232_i2 본문읽기 5

2332-23
What consequences of eating too many grapes and other sweet fruit could there possibly be for our brains? A few large studies have helped to shed some light. In one, higher fruit intake in older, cognitively healthy adults was linked with less volume in the hippocampus. This finding was unusual, since people who eat more fruit usually display the benefits associated with a healthy diet. In this study, however, the researchers isolated various components of the subjects' diets and found that fruit didn't seem to be doing their memory centers any favors. Another study from the Mayo Clinic saw a similar inverse relationship between fruit intake and volume of the cortex, the large outer layer of the brain. Researchers in the latter study noted that excessive consumption of high‑sugar fruit (such as mangoes, bananas, and pineapples) may cause metabolic and cognitive problems as much as processed carbs do.

2332-24
Winning turns on a self‑conscious awareness that others are watching. It's a lot easier to move under the radar when no one knows you and no one is paying attention. You can mess up and be rough and get dirty because no one even knows you're there. But as soon as you start to win, and others start to notice, you're suddenly aware that you're being observed. You're being judged. You worry that others will discover your flaws and weaknesses, and you start hiding your true personality, so you can be a good role model and good citizen and a leader that others can respect. There is nothing wrong with that. But if you do it at the expense of being who you really are, making decisions that please others instead of pleasing yourself, you're not going to be in that position very long. When you start apologizing for who you are, you stop growing and you stop winning. Permanently.

2332-25
The above graph shows how often German children and young adults read books in 2022 according to age groups. In each age group except 12 to 13‑year‑olds, those who said they read books once a month or less accounted for the largest proportion. Of the 12 to 13‑year‑old group, 42% stated they read daily or several times a week, which was the highest share within that group. In the 14 to 15‑year‑old group, the percentage of teenagers who read daily or several times a week was three times higher than that of those who never read a book in the same age group. In the 16 to 17‑year‑old group, those who read between once a week and once every two weeks were less than 20%. More than one fifth of the age group of 18 to 19 years responded that they never read any book.

2332-26
British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron is considered one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 19th century. Born in Calcutta, India, into a British family, Cameron was educated in France. Given a camera as a gift by her daughter in December 1863, she quickly and energetically devoted herself to the art of photography. She cleared out a chicken coop and converted it into studio space where she began to work as a photographer. Cameron made illustrative studio photographs, convincing friends and family members to pose for photographs, fitting them in theatrical costumes and carefully composing them into scenes. Criticized for her so‑called bad technique by art critics in her own time, she ignored convention and experimented with composition and focus. Later critics appreciated her valuing of spiritual depth over technical perfection and now consider her portraits to be among the finest expressions of the artistic possibilities of the medium.

2332-29
Human beings like certainty. This liking stems from our ancient ancestors who needed to survive alongside saber‑toothed tigers and poisonous berries. Our brains evolved to help us attend to threats, keep away from them, and remain alive afterward. In fact, we learned that the more certain we were about something, the better chance we had of making the right choice. Is this berry the same shape as last time? The same size? If I know for certain it is, my brain will direct me to eat it because I know it's safe. And if I'm uncertain, my brain will send out a danger alert to protect me. The dependence on certainty all those millennia ago ensured our survival to the present day, and the danger‑alert system continues to protect us. This is achieved by our brains labeling new, vague, or unpredictable everyday events and experiences as uncertain. Our brains then generate sensations, thoughts, and action plans to keep us safe from the uncertain element, and we live to see another day.