Subjective Comprehension-VII

Please study carefully the comprehension given below. The passages is followed by a set of questions choose the best answer to each question.

There are only two methods of communication for scholars, writing and speaking. The scholar publishes his discoveries in books and articles and he teaches them in the classroom. Sometimes one or the other method will satisfy him, but most of us feel the need for both. The scholar who merely writes books falls into the habit of speaking only to the experts. If he works at his subject long enough, he reaches the position where there is no one else quite expert enough to understand him and he winds up writing to himself. On the other hand, if he writes not at all, he may become so enamoured of his own voice that he ceases to be a scholar and becomes a mere showman. Communication is not merely the desire and the responsibility of the scholar; it is his discipline, the proving ground where he tests his findings against criticism. Without communication his pursuit of truth withers into eccentricity. He necessarily spends much of his time alone, in the library or the laboratory, looking for the answers to his questions. But he needs to be rubbing constantly against other minds. He needs to be tested, probed and pushed around.
He needs to be made to explain himself. Only when he has expressed himself, only when he has communicated his thoughts, can he be sure that he is thinking clearly. The scholar, in other words, needs company to keep him making sense. And in particular he needs the company of fresh minds, to whom he must explain things from the beginning. He needs people who will challenge him at every step, who will take nothing for granted.

Ques 1. What would happen if a scholar did not write at all and simply talked?
Ques 2. What would happen if a scholar simply wrote and did not communicate with others by speaking?
Ques 3. Why does a scholar need the company of fresh minds?
Ques 4. Why does a scholar need to pass time in the company of others?
Ques 5. What is the chief benefit of speaking to others for a scholar?

Solution :
Ans 1. A scholar has two effective methods of communication at his disposal—writing and speaking. If a scholar is not in the habit of writing at all, he loses the quality of being a great scholar. Writing alone can make him an expert in his subject.
Ans 2. While communicating his thoughts he becomes desirous of attracting maximum attention of others. He forgets that communication is his responsibility and not a medium to show off his knowledge. In fact speaking to others is necessary as he gets an opportunity to get his findings tested. Communication is not a matter of pleasure alone. In fact without communication his search for truth may turn into cynicism.
Ans 3. A scholar needs the company of fresh minds, people who could challenge his ideas because their company would add fresh idea to his own knowledge.
Ans 4. A scholar spends much of his time alone in the library or in the laboratory for solving his questions. On the other hand he needs the company of others. Only then the facts of his knowledge can be tested in the face of criticism.
Ans 5. The chief benefit of speaking to others for a scholar is that he gains clarity about his own discoveries and thinking,