Do you feel guilty about watching soap operas on TV or buying magazines that are full of gossip about famous people? Don't feel bad. Now you can tell yourself that you are using a very old method of survival.
Scientists in Scotland did an experiment to test what kinds of information are easiest for people to remember. They gave 10 people four different stories to read, and then asked them to write down everything they could remember about the stories. After they were finished, the information that they had written down was given to another group of people to read, and then they were asked to write down everything they could remember. This was done four times.
The scientists compared the final versions of the stories to the originals, finding that gossipy information, involving deception and infidelity, was easiest to remember.
In contrast, the people taking the test found it difficult to remember information that just described people, such as what they look like, or where they live. The reason for this might be that learning about other people's private lives is important for survival.
Humans live in groups, so it is important for them to learn what other members of the group are up to in case an enemy wants to hurt them.
It is possible that for a long time, humans's brains have been developing so that they can solve social problems. These problems could include finding out who is friends with who, or who wants to harm them. If this is true, then it is possible that people today still think this way, and so they find it very important to find out social information about other people. This could be the reason why soap operas and other gossipy magazines and TV shows are so popular. (AFP)
I'm only human! 我也是人
All people make mistakes and do bad things sometimes. When you say that you are only human, that is a way of saying that you are not special or different from this rule. You say it after you make a mistake. For example: ``You failed your math test? How could you let that happen?'' ``Well I'm only human!'' Or: ``My boss yells at me every time I do something wrong. I just tell him that I'm only human. Of course I'm not perfect.''
人都會犯錯或做壞事，當你說「I'm only human!」，表示你與一般人無異，當然也會犯錯。這句話通常在犯錯之後說，例如有人問「你的數學考不及格，你怎麼能讓這種事發生！」你可以說「我也是人。」或是「每次我做錯事，老闆就會對我大聲，我跟他說我也是人，當然不完美。」
你會因為收看電視肥皂劇或買明星八卦雜誌來看而有罪惡感嗎？不要覺得自己很糟，現在你可以對自己說，我不過是在用老調牙的方式生存。
蘇格蘭的科學家做一項實驗，測試人們最容易記得那種訊息。他們給十個人閱讀四個不同故事，要他們寫下記憶中故事的內容，寫完後再把他們寫下的內容給另外一組人閱讀，同樣要他們寫下所記得的內容，如此做四次。
接著科學家比較故事最後版本和最初版本，發現包含欺騙和不貞的八卦訊息最容易被記得。
相反的，受測者發現單純描述人，例如長相、居住地的訊息最容易被人遺忘，原因可能在於知道他人私生活對人類生存來說很重要。
人類是群居的動物，所以得知團體中其他人有何企圖對人來說很重要，以防敵人試圖傷害。
長期以來人類大腦可能為解決人際問題不斷進化。這些問題包括找出誰是朋友，誰會傷害我們。如果這是真的，今日人類或許還有這種想法，才會認為得知他人的社交訊息很重要。這也許是為何肥皂劇、八卦雜誌和電視節目受歡迎的原因。 （法新社）
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