【推荐1】People consistently underestimate how much others in their social circle might appreciate an unexpected phone call, text or email just to say hello, and the more surprising the connection, the greater the appreciation, according to a new study.

In the study, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh conducted some experiments involving more than 5, 900 participants. In one experiment, half of the participants were asked to recall the last time they reached out to someone in their social circle after a prolonged (长期的) period of not interacting with them. The rest were asked to recall a similar situation where someone reached out to them. Participants were then asked to indicate on a 7-point scale how much either they or the person they reached out to appreciated. People who recalled reaching out thought the gesture was significantly less appreciated than those who recalled receiving a communication.

In other experiments, participants sent a short note, or a small gift, to someone in their social circle with whom they had not interacted in a while. Similar to the previous experiment, participants who initiated (发起) contact were asked to rate on a 7-point scale the extent to which they thought the recipient would appreciate or feel grateful for the contact. After the notes or gifts were sent, researchers also asked the recipients to rate their appreciation.

Across all experiments, those who initiated the communication significantly underestimated the extent to which recipients would appreciate the act of reaching out. Besides, the researchers found that people receiving the communication placed greater focus than those initiating the communication on the surprise element, and this heightened focus on surprise was associated with higher appreciation. “We also found that people underestimated others’ appreciation to a greater extent when the communication was more surprising, as opposed to part of a regular communication pattern, or the social ties between the two participants were weak,” added lead author Peggy Liu.

Initiating social contact after a prolonged period of disconnection can be daunting because people worry about how such a gesture might be received. But these findings suggest that their hesitations may be unnecessary, as others are likely to appreciate being reached out to more than people think.

【推荐2】In an age where convenience beats sentiment (情感), we’re settling for “the bare minimum” when it comes to communication and emotional expression. There is a reason why your mother always made sure you wrote thank-you notes after every birthday. There’s a reason why getting a letter in the mail is so exciting. Writing someone a letter is a truly unique way to show how much they mean to you.

The great thing about handwritten notes or letters is that they don’t have to be anything fancy to be meaningful. A messily written note on a piece of scratch notebook paper can mean just as much as a beautiful, calligraphic letter written on the finest stationery (信笺). They both say, “You’re important to me, and I wanted to take the time to write down these thoughts so that you can hold onto them forever.”

One of my favorite things about handwritten letters is that you can keep them for however long you want, and revisit them at any time. A screenshot of a sweet text doesn’t quite measure up. There is emotion behind handwritten sentences. With every line of ink, you can feel the essence of its writer.

Unfortunately, this method of communication is seriously underrated today. We’re saving screenshots to our camera roll instead of precious letters in a shoe box. We re replacing thoughtful little notes with emojis (表情符号) or icons and telling ourselves that the sentiment is the same. But, to be honest, sometimes you have to slow down to show someone how much you care.

Want to show your significant other how much you love him or her? Write down how you feel about them in a letter and seal it with a kiss. Mail a funny card to your friends who live across the state/ country/ world just to let them know you’re thinking about them. I promise you it will mean much more than you know.

【推荐1】The world is a stage, and now men and women aren’t the only players. A Microsoft researcher’s analysis using artificial intelligence to break down Shakespeare is a great trick showing off some shiny software. But it’s also a reminder in an increasingly automated age of what exactly makes us human.

The Microsoft project uses natural language-processing techniques to map out emotions in William Shakespeare’s text. The test is designed to prompt people who already (at least sort of) understand Shakespeare to consider his works in new ways, and to help those who have trouble understanding his works, to become better in interpreting their complexity. Romeo, it reveals in colorful graphs, feels everything more keenly than his Capulet lover Juliet, despite prevailing stereotypes of stoic masculinity (斯多葛派的男子气概). King Lear tells a story of steady decline, whereas Coriolanus has highs and lows to signal its twisty narrative-driven ride.

As useful an educational tool as this system might be, the Bard’s greatest admirers may be unable to resist raising an eyebrow. Do readers really need an algorithm (算法) to tell them that Romeo is eye-rollingly mopey (无精打采) or that things go more or less right for Macbeth until they start going very wrong? Isn’t it part of the point of studying Shakespeare today that it’s overwhelming and foreign until, suddenly, it’s familiar? These objections might all be secondary to a more powerful fear: The thought that a computer can read Shakespeare just as well as we can seems to take the human out of the humanities.

Therefore, it is reassuring to learn that, advanced as machine-learning has become and as far- reaching as the implications of the technology may be, Microsoft’s tool thought that The Comedy of Errors was, well, a tragedy. That’s because the slapstick physicality in the play confused it. Algorithms have trouble distinguishing friendly teasing from cruel mockery (嘲弄), which would puzzle any computer that tried to make sense of Mercutio. Sarcasm is an ongoing computational dilemma. None of this should surprise anyone who follows social media sites losing battles against racist trolls, whose tendency to mask racism in irony makes their posts difficult to delete through the use of automated content moderation tools. In that context, algorithmic shortcomings are a burden.

Balancing the benefits more humanlike AI could bring with the risk for abuse is a tough task from a practical point of view. From a more human one, however, it can be hard not to hope the tide of technological change will roll in slowly. Those hidden meanings, mystifying relationships and even groan-worthy puns (双关) that beat machines are what make Shake-speare Shakespeare. They’re also what make us us.

【推荐2】What is a book nowadays in a world of Kindles and iPads? Traditional publishers are traveling a long and confusing road into the digital future. Here's the conventional wisdom about publishing: People expect e-books to be cheaper than physical books, and that drives down prices. But the story's not that simple. For one thing, digital publishers have the same problem that traditional publishers do:piracy(盗版).

It turns out, though, that some publishers are doing pretty well despite the piracy problem. "We've had an amazing year," says Sourcebooks President Dominique Raccah. "Last year was the best year in the company's history. This year we beat that, which I didn't think was even possible." Raccah adds that her company is doing well because of digital publishing.

It turns out there are some huge advantages-at least for publishers. A big one: The price of an e-book isn't fixed the way it is with physical books. Ten years ago, a publisher would have sent out its books to the bookstore with the price stamped on the cover. After that, it was done - the publisher couldn't put a book on sale to sell more copies.

"The exciting thing about digital books is that we actually get to test and price differently, " Raccah says. That's what American publisher Little, Brown and Company did with Robert Dallek's book An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy. In the middle of November, Little, Brown and Company dropped the price from $ 9. 99 to $ 2. 99 for 24 hours. That sparks sales; it gets people talking about it," says Terry Adams, a publisher with Little, Brown and Company.

If you read the new e-book 40 Years of Queen, you will find it full of links. Links to iTunes, where you can buy the music you've been reading about. That's another huge advantage of e-books:Publishers can sell you things inside your book.

There's still one big problem putting pressure on publishers. "We actually don't have a good gifting tradition yet for e-books," says Raccah. Despite all the advances in reading technology, physical books are still the best Christmas presents.