Decision—thinking is not unlike poker—it often matters not only what you think, but also what others think you think what you think they think you think. The mental process(过程) is similar. Naturally, this card game has often been of considerable interest to people who are, by any standards, good thinkers.

    The great mathematician John von Neumann was one of the founders of game theory. In particular, he showed that all games fall into two classes; there are what he called games of 'perfect information', games like chess where the players can't hide anything or play tricks; they don't win by chance, but by means of logic and skills. Then there are games of 'imperfect information', like poker, in which it is impossible to know in advance that one course of action is better than another.

    One mistaken idea about business is that it can be treated as a game of perfect information. Quite the reverse Business, life itself are games which we must normally play with very imperfect information. Business decisions are often made with many unknown and unknowable factors(因素), best poker players. But few business people find it comfortable to admit that they are taking a chance, and many still prefer to believe that they are playing chess, not poker.

    Paris is the city of dreams; the city of love. If you are thinking of heading to Paris for a study period, then perhaps a little reality check is in order. But my experience was a romantic one.

    I paved my path to Paris through an exchange program. On arrival in Paris, I was constantly reminded of the official processes I was required to complete — forms to be filled in, meetings to attend, the list seemed endless. Perhaps it was due to my well organizational habit, but somehow this endless list of to do's was completed in little more than a week.

    Then the real work began. Once classes were underway, I found myself volunteering to do oral presentations and assignments first, rather than last. This method turned out to be very helpful.

    Once I had finished class for the week, I had an ever-increasing list of museums to visit, neighborhoods to explore, cafés to sit in, and parks to run around. Read as many books about Paris as you can. Talk to as many locals and other foreigners living there as you can. The one thing that reading a book or talking to someone cannot do is to provide you with the experience of wandering Paris on foot. I discovered some of my favorite places in Paris by wandering. The people watching, the sounds of the city, the colors as the seasons change, they all add to the ecstasy that is experiencing Paris as an exchange student.

    After spending five months wandering through the charming neighborhoods, I fell in love with the atmosphere that came out from every open door, and with every spoken word. There is something comforting about walking to the market each Sunday to be faced with the beautiful display of fruits, vegetables and dairy products. There is warmth in saying bonjour to the man across the hall.

    On my last day in Paris, I confidently said, “Bonjour Monsieur,” as I passed the little store down the street. I guess no matter how hard I tried I was always going to be an outsider, a tourist. The best part about going on exchange in Paris is falling in love with the city in your own unique way. Everyone's experience of Paris is different. I know mine is unique and special to me, my own little pieces of Paris.

    Heat has been used to control hair for hundreds of years. But how much is too much? If you have ever opened a very hot oven, you know that heat can burn your eyebrows off your face very quickly. A scientist from Purdue University in Indiana is trying to find a scientific answer on how hot is too hot when it comes to your hair.

    Many women and some men are very particular about their hair. Some people who have naturally curly hair prefer to have it straightened. Others with straight hair want to have curls. Tahira Reid is one of those people. As an African-American woman, she is familiar with the challenges of maintaining (保养)curly hair.

    Tahira Reid and other researchers at Purdue University are studying how heat treatment interacts with different types of hair and how to prevent damage. Amy Marconnet is an assistant professor. She says the team is seeing how heat and temperature relate to their research.

    In a Purdue University's lab, team members designed a hair straightener tool —a flat iron with temperature control. They attached it to a robotic arm that moved over pieces of hair. They controlled the temperature while the device straightened hair.

    What did they find? Their study found that the heat weakens or breaks a protein called keratin, responsible for the hair's shape, and temporarily changes it. But nobody knows exactly what level can make the heat actually cause forever change. Researchers say early results are a bit inconclusive.

    It turns out that everyone's hair is different and there's no exact temperature where hair straightening becomes hair damage. Ms Reid says they will continue their research in the hope of finding what works best without damaging hair.

    Are your eyes irritated, dry, watery, blurry, seeing double or sensitive to light, and do your back and neck ache? If so, you are likely one of many people today who suffer from digital eyestrain, also called computer-vision syndrome.

    Eyestrain is often related to the amount of exposure to screens, the distance from eyes to screens and the use of multiple screens simultaneously. However, studies have also shown that the blue light produced by digital devices today reaches further into the eyes than other kinds of light. This light actually assists attention during the day but can result in interrupted sleep patterns at night.

    Scientists have also said that eyestrain is not a necessary evil, even in a modern world that revolves around technology. Changing some simple details about your relative position to screens, such as staying about 60 centimeters away, will help. Also, avoid overhead and other direct sources of light, and use shaded lamps and window blinds while looking at digital devices instead.

    Beyond the way that relates to digital screens, there are also ways to change how you view screens that are helpful in combating eyestrain. To begin with, your computer screen should be high-resolution(高清的), at least 50 centimeters wide diagonally and may require a screen filter to decrease reflections. Also, be aware that "computer glasses", which cut down glare and blue light, are available and those contact lenses can increase the risk of eyestrain.

    Besides, to reduce your risk for computer-vision syndrome and neck, back and shoulder pain, take frequent breaks during your computer workday. Many workers take only two 15-minute breaks from their computer throughout their day. According to a recent study, discomfort and eyestrain are significantly reduced when computer workers take four additional five-minute "mini-breaks" throughout their workday. And these additional breaks don't reduce the workers' productivity.

    Finally, many of us fall into bad habits while using digital screens that only worsen the effects of eyestrain. While viewing digital screens, many people blink one third less often than they usually do. Place a reminder on your computer to "blink" so that your eyes don't dry out. Also, rest your eyes' focusing muscles by using the 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, focus on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

    One day, on a small farm in Maine, a man sat in a barn watching a large grey spider spin a web. The man was E.B. White — or Andy, as he was called — who thought spiders were wonderful creatures. He thought that one day he might like to write a children's book about a spider.

    But writing was hard work for Andy. He had written many articles and essays and poems. He had also written one children's book, Stuart Little. But Andy could never just rush to turn an idea into an article or a book. He told his editor (编辑) that he needed to let his ideas ripen.

    So for years, Andy continued to think about writing a children's book about a spider. He did some of his best thinking while he wandered around his farm.

    Once while he was cleaning his barn, he found a spider's egg sac (卵囊). Andy wanted to see the eggs hatch. But he was scheduled to leave for a trip to New York City. So he found a small box and carefully placed the egg sacinside. When he got to his hotel, he put the box on the dresser. One morning he woke up, and there were hundreds of baby spiders rushing across the dresser!

    Years later, Andy finally began writing Charlotte's Web, the story of a spider named Charlotte and a pig named Wilbur. Andy created most of the book sitting by himself in the tiny boathouse of his farm.

    Sometimes he stopped writing and aimlessly drew pictures of spiders. Andy always said Charlotte's Web was more than just a children's story about animals. It was a timeless story about true friendship.

In the past decade ocean oxygen levels have taken a dive — an alarming trend that is linked to climate change, says Andreas Oschlies, an oceanographer at the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Germany, whose team tracks ocean oxygen levels worldwide. "We were surprised by the intensity of the changes we saw, how rapidly oxygen is going down in the ocean and how large the effects on marine ecosystems are," he says. It is no surprise to scientists that warming oceans are losing oxygen, but the scale of the drop calls for urgent attention. Oxygen levels in some tropical regions have dropped by an astonishing 40 percent in the last 50 years, some recent studies reveal. Levels have dropped less significantly elsewhere, with an average loss of 2 percent globally.

A warming ocean loses oxygen for two reasons; First, the warmer a liquid becomes, the less gas it can hold. That is why carbonated drinks(碳酸饮料) go flat faster when left in the sun. Second, as polar sea ice melts, it forms a layer of water above colder, more salty sea waters. This process creates a sort of lid that can keep currents from mixing surface water down to deeper depths. And because all oxygen enters the surface, less mixing means less of it at depth.

Ocean animals large and small, however, respond to even slight changes in oxygen by seeking refuge(避难所) in higher oxygen zones or by adjusting behavior, Oschlies and others in his field have found. These adjustments can expose animals to new predators or force them into food-scarce regions. Climate change already poses serious problems for marine life, such as ocean acidification, but deoxygenation is the most pressing issue facing sea animals today, Oschlies says. After all, he says, "they all have to breathe."

Aside from food web problems, animals face various other physiological challenges as their bodies adjust to lower oxygen levels. Chinese shrimp(虾) move their tails less vigorously to preserve energy in lower oxygen environments. Some creatures, such as jellyfishes, are more tolerant of low oxygen than others are. But all animals will feel the impact of deoxygenation because they all have evolved their oxygen capacity for a reason, says Oschlies. "Any drop in oxygen is going to damage survivability and performance," he says.