Researchers from the universities of Michigan and California have discovered that just a few minutes' conversation with another person sharpens your mental faculties to a hitherto unsuspected degree. The researchers believe this is the first time such a relationship has been demonstrated. 

    The subject doesn't even have to be what could be described as mind- improving: rambling on about yesterday's episode of a soap opera seems to be as effective as a weighty conversation about social issues.

    They conclude that socialising with a friend or neighbour is as effective in keeping the brain up to scratch as, for example, doing a crossword. Their findings have far-reaching implications for those who find themselves socially isolated – something that, in the present state of our society, is a fast developing trend. 

    美國密歇根州和加利福尼亞州一些大學的研究人員發現，只需與他人進行幾分鐘的交談，你的智力水平就會有所提高，其程度是迄今人們所未曾預料到的。他們相信，這是首次證明此種聯系的存在。

    甚至，談話主題不一定非得是所謂改善思維的那種：閑侃上一段昨天看過的肥皂劇情節，與談論重要的社會問題同樣奏效。

    研究人員總結稱，與朋友或鄰居間的社會往來，與做填字游戲具有同等功效，一樣可以保持智力水準。在我們當前的社會里，人與人之間日益隔絕。對于那些自感與世隔絕的人而言，上述發現意義深遠。