The human brain contains 10 thousand million cells and each of these may have a thousand connections. Such enormous numbers used to discourage us and cause us to dismiss the possibility of making a machine with human-like ability, but now that we have grown used to moving forward at such a pace we can be less sure. Quite soon, in only 10 or 20 years perhaps, we will be able to assemble a machine as complex as the human brain, and if we can we will. It may then take us a long time to render it intelligent by loading in the right software (软件)or by altering the architecture but that too will happen.

    I think it certain that in decades, not centuries, machines of silicon (硅) will arise first to compete and then do better than their human ancestors. Once they do better than us they will be capable of their own design. In a real sense they will be able to reproduce themselves. Silicon will have ended carbon's long control. And we will no longer be able to claim ourselves to be the finest intelligence in the known universe.

    As the intelligence of robots increases to match that of humans and as their cost declines through economies of scale we may use them to improve environments. Thus, deserts may bloom and the ocean beds be mined. Further ahead, by a combination of the great wealth this new age will bring and the technology it will provide, the construction of a vast, man-created world in space, home to thousands or millions of people, will be within our power.

How to Be a Winner

    Sir Steven Redgrave

    Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals

    "In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病). Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it -- the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn't difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way."

    Karen Pickering

    Swimming World Champion

"I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success—you can't follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you'll be a step closer to achieving them."

    Kirsten Best

    Poet & Writer

    "When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can't achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as 'calm', 'peace' or 'focus', either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool"

    Humans make mistakes. Even surgeons with years of experience are not infallible. But what if these doctors could pool their knowledge and experience together and create a surgical standard of care, to be carried out by machines?

    That's the idea behind surgical robots, which may soon perform most surgeries, from sewing up tiny wounds to performing heart procedures. Many of these operations are, in fact, already completed with the assistance of robots. But a recent test suggests that robots in the operating room may soon go a step further, performing on soft tissue completely on their own, from start to finish.

    The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot（STAR）, successfully completed surgeries on pigs. "We're the first group to develop autonomous robotic surgery with soft-tissue surgery, and when compared to standard operation, it's better, "says Peter Kim, professor of surgery. "The idea is not to replace surgeons；it will make the surgeons better and make the procedures safer. "

    A recent Mayo Clinic study found that major surgical errors-including operating on the wrong site or side of the body, or even leaving tools or objects inside the patient-occur every one out of 22, 000 procedures. That's rare, but robots like STAR would aim to lower the number even further.

    In the da Vinci surgical system, surgeons place their arms inside instruments and use their hands to control the movement of robotic tools on the operating table from afar. The robot's every major move is controlled by surgeons, and thus its results may vary based on the surgeon's training or experience.

    STAR, on the other hand, is entirely autonomous. It's not only able to work on its own and perform surgeries with a more flexible "hand", but it's able to react to the unexpected incidents. Cutting into hard tissue like bones is one thing, but operating on moving soft tissue is far more complex. STAR reacts to a changing environment, similar to how self-driving cars are programmed to not only drive on the highway, but also react to another driver making a mistake and getting in your way.

    I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone; in the other a toy. I listened as she was speaking to her make-believe little friend and I'll never forget the words she said, even though it was imagined.

    She said, "Suzie's in the corner because she's not been very good. She didn't listen to a word I said or do the things she should." In the corner I saw her baby doll well dressed. It was obvious that she'd been put there to sit alone and think.

    My daughter continued her "conversation", as I sat down on the floor. She said, "I'm all fed up and I just don't know what to do with her any more. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games too. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot reach... And she doesn't know how to fold towels. I don't have the time to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don't have the time to sit and play - don't you know what I mean?"

    And that day I thought a lot about making some changes in my life, after listening to her innocent words cut me like a knife. I hadn't been paying enough attention to what I hold most dear. I'd been caught up in responsibilities that increased throughout the years.

    But now my attitude has changed because in my heart I realize that I've seen the world in a different light through my little darling's eyes. So let the cobwebs (蜘蛛网) cut the corners and the dust bunny rabbit rule the floor. I'm not going to worry about keeping up with them any more.

    I'm going to fill the house with memories of a child and her mother, for we have only one childhood and we will never get another.

Every four or five years, vast quantities of warm water build up along the west coast of South America. This phenomenon, El Nino, creates storms that cause destructive floods. The result is costly.

Modern farmers come to terms with El Nino. They use money saved in good years to rebuild in bad ones. But history suggests it need not be like that. In a paper published recently, Ari Caramanica, an archaeologist at University of the Pacific, in Lima, shows how it used to be done. And the answer seems to be, "better".

Dr Caramanica and her colleagues have been studying the Pampa de Mocan, a coastal desert plain in northern Peru. Pampa de Mocan is not suitable for farming. Its soil contains little organic matter and the annual rainfall in non-Nino years is usually less than two centimeters. Today's farmers therefore depend on canals to carry water from local rivers to their fields.

It had been assumed that ancient farmers had a similar arrangement — and so they did. But Dr Caramanica also found eight canals that could carry water far beyond the range of modern farms. She thinks that they were intended to guide the floodwaters arriving during Nino years. Around a quarter of the ancient agricultural infrastructure of this area seems to have been built only for managing Nino-generated floodwaters.

Evidence from pollen supports this theory, revealing that Pampa de Mocan produced lots of crops in some years, while remaining nearly barren in others. The team also uncovered two cisterns in the area serviced by the extended canals. These, probably, were used to store extra flood-water.

These findings suggest that, rather than resisting El Nino, early farmers in Pampa de Mocan were ready to make use of it when it arrived. Modern farmers might do well to learn from them.

Students from Oceanside High School in Rockland will be able to sleep in a little longer from this autumn.

Regional School Unit 13 Superintendent (负责人) Lew Collins said during the school's Thursday night meeting that the schedule (时间表) for the schools will be changed. Oceanside East and West will start a half hour later, at 8 a.m. for their new school year.

Research has shown that teenagers' brains are often not fully awake at 6:30 a.m. Collins said the schedule, which is used to get students to school for classes that begin at 7:30 a.m., calls for some to get on buses before 6 a.m. to get to school on time. Teachers are having meetings at 6:40 a.m., which is too early, he thinks.

Collins visited the high schools in Rockland and asked students when they would like classes to begin. Most of them said 8:00 a.m. "I was surprised. I thought they would have said 9:00 or 10:00," he said.

The National Sleep Foundation says on its website that teenagers' biological clocks (生物钟) are designed to stay up later and get up later. The Foundation called for schools to change their schedules, which means a later start as well for elementary students (小学生).

We do not have enough buses to run, since all the high school and elementary school buses run almost at the same time, Collins said. He suggested, "We should buy six more buses and get six more drivers to keep the new schedule working."

Elementary school classes in Rockland now start at 8:30 a.m., but will be moved to 8:45 a.m., starting in the autumn. "I know this is a problem for working parents, but we will see what we can come up with," said Jane Brown, a teacher at Bardonia Elementary School. "Anyway, I believe if students get more sleep they'll be more ready to learn when classes start," she added.