【推荐3】Since our earliest school days, we generally accept the idea that some people learn faster than others. However, according to a new study, we actually learn at very similar rates given the same opportunities.

Researchers looked at 1. 3 million “student interactions” across a variety of learning software tools used by 6, 946 learners, ranging from late elementary students to college students. The gathered statistics covered a variety of learning tasks.

The data showed that academic performance gaps come from differences in the starting point of learning, the learning opportunity and access to such opportunity, rather than any learning rate. “This further confirms that educational technologies can provide favorable learning conditions that make it easier to learn something new, like a second language,” says Ken Koedinger, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

“We have all seen cases where somebody gets to a learning outcome sooner than a peer,” says Koedinger. “But what we don’t usually track is where they started. Our results are not contradicting that people end up in different places, but accounting for the fact that where students are starting from can tell us a lot about where they will end up.”

The team suggests that our brains can take different “mental routes” to learn something,which means our learning rates aren’t too different. Given the same opportunities, we can all get to the same point in the way that best suits our experiences and knowledge.

This is useful in figuring out the best ways to pass on knowledge. Though many factors work together when it comes to learning, the researchers want to emphasize that we’re all capable of learning.

“No matter who you are, you can make it,”says scientist Paulo Carvalho from CarnegieMellon University. “You might have had fewer prior opportunities in your life, so it may be harder at first than it is for other people. But you will make just as much progress as anyone else as long as you hold on to your learning.”

【推荐1】Wearing a chef’s hat, Curtis Kimball, 43, hosted a pancake party on the front driveway of his home in San Francisco on Feb. 12. This was the second such event; he kicked off the first in late January with a few funny fliers. “My wife says I’m getting strange,” Kimball typed on sheets of paper, which he then taped to telephone poles around the Bernal Heights neighborhood. “She says I need to make friends. So I’m making pancakes.”

Then he saw nearly 100 neighbors gathered in front of his house, waiting for the first pancake party on Jan. 22.

“We haven’t been as social as before,” said Julie Zigoris, 42, who attended both pancake parties with her husband and two daughters, ages 4 and 6. To her surprise, one of the neighbors in attendance was in her PhD defense in Pittsburgh 15 years ago, and she had not seen him since, nor did she know he was living in the area.

At both events, Kimball covered the cost of the pancakes and toppings, and neighbors brought stuff to share. Many people asked to contribute funds, Kimball said, so he recently decided to start a GoFundMe to make future pancake parties more financially sustainable, particularly since interest seems to be growing. Kimball said roughly 300 people showed up at the second gathering.

Through starting a new neighborhood tradition, Kimball has learned a few life lessons, which he outlined on Twitter. The most important one, he said, is that “if you’re hungry to connect, chances are good other people are too.” “I’m hoping I can be the match and the fire spreads,” Kimball said. “I’m hoping my push will push others. Maybe people will see my little thing, and maybe they’ll do their own little thing, and then maybe all those things will add up to a big thing.” His ultimate goal is to start “a national neighborhood pancake day”.

【推荐3】"Hello!" You type into the chat box. There's a slight feeling of excitement flowing through your fingers, and you can't wait for a reply. You think, "There's probably nothing more exciting than this."

With communication from all corners of the world possible at the ease of your fingers, we are now witness to an advanced form of the hand shake and physical conversations: online friendships.

Alarmingly, according to Internet Safety 101, almost half of young adult users have received upsetting messages, with 92 percent posting their own real names and identification online and 58 percent thinking it doesn't cause concern. And though some parents may be biting their fingernails in fear right now, more than half of the youth have admitted to making their friends online and a good majority regularly text them.

Though the statistics are daunting, we hope, we haven't scared you off! Researchers actually found that pursuing online friendships could be beneficial. Penn State University reported that this was especially the case for those with social anxiety, as they might form a stronger comfort bond with their peers through the screen rather than a face-to-face meeting.

Additionally, online interaction may increase your self-confidence. In our current situation of isolation, perhaps that perfect connection from the safety of our homes is all it takes to make things just a little more bearable.

In the end, it all depends on you. Whether or not your search for a friend bears fruit lies in your approach, and though I'm not a great relationship master, I have some tips that will aid you in your exploration for the "BFF" of your dreams.