1 . Sometimes you may feel like privacy, as a concept, has disappeared from the world.     1     Thus they can serve up frighteningly accurate ads that make you think your phone’s microphone has been turned on and marketers are actively listening to your every word.

They’re not—   yet. But they are engaged in something called “datamining”. This is the process of collecting enormous amounts of unknown data from your every connected activity and then analyzing that data to fill your life with advertisements and other influences. Datamining gives away your privacy. You may find it quite impossible to avoid.     2    

Check settings carefully.

When you install (安装) an app on your device, you probably click through a series of permissions, But an app may require many unnecessary permissions. You may doubt whether a game really needs access to your microphone, location, and camera.     3     Take the next line of defense: stop installing garbage free apps and spend that dollar.

    4    

Social media is very obviously a landfill when it comes to privacy. If your main goal on social media is to connect with friends or colleagues, restrict the reach of your posts to just those folks. And don’t expose your travel plans, spending habits, or product reviews out into the universe.

Remember to log out.

    5     And as long as you’re signed in, that ability continues — even if you leave the site. It’s an inconvenience indeed, but logging out of those services when you’re not actively using them and clearing cookies and history regularly can slowdown the mining of data.

3 . Ariel Procaccia has thought a lot about how to cut a cake over the last 15 years. As the father of three children, he knows how hard it is to divide a birthday cake to everyone’s satisfaction. But it’s also because Procaccia’s work focuses on exploring the mathematical rules for dividing stuff up fairly. One way to do that is to think abstractly about dessert.

For decades, researchers have been asking the seemingly simple question of how to cut a cake fairly. The answer reaches far beyond birthday parties. A mathematical problem at its heart, cake cutting connects strict reasoning to real-world issues of fairness, and so attracts not only mathematicians, but also social scientists, economists and more. “It’s a very elegant model in which you can distill what fairness really is, and reason about it,” Procaccia says.

The simplest approach is called the “divider-chooser” method, where one person cuts the cake into two equal pieces in his view, and the other person picks first. Each receives a piece that they feel is as valuable as the other’s. But when personal preferences are taken into account, even the easiest rule becomes complicated. Suppose Alice and Bob are to divide a cake, and Alice knows Bob prefers chocolate, she may knowingly divide the cake unequally so the smaller piece contains more chocolate. Then Bob will choose according to his preference, and Alice will get the larger piece. Both of them are satisfied with what they get, but the meaning of fairness changes in this situation.

The cake is a symbol for any divisible good. When cake-cutting principles are employed to settle disagreements, they are potentially helping the world find solutions. Procaccia has used fair division algorithms (算法) to model food distribution. Social scientist Haris Aziz is exploring situations ranging from how to divide up daily tasks to how to best schedule doctors’ shifts in hospitals.

Even after decades of investigation, cake cutting isn’t like a simple jigsaw puzzle (拼图) with a well-defined solution. Instead, over time, it has evolved into a kind of mathematical sandbox, a constructive playground that brings together abstract proofs and easy applications. The more researchers explore it, the more there is to explore.

5 . Genetic testing companies have a long history of creative attempts to reach the mainstream. An early example was the sequencing of rock star Ozzy Osbourne’s genes in 2010, with accompanying guess about how they might have influenced his drug habits.

Lately, such projects have taken on a new, highly commercialized tendency. In 2017, we got the “Marmite (马麦酱) gene project,” run by London-based genetic testing start-up DNAfit. It claims to show that love or hate for Marmite was in our genes. The project turned into a full-blown marketing campaign, and even sold Marmite-branded DNA testing tools.

DNAfit is now working with Mercedes-Benz to find out whether specific genetic traits are associated with business wisdom. AncestryDNA, the world’s largest consumer genetic testing company, last year teamed up with Spotify to promote “music tailored to your DNA.” Just a few weeks ago, 23andMe, the second largest, announced a partnership with Airbnb to provide genetically tailored travel experiences, also inspired by ancestral DNA.

I have skin in this game. I run a genetic-testing start-up that connects people who want their genome sequenced with researchers who want data to improve their understanding of genetic disease. I believe that broadening access to DNA testing can be a powerful force for good, providing safer, more effective medicines and giving people more power over their healthcare. But these campaigns risk discrediting the industry, by giving a misleading impression of what genetics can and can't say and its role in determining behaviours and personal preferences.

Take the Marmite study. It covered 261 people — tiny, by the standards of the field. It was published not in a journal, but online on bioRxiv, a server where scientists typically put results before peer-review. Shortly after, researchers looked at the genetic data of more than 500 times as many people in the UK Biobank and found no such correlation. A large peer-reviewed study in 2013 found no significant link between genes and business common sense.

We need to inform the public about what this is all about: that is, the gathering of large amounts of genetic data. We need better regulation to ensure that consumers are clear that this may happen with this sensitive personal information. A checkbox on a 20-page web document full of legal terms should not be enough.

Scientists too, need to start asking hard questions about whether the information they are using has been sourced ethically. DNA testing has a great future, but we can't build this future with data acquired by any means.

It was a warm Sunday. 16-year-old Stella settled down with a book, enjoying her quiet moment when her friend Bog came over with his 6-year-old sister. “Stella, please! I need you to help to watch Hazel! I have a lecture to attend this afternoon,” Bog begged.

Stella frowned, not thrilled with the idea of babysitting a little girl. However, Bog didn’t offer her any other choice. He dropped Hazel off with Stella and quickly ran away before she could react.

With a heavy sigh, Stella unwillingly turned her attention to Hazel. “Fine, just stay there and don’t cause any trouble,” she grumbled (嘟囔). To her surprise, little Hazel smiled and obediently sat by the table, drawing quietly without making a single noise.

For the next hour, Stella was quietly engaged in reading without being disturbed by Hazel. Gradually, her annoyance disappeared and she got accustomed to the company of Hazel. After a while, Hazel cautiously approached Stella, holding a picture. “Look, it’s you and me,” she said in a low voice. It was a simple drawing of two girls, hand in hand, smiling.

Stella’s heart softened as she looked at the drawing. She felt guilty about treating Hazel impatiently. Setting her book aside, Stella smiled warmly and said, “I love it. Thank you!” Then Stella began to join Hazel to create it together.

Just as they were lost in a world of colors, a sudden phone ringing broke the warm atmosphere. It was a phone call from her friend, reminding her about the long-awaited plan to go skating on the ice rink (溜冰场). Stella’s heart sank because she had forgotten all about it. She was torn between the desire to go skating and her duty to look after Hazel. She was also worried that taking her to skate would prevent her from enjoying gliding (滑) freely on the ice.

As Stella hesitated, Hazel looked up at her with hopeful eyes.

Hazel admiringly watched Stella and her friends gliding on the ice.

I used to hear about the story of Ella’s father. He sacrificed his life to save the villagers from flood when Ella was a baby. Therefore, the statue of her father was built at the edge of our village and also a large warning bell was fixed there.

One day, all the kids gathered at the statue to play hide-and-seek. Sam, the biggest and loudest boy, loved making jokes at others’ expense, and Ella was his favorite target. He watched Ella with a sly (狡黠的) smile and said to her, “I bet your father wished he’d had a boy to follow in his footsteps.” Holding her fists tightly, Ella was about to hit Sam when I patted her on the shoulder. “Enough,” I shouted. “Let’s begin our game while it’s still light out. I’ll count first.” Then I leaned my head against the statue and started to count.

In no time, the rest of the kids ran away to seek hiding places. Sam looked annoyed because his fun had been interrupted, and Ella’s cheeks also burned with anger. But they both didn’t want to be left out. Sam dashed away from the village to hide in the woods, while Ella headed back into the village and hid behind the grassy wall.

Soon most kids were caught, waiting for a new round to begin. Sam had yet to be found, so we thought he must be staying perfectly still and quiet, enjoying the scream and laughter of the game.

Suddenly, the large warning bell for thick fog began to ring. We all sensed the danger and immediately ran to our regular gathering place to seek shelter.

I threw the door open wide, waiting for other kids to arrive. Ella was one of the last to be back. I started the head count, only to find Sam was missing. All kids insisted on shutting the door, but Ella shook her head firmly. She rushed away toward the edge of the village with a torch to look for Sam. She swung it back and forth, until she reached the statue of her father.

The heavy fog blocked her path but she made her way into the woods.

The next day, we gathered at the statue again, Sam standing beside Ella.