Does work ever leave you feeling stuck in a boring way of life with limited opportunities to be creative? To thrive (成长), you might want to increase your brain’s flexibility. But is this even possible, and if so, how?

Most jobs require the ability to problem-solve and cope with challenges, at least to a certain extent. Imagine a teacher who has a new and very nervous student in their class. If that teacher is a flexible thinker, they will be able to adapt their classroom management, even if they haven’t seen this situation before. According to Leonard Mlodinow, author of Elastic, flexible thinkers rely on idea generation and imagination — they are willing to experiment and take risks. “Elastic (灵活的) thinking is what you need when the circumstances change, and you are dealing with something new. It’s not about following rules.” Therefore, instead of following the typical procedure for handing a new student, the teacher might come up with a tailored response, based on prediction and previous experience.

So, how can you become a more flexible thinker? According to Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, it’s all about exercising the brain. One way of doing this, she says, is through exposure to a variety of experiences which make it easier to adjust to new situations. A lot of companies now consider flexible thinking in the workplace, especially when it comes to design. Workspaces may have couches where workers can lie down and relax, giving them the space to come up with and process new ideas. Mlodinow says it’s very important to take time today dream, listen to ideas and concepts you disagree with and spend time doing activities outside of your comfort zone. This will help you understand multiple opinions and therefore blossom in many different aspects of your career.

In a word, if you want to make a change, you can become a flexible thinker too, with a little practice.

The amount of time you use on the Web may not only be affecting your sleep and how you communicate，it could also be influencing who you find attractive. Researchers have found that women who spend lots of time online prefer more masculine men，while men prefer more feminine，thinner women. The findings suggest that the Internet — most likely media portrayals（描绘）of certain“types” — is associated with what people think is attractive.

Psychologist Carlota Batres of the University of St Andrews，who led the study，said，“One possibility for the difference is the level of media exposure. People with Internet access are more exposed to the media，adverts or websites，which promotes the beauty ideals of masculine men and thin，feminine women.”

The researchers cited the Hollywood blockbuster movie，Noah，in which the male lead is played by the masculine actor Russell Crowe，and the female lead is played by the feminine，thin Jennifer Connelly.

The research was carried out in El Salvador，where the majority of people don't have access to the Internet.

The study asked participants to choose between pictures of people higher or lower in weight，or higher or lower in masculinity（男子气）and femininity（女子气质）. Researchers found there was no difference in the preferences of those with access to the Internet. They almost preferred the faces that the Internet might suggest are more“attractive”. However，non-Internet users found feminine men and masculine，heavier women more attractive. The study，published in the journal PLOS ONE，found people with Internet access were more likely to have a television in their home，which exposed them even further to the media through commercials，television shows，and movies.

Researchers attributed these findings to several explanations，including economic circumstances influencing perceived attractiveness.

Professor David Perrett, of the Perception Lab at University of St Andrews, said,“One possibility is that the toughness of the environment may influence face preferences. People without Internet in the El Salvador study had fewer resources — such as no running water — and such roughness may be responsible for what they find attractive. When income and access to food is uncertain, heavier women may be better equipped to survive and reproduce, and therefore preferences for heavier women could be adaptive. Our findings are consistent with previous literature that has found that heavier figures are considered more attractive in poorer and rural areas.”

Professor Batres added,“Our findings suggest that existing online studies may provide a distorted perspective of the populations in developing countries. Our data provide evidence that, even within a small country, sub-sectors of the population have different preferences. Future research should take this into account when studies are made in countries where a large portion of the population does not have Internet access.”

How can we keep safe personal information on our computers or cellphones? 【小题1】

View emails with a careful eye

It’s best to view all emails with care. Hackers (黑客) can make emails look like real company emails. 【小题2】 It’s best to search for the original source of the information, and try to find the direct link from the site instead of using the link provided in the email.

Use two-factor authentication (双重认证)

Two-factor authentication adds a second level of safety to an account. 【小题3】 It’s a safety option that requires a password as well as an additional piece of information only the user would know.

Update apps and operating systems

【小题4】 While these updates may appear to only change the way your phone’s software looks, they often come with safety improvements. There may be a bug (软件漏洞). Those bugs are discovered by cell providers or smartphone makers, so it’s a good idea to upgrade them.

【小题5】

It’s no surprise that changing your password has always been a basic form of protection. But what we pick as passwords and how we manage them are important. First, passwords should never include your personal information. So stay away from names and birthdates. Ideally, passwords are a combination of lowercase (小写) and uppercase (大写) letters and random characters. It could be a strong, long password that doesn’t have any personal information, making it harder to remember.