Strings of letters have recently been flooding the Chinese Internet. Netizens have embraced the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) personality test, using its distinctive combinations of letters to define and classify themselves and others, sparking the formation of active online communities. Initially designed as a self-assessment tool to outline personality types and preferences, the MBTI has found enormous popularity in China.

The MBTI categorizes individuals using four pairs of characteristics: introversion (I) (内向) or extroversion (E) (外向), sensing (S) or intuition (N), thinking (T) or feeling (F), and judging (J) or perceiving (P). This leads to distinct four-letter combinations, like “ISTJ” or “INFP.” The values “E” and “I” have especially attracted public interest. Those who exhibit extroversion (E) characteristics are now humorously described as outgoing, talkative, wild, and socially skilled. They are often playfully called “social gangsters” due to their strong social skills. In contrast, those with introversion (I) are shown as quiet, reserved, reflective, and socially anxious.

Among the playful teasing, these eight seemingly simple letters have promoted deeper self-awareness and even developed a sense of friendship on social media platforms. Individuals discover their strengths and humorously acknowledge their odd behavior. This newfound self-awareness not only aids in understanding their fundamental values but also offers a way to deal with the common unease that bothers today’s youth. Many find comfort in thinking, “My ongoing anxiety, over-sensitivity, and self-doubt come from being an INFP. Such characteristics are typical for this personality type; thus, I’m perfectly normal.”

Netizens often humorously note: “In everyday life, during social events, I switch between introversion and extroversion. At work, I initially act extroverted but gradually become more introverted. When I see someone I like, I’m extroverted in my head but in reality, I’m all introverted. Haidilao Hotpot restaurants, known for their fancy birthday celebrations, sometimes make customers feel awkward. Their typical birthday song goes, “Say goodbye to all worries, and embrace all joys.” It’s a show meant for the extra-social. So, if an extrovert is invited to such a celebration, they might humorously exclaim, “I can’t take it! I’ve become introverted in the face of even more extroverted individuals.”

Do you get nervous thinking about geometry, equations (方程式) or a coming math test? If your answer is “yes”, you are far from alone. Math anxiety has become a common psychological (心理的) condition among students around the world. Students in countries with higher levels of math anxiety tend to achieve lower math grades, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Feb. 15.

Math anxiety-a negative emotional reaction to the core subject — causes fear, physical suffering and behavior problems among young pupils, according to a University of Cambridge study. In ordinary life, many people experience some degree of discomfort when meeting with a math problem, ranging from mild tension to strong fear.

Some people also experience physical symptoms such as sweaty palms or a racing heart. They may then try to avoid every situation involving numbers, meaning they are held back from pursuing careers related to this subject, such as science, technology or engineering, according to The Guardian.

Reassurance (慰藉) comes from the fact that those with math anxiety aren’t destined (注定的) to be bad at math. “If a child has math anxiety, don’t assume that they’re not good at math. They may have had a really bad experience with math and there are ways to improve math achievement,” Daniel Ansari, the senior author of the study told The London Free Press. “Students with math anxiety are not cognitively (认知地) disadvantaged.”

Also, there are ways to manage your stress related to math. If you’re feeling stressed before a math exam, it may help to spend a few minutes exploring those feelings before the exam begins. “It’s about making sure you’re interpreting your feelings correctly,” Sian Beilock, a cognitive scientist in the US told the BBC. “Just because you have a fast heartbeat and sweaty palms, that does not necessarily mean you will fail.”

A little math anxiety could be taken as a positive challenge to overcome. Just like many people get stage fright before delivering a speech, this nervous energy can help to motivate, according to Ian Lyons, a psychologist at Georgetown University in the US.

New research indicates that a person's neighborhood may play a large role in influencing decisions to commute by bike. The study, published recently in the Journal of Transport and Land Use, could give city planners new ideas about how to design neighborhoods, streets and bike paths with active commuting in mind, said Yuiin Park, lead author of the study.

The study was based on a survey of 1, 200 people who commuted to The Ohio State University. About 12.6 percent of those people classified themselves as bicyclists, and about 5.4 percent reported that a bicycle was their main choice of transportation to campus. People, who lived in high-density areas were more than twice as likely to commute by bike as people in medium-density areas and more than three times as likely to commute by bike as people in suburban areas.

Both bicyclists and non-bicyclists in the survey agreed that bicycling was environmentally friendly,created health benefits and would save money. It indicates that recognizing the benefits of bicycling is not enough to push non-bicyclists to start commuting on two wheels. However, most bicyclists surveyed said they would commute by bike more frequently if they had access to more bike' paths, bike-sharing opportunities and covered parking for their bikes. Non-bicyclists who lived in high-density neighborhoods appeared to be more concerned about safety-both from other vehicles and from crime-when traveling by bike than their friends who commute by bike.

Park finally said that the conditional willingness to ride a bicycle to commute gradually decreases from high-density neighborhoods to low-density, single-family neighborhoods. She also said that if campus, city and regional planners want to increase the percentage of people commuting by bike, they might want to target public investment in protected bike paths and bike parking near downtown and campus areas.