【推荐1】Most of us learned what we know about eye color from a chart in grade-school biology. You know two blue-eyed parents are going to have blue-eyed kids. But the story of how eye color is passed down is more complicated（复杂的) than we’re taught.

Humans get their eye color from melanin（黑色素）, which also determines skin and hair shades. Melanin is good at absorbing light, which is especially important for the iris（虹膜）, the function of which is to control how much brightness can enter the eyes. Once it passes through the irises, the majority of the visible light goes to the retina（视网膜）, where it’s translated into images by the brain. The little that isn’t absorbed by the iris is reflected back, producing what we see as eye color. That color depends on the kind and amount of melanin a person is born with.

Though we used to think eye color just came from a simple pattern of inheritance （遗传）, in recent years scientists have found that it’s also shaped by many genes acting together. What’s more, tiny changes, or mutations（突变）, in a gene can result in different shades in the iris.

The two genes currently thought to be most strongly linked with human eye color are OCA2 and HERC2. OCA2, the gene we used to think was the only player in eye color, controls the production of the P-protein and the organelles that make and transport melanin. Different mutations in the OCA2 gene increase or decrease the amount of protein that’s produced in the body, changing how much melanin is sent to the irises. The HERC2 gene, meanwhile, acts like a helicopter parent （直升机父母） for OCA2. Different mutations in this gene act as a switch that turns OCA2 on and off and determines how much P-protein it produces.

Those are just the two genes we know about in detail so far. Newer studies have linked as many as 16 genes to eye color, all of which pair with OCA2 and HERC2 to generate different iris colors and patterns. With all these genes and their structural changes, it’s hard to say for sure what a child’s eye color will be based on their parents’.

【推荐3】The message is drummed into us from childhood: forgive people who’ve wronged you, because it’s the right thing to do. Forgiveness is a virtue, we’re told, the only way for us to truly move on and heal. But forgiving someone is not always what’s best for us. In fact, if someone has hurt you deeply and the relationship isn’t healthy, trying to “fix” things can do more harm than good.

Most of us would probably agree that forgiving a wrongdoer means letting go of negative feelings like anger towards them. Actually it pressures us to minimize our feelings and revise our boundaries — to say “it’s OK” when for us, it isn’t. And when someone doesn’t make us feel seen or safe, forgiving them can actually weaken our self-respect. A 2010 research paper published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology called this “the doormat effect”. It found that people who forgave partners that didn’t make them feel valued had less respect for themselves, along with a weakened sense of self.

If you keep on forgiving someone who’s done wrong, it can encourage that person to keep hurting you. That’s what 2011 research by psychology professor James K McNulty argues. He looked at how 72 newlywed couples expressed forgiveness towards acts of aggression (攻击性), and whether this caused any changes in the wrongdoer’s behaviour. He found that when a partner was more likely to forgive those acts, the aggressor was more likely to keep committing them. This is because facing the consequences of their actions is what motivates people to change their ways, and being offered a clean sheet can allow them to avoid making changes. Forgiving frequent and major offenses (冒犯), like verbal or physical abuse, can do more harm than good.

What if, instead of looking to forgiveness like a magic medicine, we put our energies towards accepting a situation for what it is? This way, we can focus on recognizing what happened and coming to terms with it, however that looks for us and without any sense of obligation towards our offender. It’ll still be a process, sure, but it’s one centred around you and your needs.

【推荐1】Recently there has been a discussion on a website about “what would you miss most and least if you were stuck on a desert island?”

Here are some of the answers:

Post 1

Steve USA—Hi, everyone. What would you miss most and least if you were stuck on a desert island? For me, it would be the changing seasons in New England. I guess this will sound stupid but I’d probably miss the rain, too. I wouldn’t miss getting up at six every day to go to work, though! What about you?

Post 2

Tomas Germany—Good question. Steve, I think I’d miss different types of bread, and shopping at the supermarket. I’d miss the food most. What would I miss least? My mobile phone—I’d like to be completely quiet—at least for a little while.

Post 3

Paola Italy—I would miss the company of people because I know I’d like to have someone to share experiences with. I’d go mad on my own. And I sure wouldn’t miss junk mail—I hate coming home every evening and a pile of junk mail in my post box.

Post 4

Miko Japan—Hi, I would miss Manga cartoon, the Internet and Japanese food, like sushi. I’d also miss TV shows and shopping for clothes… In fact, I’d miss everything.

Post 5

Roger UK—I would miss my daily newspaper and listening to the news on TV and radio. I’d feel very cut off if I didn’t know what was happening in the world. What I’d miss least would be traffic jams in the city, particularly my journey to work.

Post 6

Jayne Russia—Why hasn’t anyone mentioned their family? I’d be lost without my husband and two kids. They’re the most important for me. And I can’t get started in the morning without a cup of black coffee. I wouldn’t miss doing the housework!

Post 7

Jaime Mexico—It would have to be music. I couldn’t live without my music. I wouldn’t miss going to school at all or doing homework!