When Meglan Larry was 10 years old, instead of putting up pictures of famous stars, she decorated her bedroom walls with posters, stickers, and pages torn from magazines of anything tied to the military. She couldn’t wait to be part of a world where it “was a big deal” for women to enlist.

Then one day there was a fire in her grandparents’ house on the family ranch in Hollister, California. Among the firefighting crew was a woman. Her head was covered with a helmet and sell-contained breathing apparatus. She carried a flat head axe and Halligan tool. Larry was stunned.

“They let you do that?” the young Larry asked as the female firefighter approached. “You’re actually a firelighter?” “Yes,” the firelighter responded. “And I hope one day, you’ll think about it because we need a lot more women in the fire service. And with that, the woman planted a seed in Larry’s young mind, inspiring her plans to join the military. Larry is now in her third season with CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection).

While statistics about the number of women in CAL FIRE only date back to 2019, they account for roughly 5.5 percent of the approximately 8,300 workforce. The job is rigorous for anyone male or female. Battling wildfires requires both physical and psychological strength. Climate change has created increasingly dry conditions and drought across California, which has led to a rise in the intensity and length of time fires rage across the state. Fire season now runs as long as 10 months out of the year—that’s up from three months a decade ago—with the occasional blaze erupting even in December and January.

Recently, Larry was coming off a fire line when she encountered a six year old girl, really excited over seeing a female firefighter. “This is so cool.” the girl said as she looked up at Larry. Larry choked up as she realized she had grown into that stranger who altered the course of her own life.

Ludwig van Beethoven is undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians that ever lived. He completed 722 musical works. Unfortunately, the great musician died while still working on his 10th Symphony. Now, a team of musicians and scientists have used artificial intelligence(Al)to complete the artist's final master piece. Dr. Matthias Roder, the director of the Karajan Institute in Austria, who respects Beethoven very much, wanted to do something for the musician's 250th birthday in December 2020. He enlisted an international team of music experts to help him with the big task. They included music composer Walter Werzowa and Dr. Ahmed Elgammal, the creator of an AI technology for the art market.

Elgammal and his colleagues started the process by familiarizing the Al software initially with a broad range of classical music, and then, narrowed it to just Beethoven's works. Mean-while, Werzowa and his group tried to understand the rough sketches(草图)and the handful of notes that detailed Beethoven's plans for the 10th Symphony.

The team then began the task of feeding the Al software musical notes from the unfinished composition. Elgammal says that since music is very structured and mathematical, AI can predict the next note reasonably and accurately. However, it starts to go off the central theme after a few notes. To stay true to Becthoven's original composition, Elgammal's team sent Werzowa hundreds of AI-generated musical note variations every evening. Werzowa would listen to them and then select the one that he thought was closest to what the artist would have written. The Al team would add the music and rerun the software to generate the next suggestions. And piece by piece, the team was able to complete Beethoven's 10^th Symphony!

The composition appeared at the Telekom Forum in Beethoven's birthplace of Bonn, Germany, on October 9,2021. Not surprisingly, the AI-generated masterpiece is causing some argument. Critics believe technology should not be used to replace the human creative process. Elgammal and his team agree with their viewpoint and say their Al software is not out to replace humans-it is just a tool to help artists to express themselves in new ways.

You are busy in your kitchen and your lovely kid is painting with her fingers on the kitchen table. Trying to be encouraging, you ask her, “What are you making with this mix of colors?” and she shrugs(耸肩).     11     She just loves the way it feels when she pours paint on paper, and even the soft sound a brush makes as it crosses the page.

Most preschoolers aren't self-conscious about what they're doing or focused on creating a finished product. That can be hard for parents to accept.     12     It allows kids to enjoy the process of creation and they will be better off in the long run if they're allowed just to be in the moment and express themselves.

Developing creativity won't just increase your child's chances of becoming the next Picasso.     13     As kids use a paintbrush, their line motor skills improve. By counting pieces and colors, they learn the basics of math. When children experiment with materials, they dive in science. Most important perhaps, when kids feel good while they are creating, art helps boost self-confidence.

    14     Set up an art space where your kid can be free to experiment. Throw a drop cloth or a newspaper on top of your kitchen table or in the garage. If weather permits, let kids paint outside. Avoid giving directions. Don't tell your kids what to make or how to make it. Instead of saying, “Paint a rainbow,” encourage her to “experiment with mixing colors using different types of brushes and paper.” When a child finishes a piece, don't suggest additions or changes.     15