学进去

Studying a subject that you feel pointless is never a fun or easy task. If you’re studying history, asking yourself the question “why is history important” is a good start. 1． You will find something here that will arouse your interest, or get you thinking about its significance.

2． History is an important and interesting field of study, and learning the history of our home country can give us a deeper glimpse (一瞥) into our ancestral pasts, and how we got to where we are today. Many people feel like they need a sense of cultural belonging, which is something that studying your roots can provide.

History enriches our experience. Reading history is an amazing experience because it enables us to reflect on the social and economic life of the people living long time ago. According to the experts, problems faced by people regardless of the past and present are the same. 3．

History makes us more empathetic(具有共情能力的). Studying history can give us insight into why our culture does certain things, and how the past has shaped it into what we know now.   4． Fear and hate for others is usually caused by ignorance(无知). History has the potential to break down those boundaries by offering us insight into entire worlds that would otherwise be foreign to us.

History can inspire us to learn more. 5． It’s almost impossible to learn about one historical period without having dozens of related questions. Study the 19th century England, and you might catch a glimpse of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Or maybe you end up switching your attention away from novels, and discover the history of romantic poets in England. It can go anywhere for anybody.

If a pancake could dream, it might long for legs so it could jump off your breakfast plate in pursuit of a better, unchewed life. But legs aren’t necessary for something as flat as a pancake to jump around. A group of scientists have designed a pancake-shaped robot that can jump several times per second and higher than seven times its body height. The new robot named Hop, which swiftly jumps without feet, is an important contribution to the soft robotics.

Many ground robots move by rolling or walking. But it’s more efficient for robots to jump over obstacles (障碍物) than to go around them. Although jumping can offer some robots a competitive edge, engineering that ability has been a challenge for robotics researchers. Some soft robots that store energy can perform a single impressive jump very infrequently. Some lightweight soft robots that don’t store energy can jump frequently but can’t jump high or far enough to successfully cross an obstacle.

For inspiration, the researchers looked to gall midge larvae (瘿蚊幼虫) that miraculously throw themselves across distances 30 times as long as their loglike bodies. A gall midge larva bends its body and squeezes the liquid in its body to one end, making it rigid (僵硬的). The accumulation of liquid builds up pressure, and releasing the pressure sends it soaring (飙升). The robot’s body doesn’t resemble (像) that of a gall midge larva, but it jumps like one. Its body is made of two small plastic bags printed with electrodes; the front bag is filled with liquid and the back one is filled with the same volume of air. The robot uses electricity to drive the flow of liquid, which causes the body to bend and generate force with the ground, resulting in a jump. And the air bag imitates the function of an animal’s tail, helping the robot keep a stable position.

While the robot is currently restricted to Earth, it might be right at home exploring another planet. If this is true, the researchers robot might jump over dusty rocks and large holes on the moon or Mars, going where no pancake has gone before.

A man recently connected with me on LinkedIn and sent me this note: “Let me know if you ever need a writer.” I guess he’s a writer? I don’t know. But I do know this phrase “Let me know if you ever need a.” shows up a lot, in my inbox and surely yours, too. I’ve come to think of it as the eight most deadly words in selling oneself because that phrase is the death of opportunity.

Let’s consider the approach. These people are being standoffish. Rather than selling themselves, they’re shifting the burden onto someone else to make the sale. If I need a writer, I should reach out to them. If I need a story, I should ask them for an interview. If I need a customer service solution, I should ask them for details. “Let me know if you ever need a ... ” sounds like an invitation, but it’s really a shrug.

Imagine the situation where I’d assign (分派工作) a story to the writer who used the nine words, “Let me know if you ever need a writer.” I would have needed a writer. Just any writer. Just anyone who can string words together. I would have needed to be in a panic, so desperate for someone to contribute to our magazine that I’d stopped thinking about great writers or good writers, or even serviceable writers and simply settled for a writer. This isn’t a situation that exists. The world is full of good options! We are not living in times of shortage. If we need a job done, there are plenty of qualified people to do it. Our question is: Who’s the best?

If you want to create opportunity for yourself, answer that question convincingly. The first thing to do is show someone you are the opportunity. Hiring you can help them. We also need to stop hiding behind ourselves. Get out in front! Sell yourself and your amazing abilities. Understand someone’s problem, and explain exactly why you are the solution. Avoid saying “Let me know if you ever need a ... ” Instead, start with: “Let me explain how I can help you.”