Biologist Lynn Margulis’s early evidence for endosymbiosis did not persuade many of her contemporaries. Yet their responses often went beyond requests for stronger data: some mocked the proposal’s central mechanism and treated attempts to test it as scarcely worth undertaking. In doing so, they cast the theory as _____.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
For a Words-in-Context question, determine not only the general positive or negative tone but also the exact degree and type of attitude conveyed. Use actions and contrasts in the text to distinguish close choices: here, requesting more evidence would suggest one judgment, whereas mockery and refusal to take testing seriously signal a much stronger form of rejection.
Hints
Notice the contrast
Pay attention to the statement that the critics went beyond requesting stronger evidence. Determine what stronger attitude their behavior conveys.
Use the critics’ behavior
Consider what mockery and unwillingness to test an idea reveal about how seriously the critics took it.
Compare degrees of rejection
Distinguish among a theory that is introduced too soon, one that causes disagreement, one that departs from convention, and one treated with contemptuous disbelief.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the critics’ attitude
The text distinguishes the critics’ response from an ordinary request for more evidence. They mocked the theory’s mechanism and considered testing it scarcely worthwhile, which conveys contemptuous disbelief rather than cautious uncertainty.
Distinguish among the choices
“Premature” would suggest that the theory needed more time or evidence, but the critics went beyond requesting stronger data. “Contentious” would indicate that the theory caused disagreement, while “unorthodox” would indicate only that it departed from accepted thinking. Neither word captures the ridicule and dismissal described in the text.
Match the precise connotation
“Outlandish” describes something regarded as bizarre or wildly unreasonable. That connotation best matches critics who mocked the proposal and considered attempts to test it barely worthwhile.