【推荐1】Will people remember less with Internet users becoming more and more dependent on the Internet to store information? If you know your computer will save information, why do you store it in your own personal memory, your brain?

Professor Betsy Sparrow, together with her research team, has carried out some experiments in a recent study, wanting to know how the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they offered people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.

In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the computer. The information was in a specific computer folder( 文 件 夹 ). Surprisingly, people later remembered the folder locations better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory(交互记忆)”.

According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet.

Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn’t mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.

【推荐3】One of the important, but seldom-discussed, problems in healthcare reform is how to take care of our aging population as people continue to live longer. According to a new study from the Mac Arthur Research Network on an Aging Society, by 2050 Americans may live 3.1 to 7.9 years longer than the government expects. That would mean women would live 89 to 93 years and men 83 to nearly 86 years. The researchers base their conclusion on “rapid advances in biomedical(生物医药) technology that delay the start and progression of major deadly diseases or that slow the aging process.”

While this is good news, especially for the young, the life expectancy, which is in excess of(超过) the government’s estimates, would raise costs sharply for Medicare and Social Security. If the study’s predictions are accurate, the total cost for those two programs through 2050 could be between $3.2 trillion and $8.3 trillion higher than the US Census Bureau and the Social Security Administration currently expect.

And that’s only the beginning. With anticipated scientific breakthroughs in coming decades, people could eventually live to 150 years of age, says Dr. Steven Joyal, an official of the Life Extension Foundation (LEF), a nonprofit organization that promotes research on how we can live longer and healthier. The MacArthur paper, in fact, says that some experts believe the average life expectancy could hit 100 by 2060.

What’s more, Joyal says, overcoming disease and slowing down the aging process will lead to a sharp decline in disability, allowing people of advanced age to function as well as they did when they were much younger. “In other words, a 90-year-old person could have the same mental and physical capacity(能力) as somebody 40 or 50 years old.”

【推荐1】Pei Ju was a government official who served during both the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties (朝代), but he had very different reputations (名声) in these two periods.

According to historical records, Pei often flattered (奉承) Emperor Yangdi of the Sui Dynasty. He never disagreed with the emperor’s ideas even though he knew they might be wrong. Knowing that Emperor Yangdi was very warlike, Pei suggested fighting many wars. This, however, led to Sui’s downfall, as the wars cost too many human and material resources.

When the Tang Dynasty was set up, Pei started to work for the new government. He seemed to become a totally different person. Instead of flattering Emperor Taizong, Pei always spoke out against his wrongs and tried his best to help Taizong make the right decisions.

Why did Pei change? According to Chinese historian Sima Guang (1019-1086), Pei was affected by who he worked for. Emperor Yangdi hated to be criticized (批评), while Emperor Taizong loved to hear honest and direct advice. That made the difference.

In this story, Pei Ju may not be a perfect role model for us. He seemed to be a person who “trims his sail to the wind (见风使舵)”. What we can learn from this, however, is that our conditions make a difference. A good environment encourages you to do good acts, while a bad one may lead you to do bad things. That’s why people say “a fine bird rests only on a fine tree, and a virtuous minister only serves a virtuous master(良禽择木而栖，贤臣择主而事)”. We should also try to put ourselves in a good environment where we can meet good teachers and friends.

On the other hand, the story also shows that only those who are willing to hear criticism can benefit from it.

In 2012, President Xi Jinping told this story at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee. He said that government officials should be open-minded and welcome honest and direct advice.

This also applies to us. Do you want fake friends who only please you but don’t care about you, or true friends who can sincerely point out your mistakes? It’s up to you.