【推荐1】Art and technology have much more in common than one might think. Each of these pursuits is, after all, an attempt by humans to describe and understand the world. Though the methods used to reach that “aha” moment may be different, both art and technology are fundamentally humans, and both play very important roles in the human experience as well as human innovation(革新).

Technology is changing art and opening the doors to new virtual museums and new creative mediums. It is no secret that technology is an increasingly pervasive part of our lives, and its influence is finding its way to the art world. Some of the changes may seem obvious, like the increasing popularity of digital art galleries. But there are other, less expected changes that have made art more accessible to both creators and buyers.

Here is a question for you, “If a computer creates’art’, should it still be considered art?”This puzzlement has laid at the heart of some of the most debatable types of art, AI-produced art. AI-produced art has sold for thousands, but does that mean it is any good? An AI-produced portrait of Edmond de Belamy by French art collective Obvious Art sold for an eye-watering $432,000 in 2018, the most expensive AI painting by far.

The process of creating AI-produced art is not as complex as you may think. Though there are many different paths to creating AI art, in general, artists write algorithms(算法)that are able to “learn” a specific aesthetic(美感)by analyzing thousands of images.

The algorithm then tries to produce new images along the lines of the aesthetics it has learned. You could teach an AI algorithm to “paint” like your favorite artists. This combination of technology and art may someday prove to be one of the most exciting new areas in the art world. And with new AI artists appearing each year, some day may be getting closer.

【推荐2】Our love of the natural world is partially baked into our genes, a study carried out by researchers from the University of Queensland and the National University of Singapore suggests. Using data collected by Twins UK, the most detailed and extensive twin study ever carried out, the team compared the genetic heritability (遗传可能性) of two types of trait—how strongly a person feels connected to nature, and the amount of time they spend in nature. They found that identical twins, who share almost all of their genes, were more similar to each other than the twins who share around half of their genes in their appreciation of nature.

This genetic influence was present in between 34 per cent for frequency of garden visits and 48 per cent for public nature space visits, they say. “I’m truly surprised by what we have found,” said study co-author Prof Richard Fuller, of the University of Queensland. “This means there may be genetic differences among people’s connection with natural environments and how they experience them. Our results help to explain why some people have a stronger desire than others to be in nature.” Previous studies have shown that the environment in which people are raised and live in, be it urban or rural, influences how strongly they desire to be among nature or seek outdoor experiences, with those in more rural areas having a closer relationship with nature. However, this is the first study to suggest that genetics plays a role in how strongly we feel a connection to nature.

As more and more people living in urban areas are reporting lower levels of happiness, and are at a higher risk of mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, the study highlights the importance of bringing people closer to nature, the researchers say, “Spending a little time at home in the garden can be a great way to experience some nature.” said lead author of the study Dr Chia-Chen Chang, of the National University of Singapore. “Increasing accessibility to nature for urban residents through projects such as shared gardens will be hugely beneficial and will play an important part in improving people’s wellbeing overall.”

【推荐1】Zhong Nanshan, who identified the SARS virus in 2003 and is leading the Chinese government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19, was recommended for the Medal of the Republic. Zhang Boli, Zhang Dingyu and Chen Wei have been shortlisted (入围) for national honorary titles.

Zhong Nanshan

Zhong was one of the most important figures in fighting SARS in 2003. He offered to treat all serious SARS cases in Guangdong Province at his institute. When the COVID-19 hit Chin a in January, the medical genius chose to work on the front line, saving millions of lives. He was the first person to publicly warn that the virus can be transmitted from one person to another.

Zhang Dingyu

As the acting president of one of Wuhan’s major hospitals in treating COVID-19patients, the man who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in October 2018 chose to stay with his colleagues and save lives with no looking back.

Zhang Boli

Zhang directed the country in using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to defeat the novel coronavirus. He also led the design of the TCM treatment for COVID-19 patients. Having spent 82 days in Wuhan fighting COVID-19, Zhang is in Beijing now as a national lawmaker drawing up proposals to help the country better prepare for epidemics on the legal front.

Chen Wei

Chen is a professor at Academy of Military Medical Sciences. The vaccine co-developed by Chen’s team and a Chinese vaccine developer was the first in the country to get to the human testing stage. The vaccine project that she headed is one of a handful of vaccines that have shown some promise in human testing. She is also one of the key leaders in China’s Ebola vaccine research.

【推荐2】Jane Addams was born in 1860 in the small town of Cedarville, Illinois. Addams graduated in 1881 from the Rockford Female Seminary. That same year, her father died. Feeling sad for his death and troubled by her own health problems, she spent the next six years seeking a direction for her life.

During an 1887 visit to London with her lifelong friend Ellen Starr, Addams came upon the Whitechapel District’s Toynbee Hall, where activists worked to improve life in that poor area. What she saw there inspired her.

In 1889, she and Miss Starr rented a large, empty home in a working-class immigrant district of Chicago. They called it Hull House. There were kindergarten classes for the young, supervised social activities for older children and college -level courses for adults in the evenings, along with various clubs for all ages and housing for single working women.

In the wake of Jane’s success, her influence and activism expanded. She worked to improve the education system and in 1909 became the first woman president of system and in 1909 became the first woman president of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections. She also fought for labor reform and workers rights, sponsored research into the causes of poverty and crime, and pressed for health and housing regulation. In 1910, she was the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Yale University. During that same year, she became president of the National Conference of Social Work-another first for a woman.

She supported the interests of African Americans, women, and immigrants and campaigned for their being treated equally and getting more chances both nationally and internationally. In 1931, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She died of cancer in 1935, and her funeral was held in Hull House’s courtyard.

【推荐3】When he was 7, Diebedo Francis Kere left his native village Gando at the insistence of his father so that he might learn to read and write. Gando had neither a school nor electricity nor running water. Kere returned home on holidays, and at the end of every visit, the women villagers would reveal a penny tucked in their waistbands — often their last penny — that they’d give him as a parting gift. The pennies were their way of contributing to the boy’s education.

It was a worthwhile investment: Kere is now an architect, and in 2001, he did return to Gando to build his first education building, Gando Primary School. Kere settled on a method of fortifying (加固) locally made clay bricks with concrete and created a floating, double-roof system that allows hot air to rise out of the building and cool air to come in. Colorful shutters (百叶窗) allow teachers to direct sunlight into the room depending on the hour of the day. Most significantly, the school was built by village members — who helped produce the bricks, build the walls and polish the mud floors. This not only allowed the village to build a new school in a timely and economical fashion but it also taught marketable construction techniques to untrained laborers.

For this work and other high-profile projects, Kere became the first African architect to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize. “Francis Kere’s work shows us the power of materiality rooted in place. It is sustainable to the earth and its residents — in lands of extreme scarcity (缺乏),” announced Tom Pritzker, chairman of the award.

Of his work, Kere said in a statement, “It is not because you are rich that you should waste material. It is not because you are poor that you should not try to create quality.”