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(Not) to act against orders
Milgram's experiment on obedience to authority

Reading time 11 minutes

Why does a person, who causes suffering to others, only listens to orders from above? Perhaps it is due to the existence of an authority that cannot be resisted. Or is the whole point that a person is a sadist and he enjoys physical violence toward people? These questions were answered by Stanley Milgram, an American social psychologist who conducted a series of experiments on submission to authority.

Stanley Milgram was born in 1933 in the Bronx to a Jewish immigrant family. After World War II, his parents adopted relatives who had survived German concentration camps. Perhaps this fact explains why Milgram decided to conduct an obedience experiment in Germany. The scientist wanted to understand: “Why did German citizens participate in the extermination of people in concentration camps? Don’t they realize how cruel and heartless that is?” Milgram suggests that, for ideological or political reasons, Germans tend to be more submissive. However, before coming to Germany in 1963, Milgram decided to experiment in the United States. The results of the study show that there is no need to go far: submission to the authorities is not a characteristic of Germans, but of human consciousness in general.

Stanley Milgram. Personal archive of a scientist

Preparation and description of the experiment

Initially, the experiment took place in New Haven on the territory of Yale University. Milgram and his team sent the ads to city dwellers aged 20 to 50 working in a variety of occupations, from factory workers to hairdressers. To participate in the test, respondents were promised to pay $4 and 50 cents for the move. However, the subjects were not told the whole truth about the experiment: they thought they would help investigate how pain affects memory. The experiment involved the experimenter, the subject, and an actor acting as the second subject. One of the experiment participants (“student”) had to memorize word pairs from a long list until he memorized all the pairs, and the other (“teacher”) checked from scratch first and punish him for each mistake with a stronger electric shock. The two subjects drew a “vote”, and everything was arranged in such a way that only the actor was the student, and the actual subject was the teacher.

The scarecrow’s head was been fastened to the chair, and the teacher sitting by the generator has 30 switches, each switch was responsible for discharge from 15 to 450 volts and was signed: “Fighting blow”, “Very strong blow”, “Danger: hard to beat”, etc.

Then the experiment began: the teacher read the words aloud and the students had to give the correct answer, if it was wrong, the teacher increased the voltage each time. It’s important to note that the actor was just pretending to be hit. At the same time, when the subject hesitated and did not want to discharge strongly, the experimenter asked to continue using 4 phrases:

“Please continue/Please go on”;
“Experiment requires that you continue”;
“You must continue”;
“You have no other choice, you must go on”.

Electric shock generator used in the experiment

The experiment ended if the subject refused to obey and left, or if he reached 450 volts and gave the student this current shock three times. After the experiment, the subjects were interviewed.

In the classical variation of the experiment, the student was in a room isolated from the teacher. The subject could not hear the victim, only when the current discharge was equal to 300 volts, the actor began defiantly knocking on the wall, and then showed no signs of life: he did not complete the tasks, and did not respond.

Experiment results

Before the exam, Milgram interviewed undergraduate and graduate students, as well as 39 professors and psychiatrists, who tried to predict how many subjects would refuse the experiment, and how many would complete the experiment. All respondents agreed that 20% of the “teachers” would stop at 225 volts and only one person in a thousand would turn on all the switches.

However, the results differ from the forecasts. In the classic variation of the experiment, 26 subjects out of 40 (65%) reached the end of the experiment, and five people (12.5%) stopped at 300 volts when the victim began to protest by hitting the wall. Four subjects (10%) stopped at a voltage of 315 volts, two (5%) – at 330, and one people each – at the next three levels (345, 360, and 375 volts).

The subject switches the switches on the generator

Why did people obey?

Milgram, in his book “Submission to authority. A Scientific View of Power and Morality”, explained this behavior of the subjects.

1. Obedience is human nature

Milgram said, “We are born with the potential to obey.” In the course of evolution, behavior that did not lead to survival disappeared. Behavior, including hierarchy, authority, and a special social structure, does not disappear, but on the contrary, develops. It is for this reason that submission is a natural process, especially for someone born into society. The moment an individual begins to obey authority, he acts as part of the general structure – his conscience recedes into the background.

2. Not my responsibility

People who obey authority are in the so-called agent state and act according to the mind of another person. For this reason, they do not feel responsible for their actions. To feel responsible, you need to understand that your “I” is behind all actions, while the subject thinks: “I have nothing to do with it.” This is especially noticeable in one of the variations of the exam, where the subject himself did not turn on the switches, but only noted the student’s mistakes: more people obeyed the authority since they did not feel that they were hurting the victim with their own hands.

The “teachers” shifted the responsibility to the experimenter, believing that he knew what was right. In situations where the subject had doubts, and the experimenter emphasized that he took full responsibility, the internal tension disappeared and the subject went through the experiment to the end. There were cases when people blamed the victim, called her stupid, and were unable to remember a few words. “He was so stupid and stubborn that rightly so,” said one of the subjects who obeyed. People reassured themselves that they did not feel sorry for such an unworthy person who could not do elementary things.

3. Disobedience causes fear

When the subject agrees to participate in the experiment, he sincerely wants to help scientists. The “teacher” wants to follow all the instructions, show himself on the good side, and be polite. It seems to the subject that by refusing the experiment, he will let the experimenter down, and also destroy his image as an authority – this is arrogant and rude. Insubordination in this context is psychologically worse than submission. After all, refusal will lead to social disapproval, of anomie. For this reason, in most cases, the subjects continued the experiment.

The victim is strapped into the electric chair.

4. Image of Authority

Subordination is possible only if there is the real authority. An ordinary person does not have such power. In one variation of the experiment, the victim and the experimenter switched places. Now they shocked the scientist, and the order was given by an ordinary person. All subjects stopped the experiment when the experimenter began to complain of pain. Thus, an authority must have a certain attribute, knowledge, status, and place in the social structure to be listened to. In the study, the authority was the experimenter – a scientist, an educated person who knows more than the subject. The “teachers” trusted the scientist and completely relied on his opinion.

The Milgram experiment does not seek to denigrate people, to present them as cruel and unmerciful. All subjects were nervous, and doubtful, but did not dare to disobey the authority. They tried with all their might to avoid the victim, not to look at her, denied their responsibility, and talked with the experimenter that it was inhumane to continue the experiment, but did not refuse to participate.

Milgram’s research showed an important thing: when people enter the social structure, their individuality fades into the background and they forget about humanity. This is the weakness of our nature. Nevertheless, it can be overcome, because there were people who refused to obey. Cicero said: “The power of nature is great,” but man is stronger.

The article is based on Stanley Milgram’s book Submission to Authority: A Scientific Perspective on Power and Morality.

The Mars Chronicle: NASA explores the planet
Space agency will be looking for signs of life on Mars

Reading time 5 minutes

NASA launched the «Mars 2020» mission last July. The rover, named «Perseverance», took off from the US military base at Cape Canaveral and flew for nearly seven months. A successful landing occurred on February 24. Four video cameras filmed the descent of the rover: two were installed on the device, one more – on the landing module and next to the parachute. «Perseverance» landed in the Ezero crater. There are also recorded alien sounds – for the first time ever.

In addition, the rover drove a few meters across the surface, took photographs, and has already transmitted them to Earth.

The photo taken by the Martian satellite shows bright dots - traces of scorched soil from the landing (source: NASA) — The photo taken by the Martian satellite shows bright dots – traces of scorched soil from the landing (source: NASA)

NASA’s main goal of the mission is to understand whether Mars was habitable in the past. To do this, Perseverance will look for traces of water and life organisms, study the climate and collect surface samples. For the latter task, the rover has special tubes with which it will be able to take rocks and soil.

The rover will also test new technologies. In the future, they will be used for other missions – delivering samples to Earth in 2031 and a manned mission to Mars.

A picture of the surface of Mars (source: NASA)

The Perseverance mission is far from the first attempt to learn the secrets of the red planet: Mars has long been the object of research by scientists. Space programs look for alien life or at least traces of it. For example, scientists have discovered subterranean lakes of saltwater in the planet’s south pole, methane particles in the atmosphere, and the chemical elements necessary for life. These discoveries were made possible by the Mars rover «Curiosity».

«Curiosity» reveals that Mars has red skies during the day and blue sunsets (source: NASA)

Although there is no direct evidence of living organisms on the red planet yet, this has not stopped researchers from trying to send humans there. American engineer and billionaire Elon Musk is a case in point. One of his companies, SpaceX, has been involved in a manned mission to Mars for nearly twenty years. Musk wants to create a space vehicle so people can travel between planets and colonize Mars.

«I think becoming an interplanetary civilization and traveling through space is very important for all humanity. It would take a lot of resources to build a colony on Mars. And I want to contribute as much as I can»,- claimed Elon Musk for Business Insider. The billionaire is prepared to devote his $140 billion fortune to sponsoring the project.

What planetary colonisation will look like (source: SpaceX press materials)

Почему мы много едим в Новый год?
Расскажем о трёх эволюционных и социальных факторах, вызывающих праздничные переедания

Reading time 6 minutes

Новогодние застолья позади, и мир по традиции охватывает проблема: как пережить праздничные застолья? Ведь затяжные праздники, обилие вкусной еды, родственники и друзья, собравшиеся за одним столом – в общем, у многих Рождество и Новый Год провоцируют переедание и сбои в пищевом поведении. Это стало своего рода культурной нормой не только в России, но и по всему миру.И не случайно: здесь играют роль физиологические и психологические процессы, которые заставляют нас много есть.
Мы расскажем о трёх таких причинах.

Sensory-Specific Satiety (сенсорно-специфическая сытость)
Это один из психологических феноменов, отвечающих за чувство насыщения во время еды. Об этой особенности рассказывает профессор Мэрион Хизерингтон (Marion Hetherington) из Лидского университета. https://medicinehealth.leeds.ac.uk/psychology/staff/419/professor-marion-hetherington
Вы замечали, что первый кусочек любимой еды самый вкусный? И на протяжение трапезы она становится менее и менее приятной? При этом при появлении нового блюда его всегда хочется попробовать и даже сытость отступает.
Это вполне нормальное поведение для человека, а объясняется оно тем, что мы всеядны. Феномен ССС помогает человеку пробовать разную еду и получать полный спектр полезных веществ. Из-за ССС меняется удовольствие от вкуса еды во время трапезы (оно уменьшается к концу). Но при появлении принципиально нового продукта оно возвращается.
В обычной жизни феномен ССС хорошо нам служит и помогает питаться разнообразно. Но в особых случаях (например, в праздники), когда мы переполняем тарелку разными блюдами – это соблазн съесть слишком много, ибо чем больше вариантов, тем слабее чувство насыщения. И именно поэтому всегда есть место для десерта.
Таким образом, изменение удовольствия и чувство насыщения может относиться не в целом к трапезе, а к конкретному блюду, которое вы едите в данный момент.

Но то, ЧТО вы едите – это одна сторона медали. Играет роли и то, С КЕМ вы едите.

СОЦИАЛЬНАЯ СТОРОНА ПЕРЕЕДАНИЙ
Доктор Бирмингенского университета Хелен Руддок (Dr Helen Ruddock, https://fb.watch/2OtBWYKi7l/ ) рассказывает о социальных факторах, влияющих на количество съеденного.
На самом деле в каждой компании появляется мини-норма количества еды, и мы неосознанно корректируем свой выбор под эту норму. Поэтому, например, если ваши сотрапезники едят большие порции, то вы, вероятно, последуете их примеру и съедите больше.

Кроме этого, есть свидетельства https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/psychology/ebrg/projects/eating-together.aspx , что люди склонны есть больше, находясь с друзьями и семьёй (по сравнению с трапезой в одиночестве). Это называют «социальное содействие в еде» (social facilitation of eating). Возможно, этот феномен развился для того, что в моменты совместной трапезы (когда члены коммуны делятся едой) получить максимум пищи. Объяснение у этого самое простое: на протяжении большей части эволюции еда была в дефиците, а распределение ресурсов внутри группы помогало избежать голода отдельных индивидуумов. Но в то же время, способ делёжки всегда провоцировал конфликты. Поэтому единственным путём преодолеть разногласия было есть ровно столько же, сколько и остальные.
В современных условиях еда больше не является дефицитом, нам не надо делиться с родственниками и друзьями, чтобы они не голодали. Но это как раз тот случай, когда эволюционный механизм продолжает руководить нашим поведением. И в некоторых ситуациях (таких, как совместная трапеза) содействовать перееданию.

И ещё один фактор, влияющий на пищевое поведение в праздники – это эмоции. Рождество и Новый год вызывают у нас приятные ощущения, напоминают о детстве. А вкус любимой еды (тем более, если мы едим её только по праздникам) – это сильнейший психологический якорь, возвращающий нас к приятным моментам. И чем сильнее связь между едой и воспоминаниями, чем больше радости они вызывают, тем сложнее нам остановиться во время приёма пищи. В случае новогодних или рождественских блюд мы придаём еде гораздо больше значение, чем обычно.

Так что в силу эволюционных причин, а также из-за сложного психологического и физиологического устройства человека, еда – это не только источник питания. Еда – это процесс, который способствуют сближению и социальному взаимодействию, который формирует и поддерживает приятные воспоминания и ритуалы семейных сборищ.
Так что еда – это важная часть нашей культуры и нас самих. Но помните, что человеческая осознанность позволяет нам контролировать эти процессы. И в Новом году мы желаем вам чувствовать меру, но не ругать себя из-за перееданий, ведь это часть нашей природы. Главное, делайте выводы и заботьтесь и себе!

«Берлинский пациент» умер от рака
История первого в мире человека, победившего ВИЧ

Reading time 2 minutes

Тимоти Рэй Браун, известный как «Берлинский пациент», умер 29 сентября после продолжительной борьбы с лейкозом. Ему было 54. Об этом сообщил его партнер на странице в Фейсбуке.

Тимоти Браун учился в университете Берлина, когда врачи поставили мужчине диагноз ВИЧ. Отсюда и пошло прозвище «Берлинский пациент». Затем у Брауна обнаружили лейкоз — заболевание кроветворной системы. Геро Хюттер, лечащий врач Тимоти, предложил пересадить пациенту костный мозг донора с иммунитетом к ВИЧ-инфекции. Иммунитет возникает, когда у человека отсутствует поверхностный лимфоцитарный белок CCR5.

При попадании в организм вирус старается проникнуть в лимфоциты — иммунные кровяные клетки. Для этого белок вируса должен связаться с двумя белковыми рецепторами лимфоцитов, один из которых — CCR5. Некоторые люди обладают с рождения генной мутацией. Она останавливает синтез CCR5.

В 2007 врачи первый раз провели пациенту трансплантацию костного мозга. Она не была полностью успешной: ВИЧ не определялся в организме, но рак продолжал развиваться. Вскоре процедуру повторили, и на этот раз наступила ремиссия. Оба раза биологический материал брали у одного донора.

В 2008 на Международной конференции по борьбе со СПИДом о выздоровлении Тимоти узнали все. История Брауна вызвала скептицизм в научном сообществе. Некоторые исследователи хотели самостоятельно протестировать кровь на наличие инфекции, так как не доверяли результатам. Были и те, кто считал полное выздоровление невозможным: у пациента мог случиться рецидив. Несмотря на громкие заявления прессы о лекарстве от ВИЧ, трансплантация стволовых клеток не используется для борьбы с вирусом. Операции сложные и рискованные: доноры с иммунитетом встречаются очень редко, а сама процедура опасна из-за возможных осложнений и летального исхода.

Незадолго до смерти в интервью изданию Associated Press Браун рассказал, что лейкоз вернулся. Он лечился при помощи химиотерапии, но рак победил. До конца жизни у Тимоти сохранился иммунитет к инфекции.

Тимоти никогда не жалел, что решился на операцию

На данный момент лекарства от вируса иммунодефицита не существует. Ученые много лет работают над вакциной, но результатов нет: вирус встраивается в геном клетки, поэтому его сложно изучить. ВИЧ-положительные люди принимают специальные антиретровирусные препараты, которые задерживают развитие СПИДа и сопутствующих заболеваний. Инфицированные при успешном лечении могут дожить до старости.

Заведующая центра по профилактике СПИДа Наталья Сизова отмечает, что после случая «Берлинского пациента» исследователи не исключают факт разработки мутации рецепторов CCR5. Это значит, что появится возможность искусственно создавать иммунитет к ВИЧ у заболевших.

The strongest
How did the humanity fight dangerous viruses in different eras?

Reading time 6 minutes

When the coronovirus epidemic walks around the world, it’s time to recall what diseases people have already defeated. In the article we will tell you who, how and when saved the humanity from epidemics.

Plague

According to historians, up to 300 million people died from the plague. The disease was rolling in wave during the Middle Ages and the New Age. The most ferocious pandemics are the Justinian plague in the 6th-8th centuries and the “Black Death” in the 14th century. More often people got sick with bubonic plague – lymph nodes became inflamed and formed characteristic “buboes”. Pulmonary plague happened less frequently. A person began to cough and spit blood. In the first form, the probability of recovery was 25%, in the second – 0%. All the doctors could do was to protect themselves when approaching a sick patient.

Костюм, который вошёл в культуру Средневековой Европы: кожаные доспехи и маска. В «клюв» доктора закладывали травы, которые обладали антисептическими свойствами. При дыхании они нагревались и испаряли вещества, снижавшие риск заражения — This costume was popular in medieval European culture: leather armor and a mask. Doctors laid herbs in the beak that had antiseptic properties. When breathing, they heated up and vaporized substances that reduced the risk of infection.

We learned how to deal with “black death” in the 20th century. Epidemiologist Vladimir Khavkin created an inactivated vaccine against bubonic plague from temperature-killed plague sticks. The live vaccine was created and tested by the bacteriologist Magdalene Pokrovskaya. In 1947, Soviet scientists from the Red Army Research Institute of Epidemiology and Hygiene developed the antibiotic called streptomycin and began to use it in Manchuria, where an epidemic broke out at that time. All patients who received the new medicine recovered. Today, with proper treatment, 90-95% of patients survive.

Smallpox

Chinese annals mentioned smallpox in 12th century BC. In the 6th century AD, the disease entered Europe. Epidemics happened regularly and claimed up to 40% of patients. The ones who recovered often remained blind and had disfigured scars.

A person who had contracted smallpox usually did not get infected again. A Millennium BC the Chinese instilled a mild form of the disease, so, that a person would not become infected with a serious one. However, the course of the disease was still individual and the person who was vaccinated could die. There were few people who wanted to try their luck, and the disease spread further.

Екатерина II первой в России сделала прививку от оспы. Страна последовала её примеру и в XX веке для поступления в учебное заведение уже требовалась справка о прививке — Catherine II was the first who got smallpox vaccine in Russia. The country followed her example, and in the 20th century a certificate of vaccination was required for admission to an educational institution.

The safest way to protect oneself from smallpox was invented by the British physician Edward Jenner in the 18th century. He suggested that vaccination from cow smallpox, which was easily tolerated by humans, could protect them from dangerous natural one. The doctor conducted an experiment on May, 14 in 1796. The vaccinated boy remained healthy. Jenner later discovered that a vaccine made using the blood of a previously vaccinated person is just as effective as one made from biomaterial that has been infected directly from a cow. Now, vaccination did not require waiting for rare outbreaks of vaccinia. The last case of smallpox was registered in 1977, and in 1980 the World Health Association announced the victory over the disease.

Poliomyelitis

The developed countries faced epidemics of poliomyelitis in the 20th century. The patients were mostly children under 5 years old. The virus affected the nervous system and the gray matter of the spinal cord. The person was broken by paralysis.

Poliomyelitis is not treatable, but it can be prevented. Salk’s inactivated vaccine was launched in the United States in 1955. At the same time, Virologist Albert Seibin invented a cheaper and more effective live vaccine. Soviet scientists Mikhail Chumakov, Marina Voroshilova and Anatoly Smorodintsev tested it on their children, grandchildren and relatives. The vaccine helped to stop the polio epidemic, which has been affecting the Baltic states since 1949.

Основатель и первый директор Института полиомиелита и вирусных энцефалитов АМН СССР действительный член АМН, профессор Михаил Чумаков за работой — Professor Mikhail Chumakov

In 1988, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on the eradication of poliomyelitis in the world. After this initiative, the number of cases decreased by 99%. Today, the virus persists in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Double Christmas and New Year?
How Russia came to the different celebrations of the same holidays

Reading time 6 minutes

The humanity invented many calendars such as moon and moon-solar, Julian and Gregorian, also new Julian one. Let’s know what calendars used in Russia and how they affected contemporary holidays.

Ancient Slavic tribes had many customs connected with tne Moon

Our ancestors espoused paganism so they closely associated life with the cycle processes of nature. The ancient Slavic tribes counted time via moon calendar. The term between moon appearing and its disappearing constituted approximately 30 days and was called a month. The celebration of New Year started at around December 25 and lasted for a dozen days after the solstice. Then the duration of daylight started to expand, and the Slavs launched a new sowing circle.

The calendar changing in Russia happened in the X century because of a new faith arrival of. Knyaz Vladimir baptized his territories to the Byzantine rite. Christian date calculation came with the new religion. Since then Slavic tribes started distinguishing years from the Creation of the World and stated the 1st of March as the new year’s first day. Months’ names also were changed according to the Julian calendar that was invented in Rome at 46 B.C.

Ivan III removed the New Year from the 1st of March to the 1st of September. The tzar sought to unification of holidays in Russia, so in 1492 combined the New Year with the harvest festival and the tax collection time.

Gregory XIII is famous for the calendar introduced into the Catholic countries in XVI century. the author of the calendar is a priest and astronomer Christopher Clavius

In the XVI century, people found out that the duration of year in the Julian calendar did not correspond to the astronomical one. The Earth revolves around the Sun 12 minutes faster than the Romans believed in ancient times. In 1582, the discrepancy constituted 10 days. That was the reason why Christmas shifted to spring, and Easter to summer. To improve calculations, Pope Gregory XIII suggested a new calendar which was named Gregorian later. It was accepted so in Catholic world October 15 came after October 4 to annihilate the gap between calendars.

This gap between calendars accumulates over every 128 years. Therefore, before 1701, it made up 10 days, while nowadays it amounts to 13. While the dissimilarity between the Gregorian and astronomical year amasses over 3333 years. New Julian calendar is the most precise. It lags from the astronomical year no sooner than over 40,000 years pass. Until 2800, the New Julian and the Gregorian calendars are alike.

Peter I was that who moved the New Year to the 1st of January, though he left the Julian calendar. Therefore, Russia stepped into the 1700th year A.D. from 7208th year from the Creation of the World. However, due to the gap of 10 days Russians in St. Petersburg celebrated The New Year when, for instance, in Amsterdam people lived in the 10th of January.

Tikhon is the first Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia after the restoration of the Patriarchate in Russia in 1917

The second New Year occured in Russia after 1918 when the Bolsheviks finally switched to the Gregorian calendar. Although, the secular state accepted it, the Church still stuck to the old style. Patriarch Tikhon reject the calendar because according to it, the Orthodox Easter could fall before the Jewish holiday Pesach. It contradicted the decisions of the first Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325 A.D. Therefore, the Orthodox celebrate Christmas Eve not at the 24th of December as Catholics do but at the 6th of January. And they celebrate the Old New year at the 13th of January.

Thus, since the tenth decade of the last century, Orthodox people in Russia have been living simultaneously on two calendars with two new years and Christmas in January.

Borderless education
How Russian students take part in international mobility

Reading time 5 minutes

According to RBC data, in 2015 more than 50 thousand Russians studied abroad. This is about 1.5% of all international students. Statistics have shown that students prefer to travel to the United States and European countries although China is becoming more and more popular.

The cost of education in Europe universities according to the data of state agencies

Any student can build an independent educational trajectory of education abroad or participate in international academic mobility programs with the help of home-university. RNU HSE is among those universities that offer such exchange programs. It has more than 74 arrangements with institutes in 27 countries.

HSE stusents on the international mobility program

HSE advises to divide the participation into the international academic mobility program into several stages:

Make sure that you meet all the criteria that apply to exchange candidates.
Calculate your budget: you will not have to pay for the education but both visa and transport, insurance and accommodation, food and unexpected expenses are covered by the student. In case of difficulties with calculations, you can use the site.
Submit an online application form to participate in the competition: for autumn mobility it is held in February-April and for spring one in August-October.
Check your email address to find out the selection results. They are announced one month after the end of the application process.
If the application is approved, get ready to go: check the list of things and study the recommendations for traveling abroad on the website of the Russian foreign Ministry.

To make sure that the student is ready to study, the host country may ask to confirm the level of English fluency. The tip: programs that require international certificates have lower competition. Therefore, if you confirm your knowledge of the language with an international exam certificate in advance, it will significantly increase your chances of learning abroad. To do this, you should pass IELTS or TOEFL but not lower than the level B2 according to the CEFR classification.

The stages of fluency in foreign languages according to classifications of CEFR and British Council

According to the experience of students who have studied abroad, you should learn ahead as much as possible about the country you are going to and study the course program. Also, you should know in advance how you will be evaluated and whether you will be able to recalculate the received grades on the return. The clearer and more extensive your understanding of life in the host country, the less likely you are to suffer from culture shock or homesickness. To do this, you can monitor the media platforms of the host country, correspond with locals or analyze the experience of your predecessors. No one can guarantee that you will be 100% comfortable in your new place but careful preparation will help make the experience more enjoyable.

A stepping stone for young professionals
Registration for “I am a professional” olympiad has opened

Reading time 5 minutes

The registration for the third season of Russian-wide olympiad for students “I am a professional” has begun in early October. Application form for choosing the subject and uploading the certificate from the University is available for filling out until November 18.

The competitions will be held in seven areas of knowledge, therefore both students of technical programs and those who study in the Humanities and natural Sciences will be able to choose tasks to their liking. The program for the contestants will be compiled by specialists from leading universities and enterprises of Russia. The competition is open for bachelors, masters and specialist students. Participants do not have to pay for the Olympiad.

More than 98000 of students decided to patticipate in the olypmiad this year to the 10th of October

The olympiad has two stages. From November 22 to December 8 students need to complete the tasks of the qualifying stage which is held online. Those who show the best results go to the final face-to-face stage. It is held at several venues across the country from late January to early March. The finalists will be able to choose the most convenient city.

Winter schools are planned between the two stages. They consist of practice-oriented educational forums based on major universities of the country. Meanwhile, contestants who have already passed qualifying stage of the Olympiad also have to pass additional tests.

Winter school «Software and Radio Engineering» in Sochi — Winter school “Software and Radio Engineering” in Sochi

To prepare for the competition, participants can solve demo-versions of qualifying stage tasks and watch online courses available on the site. Besides giving additional information, online courses are handy because certificates of completion allow to participate in the final stage, bypassing the selection process.

The results of the Olympiad are to be summed up in March or April, after the organizing Committee have determined the winners. They will receive cash payments, invitations to internships, and privileges for entering universities as awards. The amount of payments will depend on the participant’s status.

Awarding of medalists, winners and prize-winners last year took place in Moscow. Approximately 3500 people received prizes — Awarding of medalists, winners and prize-winners took place in Moscow last year. Approximately 3500 people received prizes

All winners will be awarded with diplomas and included into the national database “I am a professional”. This is a student registry that is open for recruiters and human resources specialists from leading firms. The organizers will help to make a portfolio and give suggestions for improving work skills to all who will be included in the database. Educational privileges depend on the University where the student is getting education. They should be checked on the website.

The “I am a professional” olympiad has become one of the main projects of the presidential platform “Russia is the country of opportunities”. This year it is held for the third time. The competition is designed to find the most talented students and give them both additional space for career and professional growth with the development in the scientific field.

British scientists shocked!
It turned out that the ancient Celtic warriors fought with willow bark shields

Reading time 4 minutes

In Leicestershire, England, researchers discovered a 2300-year-old shield that was made from tree bark. This fossil is the only specimen of such a shield of the territory of Europe.

The shield dates back to 395–250 BC. Archaeologists say that the discovery drastically changed their ideas about weapons of the Iron Age and caused a heated discussion between experts.

Щит сохранился благодаря оставлению в заболоченной яме — The shield is preserved because it was left in a marshy pit. (Photo: University of Leicester)

“This is certainly an amazing object, one of the most iconic and world-important finds I have seen in all my work,” admitted Julia Farley, curator of British and European Iron Age collections in the British Museum.

In 2015, researchers from the University of Leicester Archaeological Service near the Soar River found a shield. According to Matt Beamish, the chief archaeologist of the study, objects from natural materials of this time are extremely rarely preserved, but the shield has survived in marshy soil. Maybe he was specially placed in a water-filled pit.

Matt Beamish added that shields from the bark of that period had never been found in the northern hemisphere before. It was assumed that the wood material was too flimsy for use in wars. However, the reconstruction of weapons from alder and willow proved that the 3 mm thick shield was light but reliable enough in the battles of that time. According to Beamish, contrary to researchers’ assumptions, such weapons were widespread in that period.

Процесс реконструкции найденного щита из ольхи и ивы — Alder and willow shield reconstruction process (Photo: University of Leicester)

The weapon is made of green bark, which is reinforced from the inside with slats of the same material. The main part is surrounded by a rim of hazel and wicker willow. Matt Beamish noted that “this is a lost technology,” which was not known before. Apparently, this technique was used in many areas for the manufacture of products from the bark.

Supple green tree, giving the shield strength and shape that remotely resembles the figure eight

“It was important,” says Farley. According to her, the Battersea shield had a similar shape. It was extracted from the Thames in the middle of the 19th century and dates from the same period.

Щит Баттерси — Battersea Shield (Photo: British Museum)

Farley argues that the visual world of the Iron Age is lost for us, since from the period 395-250 BC few artifacts left. She added that a new find for her is “a small window into that world.” For Farley, this awareness is “incredible and so exciting.”

The shield was donated to the British Museum. Farley hopes that the shield will be exhibited in the museum next year.

Garbage was at the bottom of the deepest point of the ocean
American explorer made a record dive into the Mariana Trench

Reading time 4 minutes

Victor Vescovo descended into the deepest point of the ocean. His bathyscaphe reached the bottom of the world famous Mariana Trench. The depth of immersion was 16 meters more than in the previous descent in 1960.

Впадина — Mariana Trench – Oceanic Deepwater Chute in the Western Pacific

The American explorer reached the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point in the ocean, its depth is 11,000 meters.

What did the researcher discover?

Victor Vescovo, a retired naval officer, was stunned to find something similar to plastic in the deepest point of the ocean. At this time, he was in a machine specially designed to withstand tremendous pressure. After spending four hours under water, he remembered only rubbish. It was a plastic bag and candy wrappers.

Plastic waste in the ocean, according to UN estimates, reached 100 million tons.

Последнее погружение достигло 10 927 м (35 849 футов) под водой - новый рекорд — The last dive at 10,927 m (35,849 ft) is a new record (Photo: TAMARA STUBBS)

For the last three weeks, Vescovo has dived four times into the Mariana Trench to collect various biological samples and forms of rocky soil. He is the third man who descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The last who tried to do this was Canadian film director James Cameron in 2012, and before that, one of the US Navy lieutenants in the 1960s plunged into the hollow. Vescovo dive was the deepest in history.

The expedition was watched by Atlantic Productions, which collected material for a documentary for the Discovery Channel. Work under pressure, poor visibility and low water temperature made it difficult to shoot. Anthony Geffen, creative director of Atlantic Productions, said it was the hardest shot in his experience.

Виктор Весково провел четыре часа, исследуя дно траншеи — Victor Vescovo spent four hours, exploring the bottom of the trench (Photo: ATLANTIC PRODUCTIONS FOR DISCOVERY)

“Our team had to pioneer new camera systems that could be mounted on the submersible, operate at up to 10,000m below sea level and work with robotic landers with camera systems that would allow us to film Victor’s submersible on the bottom of the ocean. ”

After the completion of the expedition at the end of this year, the team plans to transfer the apparatus to scientific institutions. After, the researchers will be able to use the device in further work.