Numerical answer
The four sentences below, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Decide the correct order and key in the sequence (e.g., 3142) as your answer.
1. Yet compasses had existed in China for centuries before their navigational role emerged, having first served as tools for geomancy and divination.
2. It was only around the eleventh century that Chinese sailors began systematically fitting magnetised needles into instruments suited to shipboard use.
3. The magnetic compass is often treated as though its invention and its adoption for sea travel happened in a single decisive step.
4. This gap between invention and adoption suggests that a technology's uses are not fixed by its design alone but are discovered gradually, often for reasons unrelated to its eventual dominant purpose.
1. Yet compasses had existed in China for centuries before their navigational role emerged, having first served as tools for geomancy and divination.
2. It was only around the eleventh century that Chinese sailors began systematically fitting magnetised needles into instruments suited to shipboard use.
3. The magnetic compass is often treated as though its invention and its adoption for sea travel happened in a single decisive step.
4. This gap between invention and adoption suggests that a technology's uses are not fixed by its design alone but are discovered gradually, often for reasons unrelated to its eventual dominant purpose.
Show answer and solution
Answer: 3124
Sentence 3 introduces the common misconception (compass invention and nautical adoption as one step) — a strong opening. Sentence 1 immediately complicates it with 'Yet,' introducing the earlier, non-navigational use (geomancy). Sentence 2 continues chronologically, describing when navigational use actually began ('It was only around the eleventh century'). Sentence 4 draws the general conclusion ('This gap... suggests') that only makes sense after both uses have been described. Order: 3-1-2-4.
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