5 . A group of blue-faced birds step through the grass shoulder to shoulder, red eyes looking around. They look like middle schoolers seeking a cafeteria table at lunchtime. Perhaps they’re not so different.

A new study, led by Damien Farine, an ornithologist who studies collective behaviour, shows that the vulturine guineafowl of eastern Africa, like humans, have multilevel societies. In the past, scientists assumed such social structures required a lot of brainpower. But the pea-brained guineafowl are revealing the faults in that assumption.

These large birds wander across the landscape in packs, often walking so closely that their bodies touch. They may fight each other to maintain their strict hierarchies (等级制度), but at other times they engage in friendly behaviours like sharing food.

Suspecting the guineafowl might have a social structure, Dr. Farine and his colleagues began a thorough study of their society. For a whole year, they made daily observations of 441 birds. Coloured leg bands in unique combinations let researchers tell the black-and-blue birds apart. They also attached GPS devices to the backs of 58 birds, which let them see exactly where every group went, 24 hours a day.

The findings of the research suggest that the vulturine guineafowl have a multilevel society. There are groups within groups within the population as a whole. There even seem to be groups of friends within the small groups. This is the first time anyone has observed such a society in a bird.

And Dr. Farine emphasizes this particular bird’s tiny brain size: “ They don’t only have small brains relative to mammals (哺乳动物), they also have quite small brains relative to other birds, ” he said.

According to him, living in this kind of society might actually make it easier to keep track of the social order. For example, if groups are stable and a bird can identify just one or two individuals within a group, it knows which group it’s looking at — no need for a brain that can recognize every single animal. Multilevel societies also let animals adjust their group sizes based on whatever challenges they’re facing. Depending on what enemies or resources are around, it might make sense to travel in a combined group rather than a smaller one.

“ Having a multilevel structure may not require having a large brain, ” Dr. Farine said. There may be more birds and other animals out there that, although small-brained, have societies as many-leveled as our own.

6 . If you start a sentence with, “If I were you...” or find yourself scratching your head over a decision when the answer is crystal-clear, there’s a scientific reason behind it. Our own decision-making abilities can become exhausted over the course of the day causing indecision or poor choices, but choosing on behalf of someone else is an enjoyable task that doesn’t suffer the same difficulties.

“The problem is decision fatigue, a psychological phenomenon that causes harm to the quality of your choices after a long day of decision making,” says Evan Polman, a leading psychologist.

Physicians on the job for several hours, for example, are more likely to prescribe antibiotics (抗生素) to patients when it’s unwise to do so. “Presumably it’s because it’s simple and easy to write a prescription and consider a patient case closed rather than investigate further,” Polman says.

But decision fatigue goes away when you are making the decision for someone else. When people imagine themselves as advisers, they feel less tired and rely less on decision shortcuts. “By taking upon the role of adviser rather than decision maker, one does not suffer the consequences of decision fatigue,” he says. “It is as if there is something fun about making someone else’s choice.”

“Getting input from others not only offers a fresh perspective and thought process, it often also includes riskier choices. While this sounds undesirable, it can be quite good. When people experience decision fatigue, when they are tired of making choices, they have a tendency to choose to go with status quo,” says Polman. “But it can be problematic since a change in the course of action can be important and lead to a positive outcome.”

To achieve a successful outcome or reward, some level of risk is almost always essential. “People who are susceptible to decision fatigue will likely choose to do nothing over something,” he says. “That’s not to say risk is always good, but it is related to taking action, whereas decision fatigue assuredly leads to inaction and the possible chagrin (懊恼) of a decision maker who might otherwise prefer a new course but is unfortunately hindered.”

“Just because you can make good choices for others doesn’t mean you’ll do the same for yourself,” Polman cautions. “Research has found that women negotiate higher salaries for others than they do for themselves,” he says, adding that people slip in and out of decision roles.

7 . In 1939, seven-year-old Miriam Schreiber should have started first grade. Instead, she spent that year — and the following five — trying to survive. She was living in Poland when World War II broke out. “My entire life was ruined within minutes,” she says. “I was looking forward to starting school.” She never made it. And not having a degree has always been a thorn in her side.

Decades later, though, the now-89-year-old Holocaust survivor finally got something she had always longed for. Kapiloff Brander, director of community programs at Jewish Family Services, reached out to the New England Jewish Academy, a Jewish high school, to ask whether the school could help Mariam fulfill her wish. Richard Nabel, the principal of the school, brought a few senior students to Miriam’s home to hear her story before they came up with the idea of presenting her an honorary diploma at the school’s 2020 graduation ceremony.

Miriam suffered a lot in a slave labor camp in Siberia before she got liberated in 1946. She and her remaining family members went to a refugee camp in Germany, where she got married and had her first child at the age of 16. Having spent years in refugee camps in different countries, she finally immigrated to America in 1960. Getting a formal education was never an option for her but she learned seven languages over the years. “I educated myself,” she says. “I read books day and night. I still do.”

On August 16, during a socially distanced ceremony in the school gym, Miriam was presented with a high school diploma from the New England Jewish Academy. “There weren’t too many dry eyes among the 30 of us there,” says Nabel. Miriam’s family was especially moved. “I’m not sure she even realizes the importance of that moment to me,” says Bernie, her eldest son. “I am so proud of her.”

8 . What exactly is a lie? Is it anything we say which we know is untrue?     1     For example, suppose a friend wants to borrow some money from you. You say, “I wish I could help you but I’m short of money myself.” In fact, you are not short of money but your friend is in the habit of not paying his debts and you don’t want to hurt his feelings by reminding him of this. Is this really a lie?

Professor Jerald Jellison of the University of Southern California has made a scientific study of lying. According to him, women are better liars than men, particularly when telling a “white lie”, such as when a woman at a party tells another woman that she likes her dress when she really thinks it looks terrible.     2     Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell serious lies, such as making a promise which they have no intention of carrying out. This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at: the lie from which the liar hopes to profit or gain in some day.

    3     It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time, they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual. To the trained observer they are saying “I wish I were somewhere else now.” They also tend to touch certain parts of the face more often, in particular the nose. One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure.     4    

Another gesture which gives liars away is what the writer Desmond Morris in his book Man Watching calls “the mouth cover”. He says there are several typical forms, such as covering part of the mouth with fingers, touching the upper-lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side of the mouth.     5     Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, or moving about in a chair cannot be taken as proof that the speaker is lying. They simply tend to occur more frequently in this situation. It is not one gesture alone that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context in which the lie is told.

9 . Blind imitation is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their unique worth, imitation appears attractive; to those who know their strength, imitation is unacceptable.

In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role modelsis like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.

In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously (下意识地) hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.

In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.

Blessed is the person willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.

Study your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not serve. Then you can say, “I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors’ tragedies and declare victory, and know that they are cheering on.”