The Brain That Predicts Everything
Grammar: Modal Verbs
A Level 5 English lesson exploring science.
What's in this lesson
A Level 5 (advanced) ESL lesson on science, practising modal verbs. The worksheet has a reading, target vocabulary, a grammar reference with practice and discussion questions.
From the reading: The Brain That Predicts Everything
Around 11 million bits of sensory information reach the human brain every second. Consciously, we process roughly 40. That discrepancy — eleven million arriving, forty surviving — must tell us something fundamental about what the brain is actually doing. According to Karl Friston, a neuroscientist at University College London whose mathematical models of brain function have been cited more than 100,000 times, the answer is surprisingly counterintuitive: the brain does not receive reality. It predicts it.
Vocabulary
- calibrate predictions
- controlled hallucination
- infer meaning
- neural pathway
Grammar: Modal Verbs
- must — near certainty
- That discrepancy must tell us something fundamental. — strong deduction from evidence
- can't — logical
- The brain can't be a passive receiver — the data shows the opposite. — ruling out with confidence
Discussion questions
- When did your senses last give you completely wrong information?
- Have you ever been certain about something that turned out to be false?
- Can you trust your own memory of a vivid experience?
The Brain That Predicts Everything
Grammar: Modal Verbs
What's in this lesson:
Full lesson plan with reading, grammar, vocabulary, and discussion.
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