Why do old people dislike new music? As I’ve grown older, I often hear people of my age say they just don’t like good music as they used to. Why does this happen? Luckily, psychology can give us some insights into this puzzle. Musical tastes begin to become clear as early as age 13 or 14. By the time we’re in our early 20s, these tastes get locked into place pretty firmly.

In fact, studies have found that by the time we turn 33, most of us have stopped listening to new music. Meanwhile, popular songs released when you’re in your early teens are likely to remain quite popular among your age group for the rest of your life.

There could be a biological explanation for this, as there’s evidence that the brain’s ability to make subtle distinctions between different chords, rhythms, and melodies weakens with age. So to older people, newer, less familiar songs might all “sound the same.”

But there are maybe some simpler reasons for older people’s dislike to newer music. One of the most researched laws of social psychology is something called the “mere exposure effect”, which in essence means that the more we’re exposed to something, the more we tend to like it. This happens with people we know, the advertisements we see and, the songs we listen to. When you’re in your early teens, you probably spend a fair amount of time listening to music or watching music videos. Your favorite songs and artists become familiar, comforting parts of your routine.

For many people over 30, job and family obligations increase, so there’s less time to spend discovering new music. Instead, many will simply listen to old, familiar favorites from that period of their lives when they had more free time.

Psychology research has shown that the emotions that we experience as teens seem more intense than those that come later. And we also know that intense emotions are associated with stronger memories and preferences. Both of these might explain why the songs we listen to during this period become so memorable and beloved.

So there’s nothing wrong with your parents because they don’t like your music. Rather it’s all part of the natural order of things.

Would you turn down the chance to become a smart cookie? We’ve been longing for quick fixes that could increase our intelligence (智力). Today, people’s hopes lie in brain training apps as a speedy “digital pill”. The more you play, the smarter you will get—or so some apps tell us. But is this digital-shortcut all that it seems to be?

The use of games for serious purposes has become widespread with the development of the Internet and smartphones. Brain training apps are typical, frequently featured by Apple and Google’s app stores. Many of such apps say that they are backed by “science”. Even if there were agreement around what makes general intelligence, the idea that increasing it would be as simple as practising a few mini-games every day goes against our current discovery about thinking and learning.

Several major studies, surveying users across a wide variety of apps, have found that they have little to no effect on users’ performance. A 2021 study by researchers discovered brain training has no significant effect on cognitive (认知的) functioning in the “real world”. The positive effects reported are limited to the very specific mini-games and tasks, such as memorizing lists of words or numbers, or performing mental calculation (心算). So, if your job or your calling in life needs summing quickly or remembering all your friends’ phone numbers, these apps will do. But if you are expecting them to improve your ability to write a novel or form a complex (复杂的) spreadsheet, you have to look elsewhere. Yet, despite the fact that they hardly work, brain training apps play a leading role, partly because they are regarded to be scientific and partly because users think they are fun.

As a co-creator of one of the most popular forms of gamification (游戏化) noted, what is especially disappointing about these apps is that they just aren’t that fun—at least, not compared with the various thoughtful board games and video games coming out every day. Puzzle video games, such as Baba Is You and detective games like Return of the Obra Dinn, see players apply their skill at reasoning, memory and concentration in a far more challenging and engaging (吸引人的) way.

If you aren’t into games, simply go for a walk or learn how to dance. They are likely to be more effective than a brain training app in sharpening your mind. These activities might not lead to an increased IQ, but they are sure to engage your brain deeply while having fun—something I can by no means say of brain training apps.

The idea of a “15-minute city,” in which residents can all reach work and leisure facilities within a quarter-hour walk of their homes, has gained significant popularity among urban planners during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, a group of architects are planning an even more ambitious neighborhood in South Korea’s capital, Seoul: a 10-minute city.

Named “Project H1,” the development is set to transform an old industrial site into an interconnected “smart” city. Combining eight residential buildings with co-working offices and study spaces, the 125-acre district is also set to house entertainment venues, fitness centers,swimming pools and even hydroponic urban farms.

Designed by Dutch architecture firm UN Studio and backed by Hyundai Development Company , the neighborhood will also be completely car-free. A press release for the project claimed that “all the conveniences of the city” will be within a 10-minute walk of people’s homes. The architects also said that clean energy will be generated on site,while systems to capture and store rain are being designed to reduce water use.

A spokesperson for UN Studio Moreno said, “The emergence of Covid-19 exposed the weakness of cities and the need for a radical re-thinking,where fresh measures need to be taken to ensure that urban residents are able to cope and continue with their basic activities, including cultural ones, to ensure that cities remain both resilient and livable in the short and long terms.”