【推荐2】EVs are in the middle of an obesity epidemic

Fisker, an electric vehicle, unveiled the future line-up on August 3rd. It included: a souped-up, off-road version of the Ocean. Though Fisker says sustainability is one of its founding principles, it is indulging in a trait almost universal among car firms: building bigger, stronger cars, even when they are electric.

There are two reasons for this. The first is profit. As with conventional cars, bigger EVs generate higher margins. The second is consumer preference. For decades, drivers have been opting for SUVs and pickup trucks rather than smaller cars, and this now applies to battery-charged ones. EV drivers, who worry about the availability of charging infrastructure, want more range, hence bigger batteries. That may help make for a more reassuring ride. But eventually the supersizing trend will prove to be unsustainable and unsafe.

For now, carmakers can argue that however big the electric rigs, they have a positive impact on the planet. Though manufacturing EVs—including sourcing the metals and minerals that go into them—generates more greenhouse gases than a conventional car, they quickly compensate for that through the absence of tallpipe emissions.

But in the long run the trend for bigger butteries may backfire, for economic and environmental reasons. First, the bigger the battery, the more pressure there will be on the supply chain. If battery sizes increase there are likely to be looming seareitles of lithium and nickel. That will push up the cost of lithium-ion batteries, undermining carmakers’ profitability. Second, to charge bigger batteries in a carbon-neutral way requires more low-carbon electricity. That may create bottlenecks on the grid. Third, the more pressure on scarce resources vital for EV production, the harder it will be to make affordable electric cars critical for electrifying the mass market. That will slow the overall decarbonisation of transport. Finally, there is safety. Not only is a battle tank that does zero to 100 kilometres per hour in the blink of an eye a liability for anyone that happens to be in its way.

Governments have ways to encourage EVs to shrink. The most important is to support the expansion of charging infrastructure, which would reduce range anxiety and promote smaller cars. Taxes could punish heavier vehicles and subsidies could promote lighter ones.

Ultimately, the industry is almost sure to realise the folly of pursuing size for its own sake. The penny is starting to drop. Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, recently said carmakers could not make money with the longest-range batteries. His opposite number at General Motors, Mary Barra, has taken the unexpected step of reversing a plan to retire the affordable Chevy Bolt EV. In Europe, carmakers like Volkswagen are building smaller, cheaper EVs. Tesla is said to be planning a compact model made in Mexico.

【推荐3】There’s been a frightening increase in the number of people feeling lonely, brought on or made worse by COVID-19. In fact there’s been an epidemic (流行病)of loneliness.

Loneliness is awful and dangerous. For one thing it weakens self-control and that, University of Bristol researchers have found, makes quitting smoking very difficult. Moreover, data from hundreds of thousands of people led Dr. Robyn Wootton, senior research associate at Bristol University and colleagues to conclude that loneliness appears to increase the need to smoke.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the equivalent of 7.4 million people said their wellbeing was affected through feeling lonely in the first month of lockdown. Lonely people were also more likely to be struggling to find things that would help them cope and were also less likely to feel they had support networks to fall back on.

Dr. Robyn Wootton said, “We found evidence to suggest that loneliness leads to increased smoking, with people more likely to start smoking, to smoke more cigarettes and to be less likely to quit.” Senior author Dr. Jorien Treur from Amsterdam UMC added, “Our finding that smoking may also lead to more loneliness is tentative(不确定的), but it is in agreement with other recent studies that identified smoking as a risk factor for poor mental health. A potential explanation for this relationship is that nicotine from cigarette smoke has a great impact on neurotransmitters(神经传导物质)such as dopamine(多巴胺)in the brain.”

Dr. Wootton said with millions of people now being more socially separated, incidences of loneliness will climb. “We were really interested to find that loneliness decreases the likelihood of stopping smoking and we think this is a really important consideration for those trying to stop smoking during COVID-19,” she said. To ease your loneliness and improve your chances of succeeding in quitting, I think one of the best things you can do is to find a “buddy” who’ll try to give up smoking with you. Together you can compare notes, share progress, talk through difficulties, and encourage each other to keep on going when all you want is to give in.

【推荐2】The chicken or the egg—which came first? It's probably one of the most commonly cited paradoxes — a chicken hatches from an egg, so the egg came first, right? But then what laid the egg? The two ideas seem contradictory, and that's exactly what a paradox is — a problem that seemingly has no definitive solution and can 't be logically solved.

And paradoxes don't just exist in philosophical debates but also in our daily lives. How can work be flexible but maintain structure? How can we switch off if we're working from home? Two contrasting ideas could cause people stress, but what if we accept the contradiction and change the way we look at it? This is what some experts call the 'paradox mindset'.

A paradox consists of two realities that exist at the same time—even though that seems impossible. If you embrace just one of those realities and ignore the other, it can cause problems. For example, embracing change may lead to burn—out, while embracing stability may lead to boredom. Some experts have found the acceptance of both realities and a willingness to embrace them can improve both creativity and productivity by allowing you to navigate a path through the contradictions.

A 1996 study of geniuses by Albert Rothenberg found that those thinkers spent time considering opposites and antitheses. Consider Einstein. The theory of relativity was born out of the paradox that something could be moving and stationary at the same time depending on perspective.

So, having a 'paradox mindset' and accepting the bigger picture may help you to better understand problems. It could also make you happier knowing that contradictions exist. As a result, it may lead you to improving your productivity and creativity. If it worked for Einstein, maybe it could be good for you too!