Poverty and the all-consuming fretting that comes with it require so much mental energy that the poor have little brain power left to devote to other areas of life, according to the findings of an international study published recently.
The mental strain could be costing poor people up to 13 IQ (intelligence quotient) points and means they are more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions that amplify and perpetuate their financial woes, researchers found.
“Our results suggest that when you are poor, money is not the only thing in short supply. Cognitive capacity is also stretched thin,” said Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan, part of an international team that conducted the study.
Photo: AFP
照片：法新社
Far from signaling that poor people are stupid, the results suggest those living on a tight budget have their effective brain power, or what the researchers called “mental bandwidth,” dramatically limited by the stress of making ends meet.
On average, someone weighed down by money woes showed a drop in cognitive function in one part of the study that was comparable to a 13 point dip in IQ, and similar to the performance deficit expected from someone who has missed a whole night’s sleep.(Reuters)
根據一項最近公布的國際研究發現，貧窮與耗盡心神為錢發愁用掉大部分精神氣力，導致窮人幾乎沒有剩餘的腦力來關注生活中其他的部分。
研究人員發現，精神壓力可能讓窮人的智商降低十三分，這表示他們更可能犯錯和做出錯誤決定，使得財務困境更為擴大和持久。
參與進行這項研究的國際團隊成員、哈佛大學經濟學者山地爾‧穆萊納坦表示：「研究結果顯示，人窮的時候缺的不止是錢，連認知能力也會連帶受損。」
研究結果非但未顯示窮人較笨，反而是發現生活窘迫者的有效腦力，或研究人員所謂的「心智頻寬」，會因為必須要讓收支平衡的壓力而大幅受限。
平均而言，承受財務壓力重擔者在其中一部分研究的認知功能表現會下降，相當於智商減少十三分，類似一整晚沒睡覺者的認知表現變差。（路透／翻譯：俞智敏）
A: It’s a pity that I can’t go to Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue’s concert. B: Why not? A: Hit Japanese singer Kenshi Yonezu is staging two shows at the Taipei Arena this weekend, and I already bought tickets long ago. B: Wow, isn’t he one of the most popular Japanese singers in recent years? A: And Yonezu’s megahit “Lemon” topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100’s year-end chart in 2018 and 2019 consecutively. A: 我不能去澳洲歌后凱莉米諾的演唱會真可惜。 B: 為什麼？ A: 日本人氣歌手米津玄師週末將在小巨蛋熱唱兩場，我早早就買票啦。 B: 哇他可是日本近年來最紅的歌手之一。 A: 米津的神曲《Lemon》甚至還在2018、2019年連續稱霸告示牌日本單曲榜年度冠軍！ (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪)
A: Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue is set to visit Taiwan for the third time on Saturday. B: I remember that her Taipei concerts in 2008 and 2011 caused a sensation, and I love her megahit “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” A: This will be her first time performing in the southern city of Kaohsiung. B: Many music critics praise Kylie’s show as “a must-see in your lifetime.” A: Let’s go to Kaohsiung this weekend. A: 澳洲歌后凱莉米諾週六即將三度訪台。 B: 她曾在2008、2011年兩度在台北開唱都造成大轟動，我超愛她的神曲《Can’t Get You Out of My Head》。 A: 這次可是她首度唱進南台灣的高雄呢。 B: 許多樂評家說她的演唱會是「此生必看」！ A: 那我們週末去高雄吧。 （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
The Lemon Festival is a fun annual celebration in Menton, France. This festival began in 1934 and honors the region’s exceptional lemons. __1__ in February during the lemon season, the festival features beautiful floats and sculptures covered with dazzling lemons and oranges. These citrus creations are on display in the bright sunshine throughout the day, while at night, they are lit up and turn the town into a __2__ spectacle. The festival’s origins can be traced back to the late 19th century, when Menton was a major lemon producer. __3__, hotels would decorate their spaces with lemons and oranges
中國海關總署突然發布通知，指台灣輸入的釋迦及蓮霧檢出介殼蟲「大洋臀紋粉蚧」，決定暫停輸入。 In September 2021, China’s customs administration announced that it would suspend imports of sweetsop and jambu from Taiwan, citing discoveries of Planococcus minor, a type of mealybug. 蓮霧 (jambu/champoo, Syzygium samarangense) ，又名洋蒲桃，是桃金孃科熱帶水果，原產於印尼和馬來西亞，在星、馬稱作水蓊，中、港、澳稱作天桃。 蓮霧學名中的種小名 samarangense，係因模式標本採自印尼的Semarang (三寶瓏) 而得名。 蓮霧馬來語稱為 jambu air，第二個字 air讀作 /?a??(r)/，是水的意思，荷蘭人從印尼引進台灣，台語音譯為蓮霧 ian-b?。 以往蓮霧常見譯為 wax apple，聽起來好像素描靜物用的蠟製水果 (Wax Fruit)，曾有人問美國朋友要不要吃蓮霧? Care for a wax apple? 對方回一句：Why not a real one? 近來美國市場流行泰語的講法 champoo。蓮霧果實長得像鈴鐺，因此又稱為 bell-fruit。 Syzygium samarangense is a tropical fruit in the family Myrtaceae, native to the Greater Sunda Islands and the Malay Peninsula. Common names in English include champoo, jambu, bell fruit, rose apple, Java apple, and wax apple. In Taiwan, the dark red cultivars are nicknamed “Black
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