【推荐1】It is not unusual for universities to create a range of new courses each semester. A recently-launched course at Fudan University has become a hit both on and off campus.

Just how popular is it? In the first round of course selection, more than 1,000 students chose the course, Breaking Myths (似是而非). Only 258 were lucky enough to get seats in the classroom.

The course, titled with a Chinese phrase meaning “apparently right, but actually wrong”, aims to discuss the differences between science and pseudoscience (伪科学) in different subject areas.

Pseudoscience includes beliefs, theories or practices that are considered scientific but which actually have no supporting data.

Scientists around the world worry about its influence on people. To help young people tell the two apart, Fudan University launched the new course. It brings together 12 professors from fields including literature, science and medicine, with a total of 17 subjects to be discussed.

These topics include the probable risks of vaccination; whether genes are our destiny (宿命); and whether mobile phone radiation is harmful. The aim of the course, according to the university, is to remove prejudices and provide new ways of thinking.

Speaking to China Youth Daily, Fudan University undergraduate Jiang Xinyi said, “In the era of prevalent (盛行的) fake news, both my classmates and I hope to enhance our judgment through this course.

Lou Hongwei, one of the course lecturers, said, pseudoscience attempts to claim the credibility of real sciences without the research findings to support its claims. He explained one such math fallacy (谬误): “Should people prefer community health centers to a comprehensive Grade A hospital if data shows a lower death rate at the former?” Some people do. But according to Lou, hospitals deal with more deadly conditions, so more deaths can be expected there.

Such logical fallacies are widespread, hard to resist but actually unreasonable, he concluded.

Fudan is not the first university to offer such a course. Many other universities around the world also teach skepticism of pseudoscience. As part of its philosophy (哲学) degree, the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, offers a course called “Scientific Thinking”. In the United States, the University of Nebraska Omaha offers a Science and Critical Thinking course as part of its natural science degree.

Like Fudan University, they examine popular pseudoscientific subjects including ghosts, psychics (通灵) and space aliens. They also focus on distinctions between science and non-science, errors in reasoning and critical thinking.

【推荐2】Hadi Partovi, founder of Code. org believes every student should learn the basics of computer science just like they do math, physics, or biology, regardless of what they want to do in the future. The expert says knowledge about the subject is important to understand how the world around us works and compares it to learning about photosynthesis (光合作用), even though not every student is going to be a botanist. To spark students’ interest, he created the “Hour of Code”, which introduces the world of computing to anyone, from ages 14 to 104, in a fun, interactive manner. Observed annually during Computer Science Week, the event now draws tens of millions of kids from over 180 countries.

The “Hour of Code”, which can be scheduled anytime during Computer Science Week, begins with an introductory video on computer science. Participants can then select from hundreds of fun assignments that are sorted by both grade level and coding experience. Though each project is designed to last just sixty minutes, beginners can deal with as many challenges as they desire.

To help introduce computer science in classrooms on a more regular basis, Code. org has also developed a catalog of online courses that can be incorporated in a school’s regular curriculum. Since the nonprofit began offering the courses in 2013, over 704, 000 teachers have signed up to teach introductory computer science to over 22 million students worldwide.

Thanks to the efforts of the pioneer, about 40 percent of US schools now offer computer science as a subject. The numbers are even higher — an impressive 70 percent — if after-school offerings such as robotics clubs are included. Even more encouraging, eight years ago, just 19,390 students took an Advanced Placement Computer Science exam. By the spring of 2017, the number had jumped 415 percent to 99,868.

【推荐1】I was 11 years old when asked my mom for piano lessons in 2010. We were in the fallout of the recession(经济衰退). She said a polite "no".

That didn't stop me. I Googled the measurements for a keyboard, drew the keys on a piece of paper and stuck it on my desk. I would click notes on an online keyboard and “play” them back on my paper one - keeping the sound they made on the computer in my head. I spent six months playing without touching a real piano. Once my mom saw that I was serious, she borrowed money and bought me 10 lessons.

I still remember the first one. I was struck by how real the sound of the piano was. I sat my grade one after eight lessons. Once I started secondary school, we couldn't afford lessons again. I passed grade three, then grade five, practicing only on my piece of paper.

One evening, When I was about 13, my mom said she had a surprise for me; it was an electronic keyboard, bought with more borrowed money. It was the first time I'd played for her. She was in shock.

My school didn't offer music A-level. I found the Purcell School for young musicians. The tryouts(选拔) were difficult. Some of the questions involved an estimation (评价) of the composer(作曲家) or when it was written. I felt overwhelmed. To my amazement I was offered a place.

At Purcell, I spent two years working as hard as I could. I performed to raise money and saved enough to buy my first piano.

When I left Purcell, I was awarded the senior piano prize and senior academic music prize. I am now at the Guildhall School in London. I feel proud: it's been 10 years since I drew my paper piano, and I'm at one of the world's leading music schools.

The irony is that I continue to do a lot of my practice away from the piano: What we call mental practice. The paper piano helped spark my curiosity about how music works, the building blocks that form the pieces.

【推荐2】After 13 years with the Royal Mail, you might think Peter Willis could happily spend his retirement（退休）without ever seeing another post box.

But the postman has decided to keep himself busy by photographing as many of Britain's 115, 000 post boxes as possible.

The 67-year-old man has covered thousands of miles taking pictures of 2,500 post boxes since he started this great activity five years ago.

Mr Willis, who worked as a Royal Mail manager before he retired, said, “It started out as a bit of a hobby but has developed into a bit of an obsession（痴迷）. There is something wonderful about discovering a post box which is in a strange location or is particularly old but is still being used by people to communicate with each other. When I've taken a picture of a post box, I will remove it from the list. I'm not sure whether I can get round all 115,000. I’ve done around 2,500 boxes and I'm always looking out for the next one. ”

He takes his wife Dianne, 64, with him along the way. "She often stands guard if I’m in the middle of the road taking pictures as I get down on my hands and knees to record the bases, which have details of the producers on them. She is usually telling the passing public that I’m not actually mad. I suppose she gets a bit bored sometimes. Sometimes she’ll let me go off on my own. ” said Mr Willis.

Over the past years, Mr Willis has photographed post boxes in Inverness, Dublin and across England. His photos include unusual locations, such as several post boxes at the top of hills and even one inside a theatre.

When he finds a new post box, Mr Willis photographs the base to record the producer's name and gives a grid reference（坐标参考）on a map.

【推荐3】At the age of seven I started taking violin lessons. I practiced half an hour every day, went to lessons once a week, and occasionally played in a group concert. Like most kids, I always thought practicing was boring. If my parents hadn't been there to make me practice, I probably would have put down my violin and never have picked it up again.

I met Moira when I was 11 at an Irish music party. Moira hosted the party that night, playing the violin, singing and dancing. She made sure that everyone in the room got involved and had a great time. I immediately fell in love with the music she played and the energy that she brought to it. Just a few days after that party, I took my first lesson with Moira, and I continued taking lessons with Moira throughout middle school.

When I started playing the violin with Moira, playing music became something that I loved. She introduced me to so many types of music, from Irish to Old Time, to Cajun. Moira also taught me to play the guitar. Soon we started performing together and were shocked to discover that people actually wanted to hear us! When I began to play the violin, practicing was something that I did at home in my living room, but with Moira's influence it quickly became something that I did everywhere. I played on street corners, at festivals, at the beach, at parties, at weddings, and late at night in my friends' kitchens.

Moira took the music out of the classroom and brought it to life. Her passion (激情) was not only for playing music, but also for sharing it. My time with Moira allowed me to grow both musically and personally. I have met so many special people and had so many invaluable experiences. Moira has proven to be the most important influence in my musical development, and also my invaluable friend.

【推荐2】Next time you consider striking up a conversation with a stranger in line at the grocery store or while waiting at the laundry, keep in mind that it might be beneficial for your well-being. A recent study by a group of researchers found that there is a link between happiness and a term that the researchers coined called “relational diversity.”

Using public data from sources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the World Health Organization, the researchers analyzed data sets and survey responses from people who had shared their daily habits, schedules and interactions. They noticed a clear relationship between relational diversity and overall levels of satisfaction.

Hanne Collins, a Harvard Business School doctoral student who co-authored the study, says that relational diversity is composed of two elements: richness and evenness. Richness measures relationship categories, or how many kinds of people you interact with in a day. That could be your romantic partner, a family member, a neighbor or a stranger. “The more relationship categories they talk to in a day and the more even their conversations are across those categories, the happier they are. And we find this in a large sample across many countries,” Collins said. Evenness relates to the distribution of conversations among those different relationship categories. Some people may find themselves interacting with colleagues at work more than, say, their family members. “If you have a few conversations with colleagues, a few with friends, a few with a romantic partner or a couple of chats with strangers, that’s going to be more even across these categories,” Collins explained.

Ultimately, Collins says, the study gives insight to the idea that humans are social creatures at heart. Having a support system is important, but it goes beyond your inner circle. “It’s about this mix. It’s about connecting with people who are close to you, who are maybe less close to you, who connect you with other people, who provide different kinds of support, ”she said. “Essentially, the idea is that the more diverse your social connections, the happier you are and the higher your well-being.”