The Voice Magazine recently had a chance to chat with Miss Patel, a 21-year-old university student currently living in Edmonton, Alberta. “Honestly, I am not happy with Edmonton because it’s too dead. No one socializes. Everybody likes to stay as it is. Personally, I haven’t found one person who likes to grow in their life. People in Edmonton seem to settle for whatever they get.”

When asked how she best studies, Miss Patel stated, “I was a kid who always took studies for granted. Till one day I realized it’s the most important thing. What keeps me motivated is my goal and the promises I have made to myself. I am completely focused on my career and studies, because believe it or not, hanging out with friends is a distraction.”

And her advice for new students? “Online universities and studies can be very overwhelming. You know, there is too much stuff out there. You may miss out on 90 percent of stuff you really need. But join online groups, call the student center and ask tons of questions. Go through every detail provided in the course. Make a schedule by what time you will finish the course.”

When not studying, Miss Patel is interested in “spirituality-gaining knowledge of nature, how to be the best version of yourself.” She continued, “I hit the gym quite often as well.”

When asked which famous person she would like to have lunch with and why, Miss Patel did not have any famous person in mind. She explained, “The respectful famous leads today were once a common man or woman. I would in fact love to just go on a special elite lunch with myself. I sit with myself and feel every emotion, making a list of my flaws and my positive characteristics. That way I am just getting a step forward of being a better human being. And who knows my betterment can lead me into being famous just like others!”

Two and a half millennia ago, Socrates complained that writing would harm students. With a way to store ideas permanently, they would no longer need to memorize. 【小题1】 Socrates didn’t have a stack of peer-reviewed science to make his case about the usefulness of learning concepts by heart.

Today a different debate is raging (蔓延) about the dangers of another technology — computers — and the typing people do on them. Primary-school pupils and PhD hopefuls are relying on computers to take notes and write papers. 【小题2】University professors also complain of distraction in classrooms, with students reading and messaging instead of listening to lectures.

A line of research shows the benefits of the “innovation” that predates computers: handwriting. 【小题3】The benefits of using a pen or pencil lie in how the motor and sensory memory of putting words on paper reinforces that material.

One of the best-demonstrated advantages of writing by hand seems to be in superior note-taking. Students typing on computers write down twice as many words and passages,suggesting they are not understanding so much when rapidly copying the material. 【小题4】It forces note-takers to synthesize (合成) ideas into their own words, which aids conceptual understanding at the moment of writing.

【小题5】About half the states in America have required more teaching of it. In Sweden there is a push for more handwriting and printed books and fewer devices. England’s national curriculum already prescribes teaching the basics of handwriting by age seven.

Socrates may or may not have had a point about the downsides of writing. But no one would remember, much less care, if his student Plato had not noted it down for later generations.

What is IQ—and how much does it matter? 【小题1】 In short, it is supposed to measure how well someone can use information and logic to answer questions or make predictions. IQ tests begin to assess this by measuring short- and long-term memory. They also measure how well people can solve puzzles and recall information they’ve heard—and how quickly.

【小题2】 But some students struggle in school because of a weakness in one specific area of intelligence. These students often benefit from special education programs. There, they get extra help in the areas where they’re struggling. IQ tests can help teachers figure out which students would benefit from such extra help.

IQ tests can also help identify students who would do well in fast-paced “gifted education” programs. 【小题3】 And the US government uses IQ tests when choosing who to hire. These tests help predict which people would make good leaders, or be better at certain specific skills.

【小题4】 Most non-experts think intelligence is the reason why successful people do so well. Psychologists who study intelligence find this is only partly true. IQ tests can predict how well people will do in particular situations, such as thinking abstractly in science, nearing or art. or lending teams of people. But there’s more to the story. Extraordinary achievement depends on many things. And those extra categories include ambition, persistence, opportunity the ability to think dearly—even luck. 【小题5】