When asked what he uses to write, to doodle, to take note, the AI poster boy, Sam Altman actually prefers the pen, even recommending several pens to a podcast host that interviewed him recently. Even though computer keyboards and tablets may dominate our lives, scientists are actually telling us not to write off pens and note pads just yet because the pen is still mightier than the keyboard . For one thing, tablets and notebook computers create ample opportunities to be distracted. How many of you will switch to FB, IG when you are in a dull lecture? Moreover taking notes by hand will slow down the process of note taking, which is what makes it more useful in the long run. People who take longhand notes have to be very selective since they can’t write down everything they heard, so that extra time of processing information is beneficial to your cognitive learning. You can remember conceptual information better. Therefore, students who take notes by hand tend to be able to retain more knowledge and perform better on exams than those who simply type in what they hear onto the keyboard because those working on paper have to execute the preliminary stage第一階段的of summarizing and comprehension. In contrast, those working on keyboard tend to just type in everything they heard without digesting first. Some neuroscientists even go as far to suggest that giving up writing may affect how next generation learns to read.

Have you heard of an exoplanet called HD 187933 b? Don’t worry if you haven’t**, **because neither have I. You might wonder what an exoplanet is. An exoplanet is a planet outside our solar system. HD 187933 b is very far away from us. In fact it will take 200,000 years to get there by rocket. To the human eye, this planet looks like Earth with its bright blue color, but it’s extremely inhospitable. First because of its close distance to its sun, the planet is scorching hot. And if you are caught in the rain, it will definitely kill you because when it rains, it’s not water. Instead, it’s liquid glass. To make the living condition even more dire is its wind blows up to seven times the speed of sound. And just when you think the situation cannot get any worse, here’s one more to the list. Recently astronomers figured out there’s hydrogen sulfide in its atmosphere, so the planet reeks of rotten egg stench.

Wi-Fi is now essential to every modern person’s life, but have you heard of Li-Fi. It’s been boasted as the new technology that could rock the world of the Internet. Li-Fi stands for light fidelity. Instead of using radio waves to transmit information like Wi-Fi, Li-Fi uses light waves, which makes the process faster and more secure. How does Li-Fi work? With this technology, your Internet would actually be transmitted through LED light bulbs, which would also provide the sources of light. So you basically kill two birds with one stone. Another advantage of Li-Fi is that it’s immune to occasional interference from other radio signals that can sometimes disrupt Wi-Fi. Naturally being man-made, it’s far from perfect. Unlike Wi-Fi, which can pass through walls, Li-Fi is limited to the room you are in because the devices have to be able to catch the light. Due to this limitation, it’s still too early to say whether it will replace Wi-Fi.

So not just young people in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan don’t want to have kids, so do those in the US. In fact, fertility rates are declining throughout the developed world, and the decline in the US actually accelerated after 2008. Last year, the fertility rate dipped to 1.6 births per 1,000 women, a historic low. One of the reasons is that young people want to reach a certain level of financial stability before starting a family. Unfortunately, this has become increasingly harder because of the rise of mortgage rates and childcare costs. Moreover many young people are growing more pessimistic about the future of the world due to climate change, gun violence, and the recent pandemic. According to one social scientist who has interviewed many young people, they view having children as a decision you can make when you are ready, so they are reluctant to enter parenthood if they can’t provide their children with what they think is necessary. So stop accusing them of being selfish when they say they don’t want or are not ready to have kids.

Being an avid reader, this tiny town is definitely my paradise, and on my bucket list to visit someday. Hobart, a small village with only 400 residents in New York state, has eight independent bookstores. One specializes in mysteries and science fiction. One caters to lovers of arts. It has attracted so many book lovers that it hosts several book festivals every year as well as some book sales events. The whole book trend began in 2002 when a lawyer named Diana Adams from Manhattan decided to open an antique bookstore which is now known for selling books published in 1850. She wanted to do this because this little town was having trouble attracting businesses even after a local entrepreneur offered to rent out his vacant storefront properties for a dollar a year. The idea came after she heard about this small town in Wales, which houses 20 bookstores despite its small population. No longer does Hobart have trouble luring visitors. In fact, it has become a destination of pilgrimage for readers and writers alike. So perhaps instead of going to one of those hot tourist spots which are always crowded and expensive, you can go to Hobart, where you can get a book and a cookie for only $2 and engage in stimulating conversations with fellow book lovers.

Isabella Ducrot doesn’t fit into your image of a young, struggling artist. In fact it wasn’t until 2019, at the age of 88, did her works become internationally recognized. Today this Italian widow is still discovering the joy of painting at the age of ninety-three. This summer a prestigious museum in France is hosting her first international solo museum show, calling her “a young artist with a young career”. Despite her late start, Ducrot is experiencing a full blossom of artistic productivity. Collectors of her works remark that her paintings exude this intense sense of play and discovery that one will never guess that it’s created by a ninety-one year old. Besides painting, she has also flourished as a writer of essays and short stories. Every morning between eight-thirty and ten-thirty she writes because that’s when she writes most intelligently. She began to study philosophy in earnest in her sixties by taking philosophy classes at a local university and working privately with scholars. Being very old has intensified her sense of present. If she has wisdom to offer, it has to do with living fully, even without a future. She said, “ because we are like prisoners in a jail, we know that there’s no tomorrow. This is an experience, to be so old.”

This summer, popular tourist spots are flooded with even more tourists. Many residents are fed up with the situation, and some of them have even taken their anger to the streets or out on innocent tourists, like what my previous episode said about Barcelona. The city government of Copenhagen is actually taking a different approach. As a saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them. And in Copenhagen’s case, they even went a step further. It decided to reward tourists who behave environmentally responsible. Beginning July this year, visitor who display climate-friendly behavior by participating in the city’s green initiative, such as cycling, traveling by train, will be granted access to museum tours, kayak rental, free meals and more. How does this new policy work? Well, for example, Copenhagen surf school will offer a free lunch to surfers who participate in 30 minutes of beach cleanup after finishing their surf course. The city hopes that other cities around the world will follow suit and come up with their own incentives to encourage more sustainable tourism behavior.

A group of seventh and eight graders in Pennsylvania set up fake TikTok accounts impersonating their teachers. In other words, they used their teachers’ names to create fake accounts, which they uploaded reels full of pedophilia hints, racist and homophobic memes as well as make-up sexual hookups among teachers. Hundreds of students viewed, followed, and commented on the fake accounts. The online harassment has made some teachers worry that social media platforms are turning students into young adults who show lack of empathy. Fearing that they might become the next victims, some teachers are hesitant to punish students who act up in class. Some teachers find the whole incident demoralizing. One teacher said that he had spent years building a reputation as a dedicated teacher, but an impersonator simply assassinated his character with few memes. One educators said that spending hours and hours on TikTok has desensitized (鈍化）the students to the fact that teachers are humans with feelings.

In October of 2023, some female high school students in New Jersey discovered that some boys at school used artificial intelligence software to fabricate some nude photos of them and started circulating those images online. The same event also happened to a group of high school girls living in Texas. This news is worrisome because it shows that you don’t have to be technically savvy to know how to create fake images that look very authentic and realistic. This technology is readily available for everyone. All users have to do is upload a photo to an app and ask AI to make a version where the subject of the image is naked. And once the photo is made, it can be spread like a wildfire on social media. What makes the victims and their parents even more upset is that school are not aggressively dealing with the problem. School spokespersons say that they have consulted the cases with local police and that schools are having difficulties dealing with challenges and impact that artificial intelligence and other latest technology that are available to teenagers at any time and anywhere present. Simply put, they don’t have any experience on how to deal with this phenomenon. I think this is a deeply traumatizing experience for the girls who are victims to deep fake nude because school is supposed to be this safe and protective environment where you go and learn and make friends. Instead you end up being victimized and humiliated.

In October of 2023, some female high school students in New Jersey discovered that some boys at school used artificial intelligence software to fabricate some nude photos of them and started circulating those images online. The same event also happened to a group of high school girls living in Texas. This news is worrisome because it shows that you don’t have to be technically savvy to know how to create fake images that look very authentic and realistic. This technology is readily available for everyone. All users have to do is upload a photo to an app and ask AI to make a version where the subject of the image is naked. And once the photo is made, it can be spread like a wildfire on social media. What makes the victims and their parents even more upset is that school are not aggressively dealing with the problem. School spokespersons say that they have consulted the cases with local police and that schools are having difficulties dealing with challenges and impact that artificial intelligence and other latest technology that are available to teenagers at any time and anywhere present. Simply put, they don’t have any experience on how to deal with this phenomenon. I think this is a deeply traumatizing experience for the girls who are victims to deep fake nude because school is supposed to be this safe and protective environment where you go and learn and make friends. Instead you end up being victimized and humiliated.