competing for the future

 
Three things you probably want to know:

1.  Thinking about your mom might help you ace a calculus test...depending on where you were raised. Hazel Markus explains why kids from Western and Eastern countries think differently about motivation, community, and innate brilliance.

2. Incubators have been helping to grow companies since 1959, but it's only recently that their younger cousins, accelerators, have taken off. Reporter Daniel Gross investigates whether they're worth the hype. 

3.  The business world can learn a lot from Through the Looking Glass. William Barnett of Stanford Business school explains why competition is a good thing – even if everyone feels like they're running in place.