research the life of Eagleman and see if/where his life may have influenced his writing.

Essay Topic 3

Incognito belongs to the non-fiction genre. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the non-fiction genre.

2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.

3. What do you think is the difference between a nonfiction book and a novel?

(see the answer keys)

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