Question

what evidence from the radio broadcast war of the worlds supports the theme that human vanity can cause problems?
a. phillips: good heavens, something’s wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. now it’s another one, and another. they look like tentacles to me. there, i can see the thing’s body. it’s large, large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather.
b. phillips: then you’re quite convinced as a scientist that living intelligence as we know it does not exist on mars?
pierson: i’d say the chances against it are a thousand to one.
c. phillips: can you tell us the meaning of that scraping noise inside the thing?
pierson: possibly the unequal cooling of its surface.
d. pierson: i can give you no authoritative information — either as to their nature, their origin, or their purposes here on earth. of their destructive instrument i might venture some conjectural explanation. for want of a better term, i shall refer to the mysterious weapon as a heat ray.

Explanation:

To determine which option supports the theme of human vanity causing problems, we analyze each:

• Option A describes the Martian creatures' appearance, not related to human vanity.
• Option B: Pierson says the chance of Martian life (as we know it) not existing is 1000 to 1, showing human overconfidence (vanity) in dismissing Martian life, which later causes issues when they attack. This reflects how human vanity (underestimating/being overconfident about non - human threats) leads to problems.
• Option C is about the scraping noise's meaning, not about human vanity.
• Option D is about the Martians' weapon, not about human vanity.

Answer:

B. PIERSON: I'd say the chances against it are a thousand to one.
PHILLIPS: Then you're quite convinced as a scientist that living intelligence as we know it does not exist on Mars?