The Science of Risk-Seeking

Sometimes We decide that a little unnecessary danger is worth it because when we weigh the risk and the reward, the risk seems worth tasking. 【小题1】 Some of us enjoy activities that would surprise and scare the rest of us. Why? Experts say it may have to do with how our brains work.

The reason why any of us take any risks at all might have to do with early humans. Risk-takers were better at hunting, fighting, or exploring. 【小题2】. As the quality of Risk-taking was passed from on ration to the next, humans ended up with a sense of adventure and a tolerance for risk.

So why aren’t we all jumping out of airplanes then? Well, even 200, 000 years ago, too much risk-taking could get one Killed. A few daring survived, though, along with a few stay-in-the-cave types. As a result, humans developed a range of character types that still exists today. So maybe you love car racing, or maybe you hate it. 【小题3】. No matter where you are on the risk-seeking range, scientists say that your Willingness to take risks increases during your teenage years. This is when you start to move away from your family and into the bigger world. To help you do that, your brain increases your hunger for new experiences. New experiences often mean taking some risks, so your brain raises your tolerance for risk as well.

【小题4】. For the risk-seekers a part of the brain related to pleasure becomes active, while for the rest of us, a part of the brain related to fear becomes active.

As experts continue to study the science of risk-seeking, we’ll continue to hit the mountains, the waves or the shallow end of the pool.

The secrets of dreaming are always interesting psychologists. It is generally acknowledged in the field that dreams people have during this time between childhood and full adulthood, that’s around 30, are the strongest and most influential. Yet not enough is known about the repeated patterns of dreaming. Researchers are still trying to answer a basic question: How does dreaming relate to the life experiences and developmental challenges?

G. William Domhoff and Adam Schneider, at the University of California, help to answer this question by examining the lengthy dream series of two individuals, “Izzy” and “Jasmine”. Izzy provided a collection of 4, 329 dream reports from between the ages of 12 and 25, while Jasmine provided 664 dreams recorded between the ages of 14 and 25.

Large collections of dreams like these pose challenges to researchers. Until recently, the means of studying dream series was to employ a team of recorders who take the time to code each dream for a predetermined(预先确定的)number of content categories, and then compare their results. Nowadays, digital technologies enable the analysis of language usage in dreams with high speed, accuracy, and objectivity. This marks a revolutionary advance in the science of dreaming. However, it can only lead so far.

To gain more specific and detailed insights, Domhoff and Schneider tailored word strings(词串)for each dreamer, mixing elements of traditional research with digital tools for analyzing large data sets. For Izzy these word strings included “family and relatives”, “celebrities” and “fantasy”, while the word strings they created for Jasmine included “familiar places,” electrical equipment” and “music”. The researchers used these word strings to identify connections between their dreams and real lives. Surprisingly, the results of the analysis revealed a great deal of consistency(一致性)and continuity in both sets of dreams. Izzy pays much attention to pop culture, and has affection for famous actors. Jasmine is an accomplished musician and performer.

“The frequencies of dream elements show the intensity(强度)of the dreamer’s personal concern with that element in waking thought,” Domhoff and Schneider conclude. For anyone who still claims dreaming is merely random nonsense from the brain and mental world, these findings are hard to explain away.

October 15th is the Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than 20 countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap. For example, donators will give 150,000 bars of soap to schools in Ethiopia.

Experts say people around the world wash their hands every day, but very few use soap at so-called important moments. These include after using the toilet, after cleaning a baby and before touching food.

Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap. Partners include the United Nations Children’s Fund, American government agencies, the World Bank and soap makers Unlever and Procter and Gamble. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing bacterium. They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub (揉搓) it into all areas, including under the fingernails. Rub for at least twenty seconds. Then rinse well under running water. Finally, dry your hands with a clean cloth or wave them in the air.

The Partnership for Handwashing says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend in washing hands. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the bacterium. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell. The Partnership for Handwashing also says washing with soap before eating or after using the toilet could save more lives than any vaccine(疫苗) or medicine. Hand washing could also prevent the spread of other diseases. When people get bacterium on their hands, they can infect (感染) themselves by touching their eyes, noses or mouths. Then they can infect others.