Topic Reading-Vol.2276-7/5/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Horses can make facial expressions just like humans

It has been 5,000 years since horses became human companions like dogs and cats. To live with creatures that have numbers of facial and vocal expressions like humans, horses seem to have learned to read what humans are feeling from their expressions. They seem to understand an emotional state of a particular human and remember it. So, when the person shows up later again, the horse’s reaction is relevant to the previous expression of the person. If you want to be liked by a horse, you’d better be nice to him just like your friend.

Another finding from a recent research shows that they make as many as 17 facial expressions, three more than chimpanzees and only 10 fewer than humans. These expressions include "chin raiser," "sharp lip puller," "lip pucker" and "jaw drop." If you learn their facial expressions and show your emotional states clearly, you might be able to communicate with horses quite extensively.

Enjoy reading and learning how sensitive horses are with humans.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/26/sport/horse-facial-expressions-spt/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2275-7/4/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

China's 'heat pole' bakes as temperature hits 83 C

Though just being too hot doesn’t attract people, the extreme heat seemed to have drawn numbers of visitors to the middle of nowhere in the desert. Turpan Flame Mountain in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, also known as the heat pole of China, recorded 83 degrees Celsius on June 25^th. The sand and rocks had been baked during the day to reach the highest temperature of the year at 4:00 pm. Over 2,500 curious or eager visitors got there to feel the heat, and also to take photos in front of the 12-meter-tall jumbo thermometer, which can measure up to 100 degrees. The extreme heat bakes not only the land surface but also the eggs in a cooking pan. Sounds like hot-spring boiled eggs, doesn’t it?

Would you be interested in feeling the natural heat? What would your skin say?

Enjoy reading the article and see the photos and think if such experience is worth your time and money.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201806/27/WS5b33020ea3103349141df37c.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2274-7/3/2018

Topic Reading-Vol.2274-7/3/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Uber's Mideast rival is hiring women drivers in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been the last country that prohibits women to drive.

It took over 80 years for women to get permission to drive but now they can get a driving license only after a 30-hour training. The demand seems to have been very high. Over 120,000 women applied for new licenses. So, businesses are trying to keep up with the booming demand, such as driving school and car companies.

And there is another one trying to lure new drivers. The peer-to-peer ride-sharing business. Careem, the Middle East's rival to Uber, is recruiting women to switch their seats. Yes, female ride-sharing drivers. It could be a good business opportunity because many women, or even some men for curiosity, may prefer riding a newly-joined female-driven car.

Will they charge a higher fee for a female driver if demand surges? Will male drivers lose their jobs?

Enjoy reading and think what other businesses might arise in the conservative kingdom.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/26/technology/careem-women-drivers-cars-saudi-arabia/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2273-7/2/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Supreme Court upholds travel ban

Another sign of the Divided States of America. The US supreme court ruled that the President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions to travelers from the designated countries is within the scope of executive responsibility. They are Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, North Korea, and Venezuela. You can tell easily that these are the countries that have been producing quite a number of refugees in recent years.

The highest court was as divided as the sentiment of the people in the country, five-to-four, which means that if just one of the judges had had a different thought, the decision could have been different. The President seemed to be so pleased with the ruling that he tweeted immediately that the ruling was a tremendous victory for the American people and the constitution (and for him).

Enjoy reading and think what the President would have tweeted if the supreme court decision had been other way around.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/26/politics/travel-ban-supreme-court/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2272-7/1/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

McDonald's and Starbucks hit by plastics ban in India

As covered in Vol.2264, the world praised the progressive move by a Swedish furniture retailer to voluntarily abandon the sale or use of single-use plastics. On the other hand, US restaurant and coffee chains seem to suffer from damages both in the bottom line and brand recognition for not complying the laws that ban the use of single-use plastics, such as shopping bags, food containers, straws and lids for drinks and cutlery.

In fact, India is trying to eliminate single-use plastics by 2022 being alarmed by the research result that plastic is expected to weigh heavier than fish in the oceans by the middle of the century. Restrictions or bans on single-use plastics are already in place in most of the states, even though not all of them are strictly enforced.

If such bold initiatives to protect the environment can be taken in this massive democratic yet developing country, why other more established or developed countries, such as Japan and the US, haven’t taken any actions yet?

Enjoy reading and think if growing populism among democratic countries helps political leaders make a move to save the environment and the planet in a long term.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/25/news/companies/india-plastic-ban-mcdonalds-starbucks-maharashtra/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.2271-6/30/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Will we stop speaking and just text?

How much percentage of your personal written communication, inbound, outbound or internal, uses emoticons or emojis?

Emoticons are pictorial icons created by punctuation marks, letters, and numbers to display an emotion or sentiment, such as ‘‑( and (>_<). So, you can create numbers of emoticons on a  keyboard. On the other hand, Emoji are pictographs of faces, objects, and symbols. Instead of creating an icon, you need to choose from the suggested list. There are over 2,800 Unicode emoji that can be used in most smartphones, tablets, and PCs. The key benefits of emoticons and emoji are instant and universal. In most cases, they reach your mind directly without interpretation or translation beyond the language barrier. A prominent tennis champion, Roger Federer sometimes tweets mainly by emoji. Also as shown in Vol.2257, emoji can be more useful than languages for emergency situations like an earthquake or tsunami. But could such icons replace written or spoken language communication? Or, should they be used mainly to compensate or reinforce texts? Certainly, not of AI speakers.

Enjoy reading and think as to how communication and interactions will change in the next decade.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180618-will-we-stop-speaking-and-just-text

Topic Reading-Vol.2270-6/29/2018

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

What if we knew when and how we are going to die?

Though it is inevitable, people naturally avoid thinking about their death. That may be partly because we don’t know when and how to die. But if a person, who suffers from a mortal disease or injury for example, came to know when he or she is going to die, what their reactions might be? Would they become more focused on what they have been enjoying, try their best to beat the illness, or do anything they’ve wanted to do?

Knowing when the life is ceased might bring positive and negative effects. Most people probably become more conservative or focused on practices or ideas they have believed, liked and been used to. Many are expected to become less open to new ideas or cooperative to the society and environment. Also, there are people who try their best to accomplish the things they have been doing or enjoy the relationship with families and friends.

In the meantime, knowing when to die would allow people to plan some events that have previously been impossible to predict, such as the final day and funeral services. Also, people could rethink whether to hire or marry someone who is going to cease to breathe soon.

Enjoy reading and think if you would like to know when and how to die if possible.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180618-what-if-we-knew-when-we-were-going-to-die