I've been writing since before I could write. As a kid, I dictated stories to my parents. About 12 years ago, I was living in New York City and pursuing a master's degree in creative writing. For years I'd been suffering vision disorder, but in New York my symptoms worsened. I became unable to read or write for any considerable length of time. I tried vision therapy, an overhead projector, a special pair of glasses — all in vain.

Eventually, I discovered a computer program for the visually challenged. As I typed, my words were read aloud by an automated voice. With my screen dimmed (变模糊) to black, I relied entirely on the automated voice to know what I had written.

Facing the blank page is worrying, but facing the black page is worse. The dark screen is a sinkhole that swallows creative hope. Sentences disappear into it like an astronaut into a black hole. I managed to complete

my master's degree, but it took me years to adapt to my new reality. The greatest barrier seemed to be the automated voice, which was like a robot parrot on my shoulder, and I wanted nothing more than to drive it away. If a pianist were forced to practice on an untuned piano, would it corrupt his ear over time?

Of course, I could have quit writing and stopped making myself suffer. But it honestly never occurred to me—and I'm glad it didn't. Last year, after I told my story on the radio, I was contacted by VocaliD, a Massachusetts-based company that created a voice modeled on my own.

The first time I heard the voice they created, it is so close to my own that the two are nearly indistinguishable. I've only just begun using this new voice. My hope is that this will restore a sense of solitude (孤独) to my writing process, allowing me easier access to that inner space where the imagination can take over, and I can forget myself, and the real work can begin.

The black screen still exists — it always will — but the robot parrot has taken wing.

Getting into college is a big step for high school graduates, and it comes with a lot of changes. For most students, it's the first time they're living away from home and managing their own life. Not surprisingly, adapting to this new lifestyle can be challenging. The following four tips will make high school graduates better prepared for college life.

Goal setting

When setting goals, whether they're academic, career, or personal, re-member they should be attainable but not too easy, so that you really have to push yourself to achieve them, and feel rewarded when you do. Writing down your goals and breaking down each huge, long-term goal into smaller more practical ones can help make it feel more real, and writing out a plan for achieving it can give you a roadmap to success.

Interpersonal skills

At college, you will interact with fellow students, professors, librarians, and many others. Strong interpersonal skills will help you build relationships during this time, and get more out of them. If you feel that your interpersonal skills need some work, practice asking thoughtful questions and listening closely, develop your understanding by putting yourself in someone else's shoes, and enhance your self-confidence.

Studying

With fewer in-class hours and more on-your-own learning, you're required to really digest learning material rather than simply memorize facts. To be successful in college you'll need to learn how to integrate large amounts of information obtained through reading, do research, and write papers. Organization is the key, so if you are not someone who is naturally organized, set up your study schedule.

Budgeting

Managing money is a critical life skill, and for many, it is at college that they develop it for the first time. Start by estimating your financial balance. Then give high priority to the expenses on basic needs and determine how much money to set aside every month to cover those costs. Don't forget about savings…and the fun stuff(movies, dinners out), too.

In 1835, William Talbot finally succeeded in producing a photograph of his country house. He declared that his was the first house ever known to have drawn its own picture. The drawing was formed "by the action of light upon sensitive paper." Photography offered nature a "pencil" to paint herself through optical （光学的） and chemical means alone.

By the mid-nineteenth century, people no longer needed to hire a draftsman to draw detailed images because the process could be completed instantly with a camera. Advocates for the technology stated that not only was it more precise than the human hand-it was faster and cheaper.

The removal of human fallibility in the creating process was one of photography's biggest selling points, but this also started debates about the new medium's implications for visual culture. Could images made largely by a machine be considered art? If so, where did human creativity fit in this process?

As the twenty-first century becomes increasingly automated （自动化的）, more and more people attempt to identify where human agency exists in the technologically driven world. Images generated with artificial intelligence by companies like OpenAI are stimulating questions like those that emerged with the coming of the photograph. By typing a sentence, users can generate "new" images composed from images collected across the internet. The result has been a flood of AI-generated images in places that are previously unique to human authors. Painting competitions, commercial graphic design and the fashion of portraiture （肖像） have all since collided with the technology in troubling ways.

The fine arts were thought to be a final hold-out of human creativity, but the surprisingly high quality of AI-generated images is producing deeper questions about the nature of originality. If the history of photography tells us anything, it's that the debate won't be settled quickly, straightforwardly or by the institutions we typically associate with cultural gatekeeping.