Scientist: Isaac Newton’s Principia,the seventeenth-century work that served as the cornerstone of physics for over two centuries, could at first be understood by only a handful of people, but a basic understanding of Newton’s ideas eventually spread throughout the world.
Conclusion (Thus)
Recent scientific research may also become part of everyone's intellectual heritage.
Counterpoint
Even though recent scientific research requires language that seems esoteric (hard to understand) to most modern readers,
Intermediate Conc (this shows that)
Barriers to communication between scientists and the public are not impermeable.
Evidence
Netwon's Principia was not understandable to most of its contemporaneous audience, but a basic understanding of Newton's ideas eventually spread globally and it served as the cornerstone of physics for over two centuries.
Evaluate
They're asking us about the grammatically inessential modifier in the final sentence, which contains our Main Conclusion.
When a Main Conclusion packages in a noun modifier, we treat that modifier as a fact.
For example, given this conclusion ... Thus, Dan's attorney, who went to Harvard, is clearly capable of solving this tax problem.
.... we would think that it's being factually presented to us that Dan's attorney went to Harvard, whereas the Conclusion is presenting the speculative opinion that she would clearly be capable of solving this tax problem.
The claim from the last sentence that they're asking us about is technically an Opposing idea, since the conclusion is that whereas the claim we're being asked about is saying . That undermines the idea that this modern science will ultimately be absorbed into our common wisdom.
However, the author's argument is trying to show by analogy that science that is initially too confusing for the masses (like Newton's was) can still eventually be accepted.
Goal
Let's look for something like, .