Question

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Program Report

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Dr. Strauss says I should write down what I think and everything that happens to me from now on. I don't know why, but he says it's important, so they will see if they will use me. I hope they use me. Miss Kinnian says maybe they can make me smart. I want to be smart. My name is Charlie Gordon. I am 37 years old, and two weeks ago was my birthday. I have nothing more to say now, so I will close for today.

Program Report 2 - March 6

I had a test today. I think I failed it, and I think that maybe now they won't use me. What's happy is a nice young man was in the room and he had some white cards with ink spilled all over them. He said, "Charlie, what do you see on this card?" I was very scared even though I had my rabbit's foot in my pocket because when I was a kid I always failed tests in school and I spilled ink too:3

I told him I saw an ink

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That was all, but when I got up to go, he stopped me. He said, "Now sit down, Charlie, we are not through yet." Then I don't remember so well, but he wanted me to say what was in the ink. I couldn't see anything in the ink, but he said there were pictures there. Other people saw some pictures. I couldn't see any pictures. I really tried to see. I held the card close up and then far away. Then I said, "If I had my glasses, I could see better." I usually only wear my glasses at the movies or on TV, but I said they were in the closet in the hall. I got them. Then I said, "Let me see that card image. I bet I'll find it now."

I tried hard but I still couldn't find the pictures; I only saw the ink. I told him maybe I needed new glasses. He drew something down on a piece of paper, and I got scared of failing the test. I told him it was a very nice inkblot with little dots all around the edges. He looked very sad, so that wasn't it. I said, "Please let me try again. I'll get it in a few minutes."5

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Because I'm not so fast sometimes. I'm a slow learner too in Miss Kinnian's class for slow adults, but I'm trying very hard.

He gave me a chance with another card that had two kinds of ink spilled on it: red and blue.

He was very nice and spoke slowly, like Miss Kinnian does, and he explained to me that it was a raw shock test. He said people see things in the ink. I said, "Show me where." He said, "Think." I told him I think an inkblot, but that wasn't right. He said, "What does it remind you of? Pretend something." I closed my eyes for a long time to pretend. I told him I pretended a fox pen with ink leeching all over a tablecloth. Then he got up and left.

I don't think I passed the raw shock testprogram report

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CLOSE READ

Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur said it didn't matter about the inkblots. I told them I didn't spill the ink on the cards and I couldn't see anything in the ink. They said that maybe they would still use me. I said Miss Kinnian never gave me tests like that, only spelling and reading. They said Miss Kinnian told me that I was her best pupil in the adult night school because I tried the hardest and I really wanted to learn. They said, "How did you come to the adult night school all by yourself, Charlie? How did you find it?" I said I asked people, and someone told me where I should go to learn to read and spell well. They said, "Why did you want to?" I told them, "Because all my life I've wanted to be smart and not dumb. But it's very hard to be smart." They said, "You know it will probably be tempting." I said, "Yes, Miss Kinnian told me. I don't care if it hurts."

Later today I had more crazy tests. The nice lady who gave them to me

MAKE PREDICT Charlie by July 28
● What is Charlie like now?
________________________________________________________________________________
● How has he changed emotionally?
________________________________________________________________________________
● What has Charlie learned about intelligence, people, and life?
________________________________________________________________________________
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Answer 1

Here are predictions for Charlie by July 28, with brief reasons tied to the passage.

1) What is Charlie like now (as of March 6)?
- Motivated, earnest, trusting: he wants very badly to be smart and tries hard in Miss Kinnian’s class.
- Naïve and insecure: he assumes tests mean failure is permanent and is easily frightened by testing situations.
- Emotionally simple and hopeful: he’s proud of small successes and looks to others (teachers, doctors) for approval.

2) How has he changed emotionally by July 28 (predicted)?
- More confident in his abilities at first: as the program begins he will likely feel elated when he notices improvement.
- Increasingly frustrated and impatient: as he learns faster, he’ll want more and get upset by setbacks or people who underestimate him.
- More self-aware and sensitized to how others treat him: he will begin to feel anger or hurt about past mockery, and may feel lonely as his inner life becomes more complex.
- Mixed emotions about the experiment: hopeful about gains but anxious about side effects, pain, or whether the change will last.

3) What will Charlie have learned about intelligence, people, and life by then?
- Intelligence is more than test scores: he’ll discover knowledge and reasoning bring new problems (complex thoughts, doubts, responsibilities).
- People can be kind and cruel: he’ll notice both genuine help (Miss Kinnian, some doctors) and past or present ridicule from others who treated him as “dumb.”
- Being smart doesn’t guarantee happiness: increased intellect can create isolation, new expectations, and emotional complications.
- The value of effort and dignity: he already believes in trying hard; he’ll also learn that respect and human connection matter as much as mental ability.

Brief evidence: Charlie’s strong desire to be smart, his careful effort in class, and his trust in the doctors set the stage for rapid cognitive change; his nervousness about tests and sensitivity to others’ reactions suggest the emotional shifts and social realizations predicted above.