The online economy—from search to email to social media—is built in large part on the fact that consumers are willing to give away their data in exchange for products that are free and easy to use. The assumption behind this trade-off is that without giving up all that data, those products either couldn't be so good or would have to come at a cost.

    But a new working paper, released this week by Lesley Chiou of Occidental College and Catherine Tucker of MIT, suggests that the trade-off may not always be necessary. By studying the effects of privacy regulations in the EU, they attempted to measure whether the anonymization(匿名化) of search data hurts the quality of search results.

    Most search engines capture user data, including IP addresses and other data that can identify a user across multiple visits. This data allows them search companies to improve their algorithms(算法) and to personalize results for the user. At least, that's the idea. To determine whether storage of users' personal data improves search results, Chiou and Tucker looked at how search results from Bring and Yahoo differed before and after changes in the European Commission's rules on data retention(数据保存). In 2008 the Commission recommended that search engines reduce the period over which search engines kept user records. In response, Yahoo decided to strengthen its privacy policy by anonymizing user data after 90 days. In 2010 Microsoft changed its policy, and began deleting IP addresses associated with searches on Bring after six months and all data points intended to identify a user across visits after 18 months. In 2011 Yahoo changed its policy again, this time deciding to store personal data longer—for 18 months rather than 90 days—allowing the researchers yet another chance to measure how changes in data storage affected search results.

    The researchers then looked at data from UK residents' web history before and after the changes. To measure search quality, they looked at the number of repeated searches, a signal of dissatisfaction with search results. In all three cases, they found no statistically significant effect on search result quality following changes in data retention policy. In other words, the decision to anonymize the data didn't appear to impair the search experience. “Our results suggest that the costs of privacy may be lower than currently perceived,” the authors write, though they note that previous studies have come to different conclusions.

    Do you ever wonder why trees begin to bud (发芽) earlier in some cities? Scientists finally found the answer but it's not very pleasant. New science suggests a relationship between light pollution and the timing when trees produce buds, which signals the arrival of the spring season.

    Light pollution is defined by the Lighting Research Center as the unwanted consequence of outdoor lighting such as street lights. Excessive (过多的) man-made light at night results in disturbed natural cycles, and also prevents the observation of stars and planets at night. But its effect on the environment goes beyond that.

    By studying some trees, researchers found out that trees that are more exposed to artificial lighting at night bud up to 7.5 days earlier than those at the natural nighttime setting. And they found out that light had a more significant effect than temperature when the buds came out. The early budding may cause problems for insects, which feed on leaves, and the birds which then feed on them in turn. Professor Richard, who helped lead the research, explained that more than the budding of trees, the study implies the danger to the balance of the ecosystem. “At the moment, caterpillars (毛毛虫) are timed to hatch to make the most of the opportunities to feed on freshly budded leaves, and birds hatch in time to feed on the young caterpillar,” he said.

    Migratory (迁徙的) birds are also negatively affected by light pollution. The glare might confuse them and make them lose their flying sense. The phenomenon might explain why some birds accidentally knock into buildings.

    Such results stress the need to pursue studies that aim to measure the effect of light pollution. If the issue were left to continue, it is estimated that by 2100, spring would begin almost a full month earlier than it does today.

Hot Spots for Retirees to Start Their Encore Career

    Encore Career: Vocational School Instructor

    Retire in: Los Angeles, CA

    Ever since IBM CEO Ginni Rometty coined the term "new collar" to describe well-paid jobs that require specific skills but not necessarily a degree, vocational schools have made a serious comeback. Apparently instructors are in short supply in sunny L.A., where there are 13 jobs at vocational schools for every applicant on the market. This is a great opportunity for skilled retirees since, unlike teaching at a public school that requires a state certificate, the only requirement here is that you be a seasoned expert in your field.

    Encore Career: Business Consultant

    Retire in: Miami, FL

    Consulting is a great option for a retired business professional looking to make their own hours, be their own boss, and earn as much or as little as needed to maintain their standard of living. For every consultant in Miami right now there are 13 businesses hoping to hire them. There's even greater demand here than in Washington D.C., which is typically considered the consulting capital of the world.

    Encore Career: Tourist Wrangler

    Retire in: Austin, TX

    As the economy continues to boom and more Americans have extra income to spend, the tourism industry has taken off. This is particularly true in Austin, TX, where there were astonishing 36 tourism jobs for every applicant in July. Between four-star hotels, the noisy rock n' roll scene, and a new food culture, Austin is the place to be if you want to work in service industry.

    Encore Career: Supporter of the Arts

    Retire in: Charleston, SC

    If you're a Baby Boomer with a degree in the arts, now could be the perfect time to revisit your passion for creativity, especially if you also want to live in the center of southern charm. Between the 14 art galleries on King Street in Old Town, an abundance of acting companies and theaters, and music festivals, it's not surprising there were 25 jobs for every arty applicant iii Charleston.

London Underground

    The world's first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time, the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease(减轻) the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems, the idea of the London Underground, the first subway system, was born.

    The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays, but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot(煤灰), as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems, riding in the Underground did catch on. It carried 9 million riders in its first year.

    Many people criticize today's newspapers as sensationalist, satisfying the public's abnormal curiosity. But journalism a century ago was just as notorious (臭名昭著). Publishers at that time routinely competed with each other for wild stories that could draw in the most readers. Meanwhile, it was an ideal atmosphere for a courageous reporter like Nellie Bly to spring into fame.

    Bly, whose name was Elizabeth Corcoran, had to work to make her way in the world. Different from many women of the time, however, she refused to let the working world scare her away. Her first big opportunity as a reporter came in 1885 after she wrote an angry letter denouncing the Pittsburgh Dispatch for an article it had run criticizing women forced to work outside the home. The interested and excited editor hired Bly for her "spirit," and soon she was investigating the situations of female factory workers. Bly cared less about their jobs than their lives after work  - their amusements, their motivations, their fears and ambitions. She produced an article totally different from what other reporters of the time were writing: personal, thoughtful, meaningful.

    By 1887 Bly had a job with the New York World, one of the leader papers of the day. She quickly became famous for undercover stories about women in a mental hospital. Soon she had investigated life as a maid, a chorus girl, and even a street girl. In her best - known brave deeds, in 1890, Bly beat the famous "around the world in 80 days" trip Jules Verne had described in his novel. Traveling by steamship, train, even ricksha, Bly reported from each stop. A spellbound nation hung on every word. Only 25, Bly had become internationally famous.

We credit Socrates with the insight that "the unexamined life is not worth living," and that to "know thyself" is the path to true wisdom.

But when it comes to introspection (内省), you might easily slip into the "rumination" (沉思) mode. This pattern is likely to cause you to become stuck in the rut of your own thoughts and absorbed in the emotions that might lead you to a wrong way. Research has also shown that people who are likely to ruminate are often at a substantially increased risk of depression.

Instead, scientific research suggests that you should adopt an ancient method favored by the likes of Julius Caesar, known as "illeism" which was coined in 1809 from the Latin "ille" meaning "he". The point of adopting this third person thinking is that such a small change can clear your emotional fog, allowing you to see your biases and helping you know the limits of your understanding of the problem at hand.

A study finds that illeism can also bring long-term benefits to wise reasoning (including elements like taking the perspective of others, recognizing uncertainty, and so on). The finding is the brainchild of Igor Grossmann, a psychologist. According to Grossmann, wise reasoning had long been considered too vague for scientific enquiry. In one of his earlier experiments, he established that as with IQ, the scores of wise reasoning could be achieved and were meaningful.

Grossmann's latest research team asked nearly 300 participants to describe a challenging social situation, and two psychologists graded them on different aspects of wise reasoning. The participants then had to keep a diary for four weeks. Each day, they had to describe a situation they'd just experienced, such as a disagreement with someone. Half were prompted to do so in the first person, while the others were encouraged to describe their situations from a third person perspective. At the end of the study, all participants repeated the wise reasoning test.

While the control group showed no overall change in their wise reasoning scores, those using illeism improved on their perspective taking and capacity to find a compromise.

Grossmann's work continues to prove that the subject of wisdom is worthy of experimental studies, indicating wiser reasoning is within everyone's power.