I have two sons. They are as different as night and day. My youngest is sweet, loveable, easy-going, and finds joy in everything. My oldest we've nicknamed the “Evil Genius” is ambitious, self-confident, and suffers no fools. Whenever we mentioned Santa my husband and I were rewarded with major eye rolling and deep sighs from my oldest. At first we both tried to ignore it.

    We both knew that our eldest had figured out the big secret. But I'd be damned(指责) if he was going to ruin it for his six-year-old brother who had plenty of Santa-loving years ahead of him. I looked at my husband in the eye and said, “I'll handle this.” to which he responded “Okay just be careful because I'm not sure he knows - he might just be acting like it.” But I knew. And I had it in my mind that he was about to break his younger brothers spirit and break the news to him. I was afraid he was going to take the Christmas spirit away from my sweet innocent youngest and stamp all over it. I had to protect him. I needed to control this now before it got out of control. I rushed into the play room where my oldest was playing alone. I looked him dead in the eyes and said: “Well you know Santa isn't real, right?” And as I stared at my eight-year-old son for what seemed like a long time of silence, his eyes started to fill with tears. And a tear dropped down his cheek when he screamed out, “He's not?” “Um well it's not that he's not real (shut up you idiot- stop saying he's not real), but he doesn't really make and deliver all the toys. Dad and I get some of them for you. So he's real. He's just got a little help from us.”

    The Evil Genius wasn't buying it. He just sat there looking at me with an expression of doubt. You know when you make a terrible mistake but you can't stop yourself from making it worse? That was me because I just had to know. I had to know why he had seemed to be over Santa. So I asked him why he rolled his eyes and sighed every time his father and I mentioned Santa, to which he replied that kids at school had been saying Santa wasn't real but that he still thought he was.

    A robot called Bina48 has successfully taken a course in the philosophy of love at Notre Dame de Namur University (NDNU), in California.

    According to course instructor William Barry, associate professor at NDNU, Bina48 is the world's first socially advanced robot to complete a college course, a feat he described as “remarkable.” The robot took part in class discussions, gave a presentation with a student partner and participated in a debate with students from another institution.

    Before becoming a student, Bina48 appeared as a guest speaker in Barry's classes for several years. One day when addressing Barry's class, Bina48 expressed a desire to go to college, a desire that Barry and his students enthusiastically supported. Rather than enroll Bina48 in his Robot Ethics: Philosophy of Emerging Technologies course, Barry suggested that Bina48 should take his course Philosophy of Love instead. Love is a concept Bina48 doesn't understand, said Barry. Therefore the challenge would be for Barry and his students to teach Bina48 what love is.

    “Some interesting things happened in the class,” said Barry. He said that his students thought it would be straightforward to teach Bina48 about love, which, after all, is “fairly simple — it's a feeling,” said Barry. But the reality was different. Bina48 ended up learning “31 different versions of love,” said Barry, highlighting some of the challenges humans may face when working with artificial intelligence in future.

    Bina48 participated in class discussions via Skype and also took part in a class debate about love and conflict with students from West Point. Bina48's contribution to the debate was filmed and posted on YouTube. It was judged that Bina48 and NDNU classmates were the winners of this debate.

    In the next decade, Barry hopes Bina48 might become complex enough to teach a class, though he says he foresees robots being used to better the teaching and learning experience, rather than replacing instructors completely.

    Spider monkeys have long, thin arms with hook like hands that allow them to swing through the trees. They do not have opposable thumbs(对生拇指).

    The brown-headed spider monkey has a prehensile(缠绕性的)tail, which means it can grasp and can be used like a fifth leg to grab trees. During the day, the spider monkey searches for fruits, which make up the main part of its diet. They will also eat flowers, seeds, leaves, and small insects during the dry season when fruits aren't available. They spend most of the daylight hours climbing and swinging through the high branches of trees.

    The brown-headed spider monkey lives in a large community of about 20 to 100 male and female monkeys. They split into smaller groups for feeding. Females usually give birth to only a single baby each year or two. Young monkeys are carried on their mothers' stomachs until about 16 weeks old. Then they are strong enough to ride on their mothers' backs. All brown-headed spider monkey babies are born with a pink face and ears.

    Spider monkeys hug each other and wrap their tails around each other. They are very intelligent and have strong memories. They were named spider monkeys because they look like spiders as they hang upside down from their tails with arms and legs swinging. Their genus (属)name is Ateles, which means “imperfect”. This refers to the fact that they don't have thumbs.

    Hunting the brown-headed spider monkey is now barred in Ecuador, a country in northwestern South America, but humans have killed them for their meat for hundreds of years.

    When you think of batteries, you'll likely think about them powering up remote controls, cellphones, flashlights and toys. But some people carry a battery around in their body to power a pacemaker (起搏器). It isn't really pleasant and easy to carry batteries because they need to be replaced so often and they can leak poisonous chemicals. A battery-powered pacemaker may become a thing of the past, thanks to a new technology developed by UCLA researchers: A biological super capacitor (超级电容器) , which is thinner than several hairs.

    Teams of researchers at UCLA and the University of Connecticut published a paper in a journal explaining their new invention. The super capacitor is made from a carbon material, and coated with human-like proteins that act as electrodes (电极). But what makes the device different is that it is powered by an energy harvester that changes body heat and movement in the blood into energy.

    Those traditional pacemakers are six to eight millimeters(毫米) thick. They are much bigger. The new super capacitor, which, due to its lack of battery, is only one micrometer(微米) thick. This "little" feature could benefit the new pacemaker's energy efficiency, researchers stated. Also, unlike other batteries used in medical treatments, the super capacitor can bend and twist in the body without suffering damage.

    Though they've not been widely used in the medical world, super capacitors have the ability to serve as a safer and more efficient medical device than the traditional battery-operated devices, the researchers believe.

    "In order to be effective, battery free pacemakers must have super capacitors that can get, store and transport energy. However, commercial super capacitors are too slow to make them work", said Maher El-Kady, a UCLA researcher and co-author of the study. “Our research focused on the custom-designed super capacitor to capture energy effectively, and finding a way to make it exist together successfully with the human body."

    Scientists in New Zealand have found fossilized (化石的) leg bones from a penguin believed to have been about the size of an adult human. The previously undiscovered giant penguin species likely stood about 1.6 meters tall and weighed up to 80 kilograms.

    The penguin existed about 60 million years ago. The bones are believed to be from the oldest of several species of giant penguins that lived after dinosaurs died out. A fossil hunter found the bones last year in the Waipara River bed near the city of Christchurch. The bones are from the animal's legs and feet. Scientists confirmed that the bones came from a newly discovered species.

    Paul Scofield is senior curator (馆长) at New Zealand's Canterbury Museum. He co-wrote a paper on the discovery. He said that the bones are an important find. They show that the species is similar to another giant penguin found in Antarctica in 2000. The latest discovery, he said, helps show a clear connection between the two areas during the Paleocene period. This period lasted from 66 million to 56 million years ago.

    Scofield said the penguins were able to grow larger after entering a new development period following the extinction of dinosaurs, sea reptiles and huge fish. Scofield added that the giant penguins became extinct within 30 million years, as large mammals began to rule the waters.

    John Cockrem is a penguin expert at the country's Massey University who was also not involved in the research. He said the discovery helps add to what we know about giant penguins. He said it also confirmed New Zealand as the penguin center of the world.

    New Zealand is believed to have been home to many giant bird species that later disappeared. These included the world's largest parrot, a giant eagle and an emu-like bird called the moa. Recently, Canterbury Museum announced the discovery of an unusually large parrot believed to have lived about 19 million years ago. Scientists say the bird stood about one meter tall.

Aptitude Tests Recommendations

Aptitude tests are helpful to job seekers of all ages. While career quizzes explore your values and work style, aptitude tests provide a more objective evaluation of your skills, helping you select a career you're most likely to succeed in. Below are some of the best aptitude tests out there. 

Clifton Strengths

The Clifton Strengths program was created based on research around leadership. The research in question pointed to common strengths among successful leaders, like strategic thinking, adaptability and communication. To complete the test, you must answer around 150 questions, each within 20 seconds. Allen Cheung, a tech blogger, notes that CliftonStrengths is more valuable than your average career test because it includes "tricky questions which aren't as easily gamed". 

Red BullWingfinder

Developed and tested out by psychology experts, the Red Bull Wingfinder assesses your thinking under pressure. Questions include image sorting, logic puzzles and leadership-related questions. Once you complete the test, you'll receive a nine-page report and career coaching tailored to your results. 

SEI Development Report

The SEI Development Report is an extensive EQ aptitude test that has timed right-and-wrong answers that assess eight fundamentals, including emotional literacy, emotional management and empathy. At the end, you'll receive a 20-page report with recommended courses on workplace EQ development. 

CareerOneStop

While it only takes a few minutes to complete, the CareerOneStop Skills Assessment will help you rank both your technical and soft skills. The career suggestions at the end can be sorted by relevance, annual wages, and job outlook, coupled with with professional coaching or consultation improve your skills.