The work of our brain

Although intelligence has been studied, and the brain has been studied, there is little understanding of how the brain works to produce intelligence. This has something to do with the fact that the brain contains around 100 billion cells (about the number of star in the Milky Way).

One of the continuing myths about the relationship between intelligence and the brain is that the brains of very clever people are somehow physically different from those of ordinary people. At the beginning of the century an American scientist called E.A. Spitzka produced a list of the weights of the brains of important, well-known men. The heaviest brain on the list was that of Turgenev, the Russian novelist, at 2000g. The brain of another great genius, Walt Whitman, weighed only 1282g. There are no significant differences between the intelligence levels of males and females. However, men and women do differ in the way they think. Generally, women are more skilled verbally and men do better on visual-spatial tasks. The fibres which join the two halves of the brain have been found to be larger in women than in men. This supports the theory that women can change from "practical" to "emotional" thinking more quickly than men.

There are similarities between brains and computers. Computers can do complicated calculations at incredible speeds. But they work in a fixed way, because they can't make memory associations. Most of our mental processes are deeply formed habits. Try changing routines as often as you can. Exercise more. Good health and fitness levels give you overall improved energy which leads to better concentration.

Press in britain

Probably in no other country are there such great differences between the various national daily newspapers – in type of news they cover and the way they report it. On the one hand there are the «quality» newspapers: the Times, the Independent, the Guardian, the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph. These concern themselves as far as possible, with factual reports of major national and international events, with the world of politics and with arts and sports.

On the other hand, there are the «populars» and «tabloids», so-called because of their smaller size. The tabloids the most widely read of which are The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Daily Star – concentrate on more emotive reporting of stories often featuring sex, violence, the Royal family, film and pop stars and sports. It is often said that the popular press aims to entertain its readers rather than inform them.

The Times is one of Britain’s oldest and most influential newspapers. It began its life in 1785. It was started by John Walter. In those days it cost two and a half old pennies. In the 19th century The Times developed a reputation for accurate reporting and independent editorial views. Now it sells over 650, 000 copies a day. It is published in London, along with its sister newspaper, The Sunday Times, which has at least ten sections and takes all week to read! «The Times has had an excellent reputation for over 200 years», said its editor, who has worked since 1980, « and now we try our best to continue that tradition in order to produce a newspaper for XXI century ».

The English I the most newspaper reading nations in the world. It is an old tradition to read a newspaper for breakfast.