1 . Do you have an uncle believing vaccines cause autism (自闭症) but refusing to do further research? What about a friend avoiding information about factory animal farming so he can eat cheap meat guilt-free?

Each is an example of willful ignorance—the intentional act of avoiding information that reveals the negative consequences of one's actions. To find out why people engage in it, a team of researchers performed an analysis on the evidence of willful ignorance, comparing the results of 22 studies with over 6,000 participants.

Participants were randomly assigned the role of decision-makers or recipients (接受者). The decision-makers were given a choice: They could take a $ 5 or $ 6 payout. If they took $ 5, the recipient would also receive $ 5. If they took $ 6, the recipient would receive $ 1. Most decision-makers acted altruistically. They made a slight sacrifice to give the recipient more money. On average, only about a quarter of decision-makers acted selfishly.

In another study, the decision-makers could still choose between the $5 or $6 payouts, but they were not told what the recipient would receive. There was a 50-50 chance the recipient would receive $ 5 or $1. Importantly, the decision-makers could ask the researchers what payout the recipient would receive, and they could do so at no cost to themselves. 44% of decision-makers chose to remain willfully ignorant and took the selfish option.

The researchers assumed two potential motivations for willful ignorance. First, they thought willful ignorance may offer an excuse for not acting generously. If a person doesn't know the consequences of his actions, then he still can consider himself a morally honest individual even if he decides to act selfishly. Willful ignorance serves to protect his self-image.

The second potential motivation is “cognitive inattentiveness.” That is, people dislike thinking more than they have to. It may result from laziness, not paying attention, or not wanting to take the time to learn more. Whatever the case, they favor the quick-and-easy decision.

The researchers conclude “taken together, the evidence suggests ignorance is indeed in part ‘willful’ and driven by excuse-seeking and self-image maintenance motives.” Thanks to them, we are all a little less ignorant about ignorance.

2 . Be honest: how often does your social media scrolling lead to shopping? And how many of those things that TikTok made you buy did you actually need? Enter de-influencing, the TikTok trend flipping (颠覆) influencing on its head — and aiming to save our bank balances in the process.

De-influencing is the TikTok trend with hundreds of millions of views that’s challenging the hype (炒作) around so-called popular products by telling you what you shouldn’t buy, instead of what you should. It’s a response to a few different things, including a general feeling of overconsumption (you don’t need more stuff just because TikTok says you do) and the cost of living crisis.

It sounds progressive, but once you scratch the surface, there isn’t a huge difference between influencing and de-influencing. “De-influencing is a bit of a false product,” says Kendall. “It’s still influence but it’s telling people what not to buy.”While TikTokers may be warning consumers away from expensive or well-known products, some continue to influence by telling consumers what they should buy instead. For example, buying a heated roller set on Amazon over the Dyson Airwrap — this is still suggesting products with sweeping promises.

Ironically speaking, de-influencing is a good strategy for influencers and brands. Rising living costs mean consumers are less likely to spend a huge amount of money on big-ticket items, which means the influencers promoting them are less likely to generate income. Turning to promoting cheaper products plays into the so-called “Lipstick Effect,” where people treat themselves to little luxuries, instead of addictions, during times of economic uncertainty.

What is different about de-influencing is encouraging consumers to take a moment to think about whether they need a product and whether it’s right for them versus whether they’re simply being influenced because it’s new, popular, or exciting. This is part of a bigger movement in beauty. “There is also the reduction of regimens, the ingredient diet, the skin minimalism, and the stripping back of excess linked to sustainability and over-consumption,” says Kendall. “This is a positive approach to marketing.”

The National Healthcare Security Administration said on Monday that the coverage of China’s basic medical insurance is stabilized at over 95percent. It also said that the quality     1     the system had continuously improved.

Data from the administration show that from 2003 to 2023, the government’s     2     (contribute) to basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents rose faster than the personal part,     3     offers further support for low-income households and other people in need.     4     (specific), if an ordinary resident is insured continuously from 2003 to 2023, the individual contribution is 2,640 yuan (about 371. 9 U. S. dollars),     5     (account) for about 30 percent of the total insurance expenses.

Throughout the years, a total of 744     6     (drug) have been added into the medical insurance catalog, and more than 80 percent of innovative drugs can     7     (include) within two years after entering the market. Currently, the compensation rate for inpatient medical bills     8     (cover) by basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents is about 70 percent. In 2023, individuals     9     (pay) 349.7 billion yuan of the total insurance expenses of basic medical insurance for rural and non-working urban residents, while the government subsidy (补贴) was nearly 697.8 billion yuan. In this year’s government work report, the government committed to improve medical services with     10     patient-centered approach.

5 . A recent survey of British parents found that in all, 7% of respondents give their baby a made-up name and 65% are at least willing to consider such a move in new age.

A few examples of these new age baby names include Jaspin, Elisobelle, Wrenlow, and Maevery. Don’t see any names you like? How about Evabeth? Even if they themselves aren’t willing to choose such a name, a surprising 94% of respondents admit that made-up baby names are very much “in” these days.

Apparently, these parents believe they are helping their kids by selecting a rarer name. The survey noted that 72% of all respondents believe a unique name will help their child stand out from the crowd. Another 2% choose a made-up name for their baby with social media in mind, thinking a more unique name means their child’s social media account will be much easier for potential followers to find. But 16% also believe that a strange name may reflect poorly on the parents.

A popular strategy for parents to decide on a name is taking two names that both parents like, and combining them into one name（10%）. Another 9% combine the names of older relatives as a way to honor family. Similarly, many parents（30%） are drawing inspiration from popular movies and books.

However, the majority of surveyed parents（92%） at least admitted that giving their child an odd name is bound to result in a few drawbacks. For example, two-thirds worry that an odd name will be hard to spell and pronounce, and a third worry that their child’s teachers will judge them based on their unusual name. Of course, for those parents who are confident they’ve picked a winning made-up name, 13% actually worry about other parents stealing their child’s name.

6 . While Instagram’s impact on teenage girls’ body image made the news recently, few have thought about its effect on teenage boys and young men. The masculine (男子汉的) body ideal has become increasingly large and more muscular in recent years. Given these pressures, a third of teenage boys report trying to bulk up (增肌).

Social media use is linked to muscle and height dissatisfaction in young men. Boys using social media are more likely to think about using harmful muscle-enhancing products. The pressure to become muscular can lead to muscle dysmorphia (健身成瘾症), which is when individuals become absorbed in the idea that their bodies are too small and not muscular enough. Like common eating disorders among teenagers, muscle dysmorphia can significantly worsen a teen’s physical and mental health.

Because of social media, boys’ bodies are on display now more than ever, especially through influencers’ accounts. Compared to female selfies (自拍照) which are more likely to feature faces, male selfies are more likely to be full-body photos: An analysis of 1,000 male full-body Instagram posts showed that a majority portrayed muscularity, and that images featuring this body type received significantly more likes and comments. Boys who view or post content related to fitness or muscularity on social media are subsequently flooded with other images of bulking teens, leading to an unhealthy cycle of constantly comparing their body with others and possible social media addiction.

While lawmakers debate potential government regulation of social media, concerned parents can start having conversations with their teens and discourage content that makes teens feel worse about themselves. They can also help relieve social media addiction by encouraging their kids to turn off updates, by having social media-free time (such as during family meals) and by having teens keep phones away from their beds while sleeping. Boys suffering from body image anxiety often experience delays in diagnosis and treatment. Parents need to be aware that the negative impact of social media isn’t only impacting their daughters but their sons as well.

8 . When consuming information, we try to acquire more signals and less noise. We feel like the more information we consume the more signals we receive. While this is probably true on an absolute basis, Nassim Taleb argues in the book Antifragile that it is not true on a relative basis. As you consume more data and the ratio (比率) of noise to signals increases, you know less about what’s going on and you are likely to cause more unintentional trouble.

The supply of information to which we are exposed under modernity is transforming humans from a calm person to a neurotic (神经质的) one. For the purpose of our discussion, the first person only reacts to real information, and the second largely to noise. The difference between the two will show us the difference between noise and signals. Noise is what you are supposed to ignore; signals are what you need to heed.

In science, noise is a generalization beyond the actual sound to describe random information that is totally useless for any purpose, and that you need to clean up to make sense of what you are listening to. You can use and take advantage of noise and randomness, but noise and randomness can also use and take advantage of you, particularly with the data you get on the Internet or through other media. The more frequently you look at data, the more noise you are likely to get, and the higher the noise-to-signal ratio is.

Say you look at information on a yearly basis—the changes you see will all be large ones. The ratio of signals to noise is about one to one—this means that about half the changes are real improvements or degradations, and the other half come from randomness. But if you look at the very same data on a daily basis, the composition would change to 95 percent noise and 5 percent signals, and the changes you see daily will certainly be small.

9 . Nearly one-third of American adolescents and adults are affected by anxiety, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. In fact, over the last decade, anxiety has surpassed depression as the most common reason college students seek counseling (咨询) services, the New York Times reported. Sixty-two percent of undergraduates in survey reported “unbearable anxiety,” a significant increase from 50 percent in 2011.

Anxiety, along with depression, cuts across all demographics (人口统计数据), including both privileged and disadvantaged teenagers. But privileged teens are among the most emotionally upset youth in America, Arizona State University psychology professor Suniya Luthar told the New York Times.

“These kids are incredibly anxious and perfectionistic,” Suniya Luthar said, “there’s always one more activity, one more A. P. class, one more thing to do in order to get into a top college. Kids have a sense that they’re not measuring up. The pressure is never-ending and getting worse.” But helicopter parents aren’t always to blame. Many students internalize the anxiety and put the pressure on themselves, Madeline Levine, co-founder of Challenge Success, a nonprofit aimed at improving student well-being, told the Times.

Another expert, psychiatrist Stephanie Eken, said despite the cultural differences, there’s a lot of overlap among teens regarding what makes them anxious. Eken mentions factors range from school, family conflicts, what food to eat, diseases, how they’re perceived by friends and notably in the last few years, Eken told the Times, to a rising fear about terrorism. “They wonder about whether it’s safe to go to a movie theater,” she said.

A lack of close, meaningful relationships is also a major factor. Experts have long said mental and physical changes associated with puberty (青春期) may leave teens at higher risk for anxiety. And social media doesn’t help, Eken said, adding that teens are always comparing themselves with their friends, which leaves them miserable.

When Times reporter Benoit Denizet-Lewis visited Mountain Valley, a nonprofit that offers teens need-based assistance for $910 a day, a college student at the facility said, “I don’t think we realize how much it’s affecting our moods and personalities. Social media is a tool, but it’s become this thing that we can’t live without but that’s making us crazy.”

10 . Do you feel like there are too many things to do in a day, but not enough time to do them? If so, you’re experiencing what researchers call time poverty.

    1    . The standard reply to “How are you?” is often “I’m so busy!” Many people find it increasingly difficult to spare time to see friends, pursue a hobby, or take a vacation. Some people even take great pride in how busy they are because it’s become a status symbol.     2    . Fortunately, here are specific steps we can take to feel more time affluent (富足的) and more socially connected.

If you want a satisfying social life, buy time for it. You might pay to have a disliked housework done by others, get a direct flight instead of a cheaper one with a stopover, or pay extra to drive the fastest route home.     3    , like calling a friend or hanging out with your kids.

Another way to get more time is to give it away. In one study, researchers asked people to devote part of their Saturday morning to doing something for themselves that they weren’t already planning to do or doing something for someone else. The people who gave away their time later felt like they had more of it.     4    .

If you have too many things to do and not enough time to do them, try to cut back on some things.     5    . You can probably choose to slow down a little and make more time for casual chats with co-workers and unplanned get-togethers with friends.