K10

Do you believe that fantasy or imagination is more important than

knowledge? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations. SAT Sample Essay - Score of 6 SAT考试满分作文

In my opinion, it may be hard to know whether the imagination or facts is most important, because we need them both. Without facts, scientists and inventors would have nothing to think about. But then again, being able to see things in your mind seems crucial to making new discoveries and inventing new products.

To conduct even a basic experiment requires an imagination. Scientists begin with what they know. Then they have to imagine a result so they can state a hypothesis or theory. Then, if experimenting can’t prove the theory, the scientist has to combine the same facts or new ones and use his or her imagination again to make another educated guess.

In 2003, a robot was invented that could be controlled by a monkey’s mind. Someone had to imagine the robot and to believe it was possible to build it. I believe that many people must have also been imagining this machine for a long time. For example, paraplegics might have dreamt of a useful invention like this. Some lazy people who have no handicaps might also fantasize about a machine that makes it so they never have to lift a finger. Most inventive people are always using their imaginations. The man who invented the microwave oven was doing radar research, testing a new vacuum tube and noticed that the candy bar in his pocket melted. So he put a few popcorn kernels near the tube and they popped. Art Fry invented the post-it because he was irritated when his bookmark kept falling out of his hymnal at church. He worked with adhesives, and suddenly realized one of them would make a removable but secure bookmark.

I think most inventions are a result of facts and imagination. Perhaps that’s what an imagination is, to combine facts in a unique and surprising

way. In this way the imagination and information are partners in discovery.