3 Questions. 3 Hints. 3 Answers. Every Tuesday.
1. What technology now provides some measure of control over our social media accounts?
Hint:
Answer: while we may not have comprehensive “right to be forgotten” legislation in effect in the U.S. we do have some limited options available to “control-alt-delete” embarrassing or hurtful things we may have said online in a fit of rage, drunkenness, stupidity, impulsiveness or otherwise. If simply deleting your social media account is not your thing, just get the right app. There are some new apps that enable messages to automatically self-destruct after a selected time period, while others allow you to manually delete a post or sets of posts you no longer wish to be associated with. There are other options as well, such as managing and restricting your preferences (e.g. Facebook) or using a class of social media that purportedly doesn’t store your information on a news feed, such as Snapchat. Read the story at http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/07/03/technology/personaltech/swear-off-social-media-forever-or-just-for-now.html?referrer=
2. What do we apparently prefer doing when there is nothing to do?
Hint:
Answer: we prefer doing…something, according to a new study published this past week in the journal Science. The findings applied to both young and older folks suggesting that it is not the result of the fast-paced and technology-driven world we live in. This probably explains why we find it so difficult to engage in meditation and why it can take months or years to master the craft of not just being alone in one’s thoughts but shutting them off completely.
3. Why might it be easier for Tibetans, from a physical standpoint, to conquer Everest?
Hint:
Answer: Tibetans tend to manage very well under low-oxygen and high-altitude conditions likely due in part to a rare variant of a heritable gene (EPAS1) involved in carrying oxygen in the blood. The gene variant is linked to a group of extinct humans known as the Denisovans. This is the first time a study has established a link between contemporary environmental adjustment and a gene derived from a primitive human species. Read more here.