According to the text, it is correct to say that René Descartes:
Ancient dreams of intelligent machines: 3,000 years of robots
The French philosopher René Descartes was reputedly fond of automata: they inspired his view that living things were biological
machines that function like clockwork. Less known is a strange story that began to circulate after the philosopher’s death in 1650.
This centred on Descartes’s daughter Francine, who died of scarlet fever at the age of five.
According to the tale, a distraught Descartes had a clockwork Francine made: a walking, talking simulacrum. When Queen
Christina invited the philosopher to Sweden in 1649, he sailed with the automaton concealed in a casket. Suspicious sailors forced
the trunk open; when the mechanical child sat up to greet them, the horrified crew threw it overboard.
The story is probably apocryphal. But it sums up the hopes and fears that have been associated with human-like machines for
nearly three millennia. Those who build such devices do so in the hope that they will overcome natural limits – in Descartes’s case,
death itself. But this very unnaturalness terrifies and repulses others. In our era of advanced robotics and artificial intelligence (AI),
those polarized responses persist, with pundits and the public applauding or warning against each advance. Digging into the deep
history of intelligent machines, both real and imagined, we see how these attitudes evolved: from fantasies of trusty mechanical
helpers to fears that runaway advances in technology might lead to creatures that supersede humanity itself.
(Disponível em: <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05773-y)
Ancient dreams of intelligent machines: 3,000 years of robots
The French philosopher René Descartes was reputedly fond of automata: they inspired his view that living things were biological machines that function like clockwork. Less known is a strange story that began to circulate after the philosopher’s death in 1650. This centred on Descartes’s daughter Francine, who died of scarlet fever at the age of five.
According to the tale, a distraught Descartes had a clockwork Francine made: a walking, talking simulacrum. When Queen Christina invited the philosopher to Sweden in 1649, he sailed with the automaton concealed in a casket. Suspicious sailors forced the trunk open; when the mechanical child sat up to greet them, the horrified crew threw it overboard.
The story is probably apocryphal. But it sums up the hopes and fears that have been associated with human-like machines for nearly three millennia. Those who build such devices do so in the hope that they will overcome natural limits – in Descartes’s case, death itself. But this very unnaturalness terrifies and repulses others. In our era of advanced robotics and artificial intelligence (AI), those polarized responses persist, with pundits and the public applauding or warning against each advance. Digging into the deep history of intelligent machines, both real and imagined, we see how these attitudes evolved: from fantasies of trusty mechanical helpers to fears that runaway advances in technology might lead to creatures that supersede humanity itself.
(Disponível em: <https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05773-y)
Gabarito comentado
Comentário de Gabarito – Vestibular Inglês | Interpretação de texto
Tema central: A questão aborda interpretação de texto em língua inglesa, mais especificamente a habilidade de identificar informações explícitas e inferir aspectos do texto analisado.
O trecho apresenta elementos da vida do filósofo francês René Descartes e sua relação com dispositivos mecânicos conhecidos como automata. A análise exige reconhecer o significado de “fond of automata”, onde “fond of” significa gostar ou ter entusiasmo por algo, e “automata” são máquinas que se movem por conta própria.
Alternativa correta: B) was enthusiastic about moving mechanical devices.
Justificativa: O texto afirma explicitamente que Descartes “was reputedly fond of automata: they inspired his view that living things were biological machines that function like clockwork.” Portanto, podemos interpretar corretamente que ele era entusiasta de dispositivos mecânicos em movimento. A estratégia de leitura recomendada é identificar palavras-chave e expressões equivalentes ao enunciado das alternativas.
Análise das alternativas incorretas:
A) Incorreta. Não há no texto qualquer menção a uma relação longa e sem problemas entre Descartes e sua filha; pelo contrário, ela morreu ainda criança.
C) Errada. O texto não fala de construir um relógio mecânico, mas sim um autômato semelhante à filha.
D) Incorreta. A história sobre o autômato de Francine começou a circular após a morte do filósofo; não há referência de que Descartes contasse essa história.
E) Errada. Não há indicação de que ele ensinou Francine a agir como um robô; a menção é sobre a suposta criação de um autômato.
Dica de prova: Fique atento a palavras-chave, faça a ligação entre termos do texto e das alternativas, desconfie de opções que generalizam informações ou distorcem os fatos apresentados!
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