【推荐2】Over the past half-century, the tools of neuroscience have revealed much about the workings of the human brain. Now researchers are pushing forward in a new frontier: exploring what goes on in the mind of man’s best friend. The study of canine cognition（狗的认知）has taken off in recent years, energized by new findings about how dogs learn words, numbers and abstract concepts — and how they manage us.

In a study published in the journal Animal Cognition, researchers used a procedure known as “preferential viewing” to show that dogs can understand simple calculations. Eleven pet dogs were shown treats that were then placed behind a screen and the screen was removed, dogs gazed briefly at the two treats. When two treats were deposited behind the screen but only one remained when the screen was taken away, the dogs stared at the lone treat for longer, indicating that they were aware the math didn’t add up.

Dogs understand language too, and the new research shows they can learn more words than just “down” and “sit”. The average dog can learn 165 words, notes psychologist Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia, and some superdogs can have a vocabulary of 250 words. In a study that appeared in the journal Science, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany reported on a border collie named Rico who could learn a name given to an unfamiliar object like a stuffed bunny through a process of elimination and could remember the name of that object four weeks later. (Border collies lead the list of the most intelligent dog breeds, according to a survey of dog-obedience judges; they’re followed by poodles, German shepherds, golden retrievers, Dobermans, Shetland sheepdogs and Labrador retrievers.) Dogs can learn to solve spatial problems — figuring out the fastest route to a favorite chair, locating a hidden treat — and can learn to operate simple mechanisms like latches（弹簧锁）.

Most impressive of all is dogs’ ability to learn about humans. They respond to our gestures, they attend to our body language, and they follow our gaze to figure out what we’re looking at. They even are susceptible to repeating human yawns, according to a study published in the journal Biology Letters. As the longest-domesticated species, dogs have evolved alongside humans, selected over thousands of years for traits that make them especially sensitive to our cues. Another study from the journal Science reported that puppies only a few weeks old could interpret human signals, while full-grown wolves raised by humans could not. Dogs read people better than do chimpanzees, humans’ closest primate relative, according to research published this year. In fact, the most accurate comparison is to a human child: dogs have the social-cognition capacities of a 2-year-old.

Gregory Berns, the Emory University researcher writes that there are “endless” questions still to be explored: How do dogs distinguish among the humans they know; is it by sight or smell? What meaning does our language have to them? The study of canine cognition, he notes, ultimately brings us back to our own desires and behaviors: “Because humans, in effect, created dogs through domestication, the canine mind reflects back to us how we see ourselves through the eyes, ears, and noses of another species.”

Everybody loves self-improvement. That’s why we’re such enthusiastic consumers of “top 10” lists of things to do to be a more productive, promotable, mindful— you name it—leader. But these lists seldom work. What if we didn’t think of self-improvement as work? What if we thought of it as play—specifically, as playing with our sense of self?

Traditionally, people work on themselves, committed to doing everything in their power to change their leadership style. You set your goals and objectives, you are mindful of your time, and seek efficient solutions. You’re not going to deviate (偏离) from the straight and narrow. You focus on what you should do, especially as others see it, as opposed to what you want to do. It’s all very serious and not whole of fun. There is one right answer. Success or failure is the outcome. We judge ourselves.

In contrast, no matter what you’re up to, when you’re in “play” mode, your primary drivers are enjoyment and discovery instead of goals and objectives. You’re curious. You lose track of time. Like in all forms if play, the journey becomes more important than a pre-set destination.

Much research shows how play develops creativity and innovation. Play with your own idea of yourself is similar to playing with future possibilities. So, we stop evaluating today’s self against unachievable ideal of leadership that doesn’t really exist. We also stop trying to will ourselves to “commit” to becoming something we are not even sure we want to be—what we call the “feared self”, which is composed of images negative role models. And, we shift direction from submitting to what other people want us to be to becoming more self-authoring. As a result, when you play, you’re more creative and more open to what you might learn about yourself.

Unfortunately, we don’t often get —or give ourselves—permission to play with our sense of self. In life, we equate playfulness with the person who dips into a great variety of possibilities, never committing to any. We find inconsistency distasteful, so we exclude options that seem too far off from today’s “authentic self”, without ever giving them a try. This kills the discontinuous growth that only comes when we surprise ourselves.

Psychoanalyst Adam Phillips once said, “people tend to play only with serious things—madness, disaster, other people.” Playing with your self is a serious effort because who we might become is not knowable or predictable at the start. That’s why it’s as dangerous as it is necessary for growth.

【推荐2】Human societies developed food preferences based on what was available and what the group decided it liked most. Those preferences were then passed along as part of the set of socially learned behaviors, values, knowledge and customs that make up culture. Besides humans, many other social animals are believed to exhibit forms of culture in various ways, too.

In fact, according to a new study led by Harvard scientist Liran Samuni, bonobos (倭黑猩猩), one of our closest living relatives, could be the latest addition to the list.

The researchers studied the hunting and feeding habits of two neighboring groups of bonobos at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Analyzing the data, they saw many similarities in the lives of the two bonobo groups, given the names the Ekalakala and the Kokoalongo. They also both have the access and opportunity to hunt the same kind of prey (猎物). This, however, is precisely where researchers noticed a striking difference.

The groups consistently preferred to hunt and feast on two different types of prey. The Ekalakala group went after an anomalure that is capable of moving through the air from tree to tree. The Kokoalongo group, on the other hand, favored a duiker that lives on the forest floor.

“It’s basically like two human cultures exploiting a common resource in different ways,” says Samuni. “Think about two cultures living close to each other but having different preferences: One prefers chicken while the other is more of a beef-eating culture.”

Using statistical modeling, the scientists found this behavior happens independent of factors like the location of the hunts, their timing or the season. In fact, the researchers’ model found that the only variable that could reliably predict prey preference was whether the hunters were team Ekalakala or team Kokoalongo.

The researchers haven’t yet investigated how the bonobo groups learned this hunting preference, but through their analysis they were able to rule out ecological factors or genetic differences.

Basically, it means all evidence points toward this being a learned social behavior. “If our closest living relatives have some cultural traits (特征), then it’s likely our ancestors already had some capacity for culture,” Samuni says.

【推荐3】Many people do things we can't understand and that we would never do. Although there can be a number of different explanations for such behavior, one reason is a failure of empathy. And it seems that we're seeing increasing levels of this failure these days.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. It is similar to but different from sympathy, which can mean sharing a certain feeling with someone-having the same feelings they do. According to Helen Riess, associate professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at Harvard Medical School, empathy plays an important role in our society's ability to function, promoting "a sharing of experiences, needs, and desires between individuals".

Our neural(神经)networks are set up to interact with the neural networks of others in order to both be aware and understand their feelings and to tell them apart from our own, which enables humans to live with one another without constantly fighting or feeling taken over by someone else.

Research has shown that empathy is not simply inborn, but can actually be taught. For example, it appears that medical, raining can actually diminish empathy, but on the other hand, physicians can be taught to be more empathic to their patients. Interestingly, their increased empathy also increases patient satisfaction and cooperation with treatment recommendations, thus leading to better treatment outcomes.

It seems to me that these techniques could work with a lot of people besides physicians. These days, I find myself thinking that we should be teaching empathy in school. Perhaps if we start in the early grades and keep teaching it through high school, problems and inappropriate behavior would reduce.

Empathy doesn't require burying of our own feelings. In fact, true empathy is about using our feelings to understand the feelings of someone else. We might not know exactly how they feel, but we might use our feelings to help us know something of what they are feeling. This kind of understanding, according to Reiss, can cross bridges and promote positive social behavior. Maybe we could use a little more empathy in our world.

【推荐1】An important drug that serves as the backbone of treatment for most childhood cancers, has become increasingly rare, and doctors are warning that they may soon be forced to consider rationing doses(定量供应剂量).

There have been long-term shortages of certain drugs and medical supplies in the United States for years, but doctors say the loss of this medication, vincristine(长春新碱) is leading to lots of problems, as there is no appropriate substitute. “This is truly a sad situation,” said Dr. Yoram Unguru, a doctor at the Herman and Walter Samuelson Children’s Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore. “Vincristine is our water. It’s our bread and butter. I can't think of a treatment for childhood cancer that doesn't use vincristine.” Shortages of the drug will likely affect children throughout the country, he said, forcing doctors to make difficult decisions. “There is no substitution for vincristine that can be recommended.” Dr. Unguru said. “You either have to skip a dose or give a lower dose or beg or borrow.”

Vincristine is one of the drugs used to manage leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. The Children’s Oncology Group, a group of researchers at hospitals and cancer centers, has made recommendations for changing clinical trial treatment rules involving vincristine, including checking the hospital’s supply before trial enrollment, and considering using half the dose if the full amount is not available.

“We are all disappointed,” said Dr. Michael Link, a doctor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Without vincristine, many children with acute lymphoblasicleukemia will still be cured, “but this is a difficult disease to treat in general, and with one hand tied behind your back, it makes it much more difficult.” Dr. Link said.

Until earlier this year, there were two suppliers of vincristine: Pfizer and Teva. In July, Teva made a “business decision to discontinue the drug,” according to the Food and Drug   Administration (FDA).Since then, Pfizer has been the only supplier, and the company lately has been experiencing troubles with production. “Pfizer has experienced a delay, and we are working closely with them and exploring all ways to make sure this important cancer drug is available for the patients who need it,” the FDA said. Jessica Smith from Pfizer said the company would sped up additional shipments of the drug over the next few weeks in an effort to make up for Teva’s withdrawal from the market.

【推荐2】I didn’t understand the irony (讽刺) immediately. Only on the way home. The book I had just returned to our local library was called “Unquiet Landscape” by Christopher Neve. He widened my view.

But the ironic word for me in his books title. Irealized, was “unquiet”. It applied not to the landscape but to our local library. I have thus visited it again since then, and my conclusion is much the same: This is no longer a quiet place.

On both of my visits the library was packed with small children, and they were doing rather a lot of small-children things, such as dancing in circles, singing, jumping up and down, and so on. Various adults sitting around were clearly not discouraging them, rather the opposite.

I wasn’t exactly shocked. But I have to say that my understanding of library behavior and purpose changed somewhat. All my upbringing (教养) about libraries was what they were sanctums(圣地), places of escape in a noisy world. If one clearedone’s throat in a library, one was likely to be stared at by the librarians not to mention tolerating the disapproval of fellow library users enjoying their post-lunch nap. The first school I attended had a library that was entirely conventional infunction. In it, we boys did (or were expected to do) one thing only: read. The second school i attended allowed one to write as well as read in the library.

Since those days, my attitude, I hope, has changed a little. I’ve come across some very pleasant librarians eager to help with my projects. Some of them are surprisingly generous with providing access to their books, which are as dear to them as their own children. And the silence rule has, over the years, become much less strict. Even quite loud laughter, I find, is not always opposed to.

【推荐3】A few hours after my first mission, returning to Earth on the space shuttle Endeavour, I completed all of my medical tests after flight, met with NASA officials, and reunited with my family. Finally, I was alone in my office room in astronaut crew quarters at the Kennedy Space Center, exhausted and ready for bed. And I did what anyone does when they return to their hotel room on a business trip: I turned on the TV. The television news started up: Such and such had happened, people were shocked, blah blah blah. Sports scores. Silly commercials.

It didn’t take more than a minute before I had to turn it off. It felt like my body was rejecting all this input, just as it would reject an organ donation that had the wrong blood type. All of this noise was just completely foreign to who I was—or, more appropriately, who I had become. A few hours before, I had been orbiting Earth, seeing our planet from space, flying the most amazing machine ever built by human hands, working with a team that was the absolute success of human. And now here in my room watching what was being sold as news, and with my newfound perspective, I just could not stomach it. My worldview was changed forever in a profound (深刻的) way.

The biggest change by far and the one for which I will always be most grateful is this big-picture perspective. That will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Whenever I feel the pressure of modern life, the stress about work, or worry about the future, I remember my time in the space station. Back to seeing the sun set Or watching our galaxy rise on the horizon. Or seeing a sea of lightning flash a hundred times a second. Or simply back to floating weightlessly.

When I’m there in my mind and realize how many billions of these beautiful sunsets there have been and will be in the future, the cares of the world just don’t seem that pressing. It goes that, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Living daily life down here on the planet is so much better with this attitude!