Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Germany is trying to stop its electricity dependence on China. The question is whether that is even possible.

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Almost four years ago, Germany learned a painful lesson: your industry cannot depend on the energy of a geopolitical rival. The Russian gas crisis after the invasion of Ukraine forced the Germans to make more than one sacrifice while the country’s energy model was transformed. Now, at the gates of 2026, Friedrich Merz’s government faces a déjà vu disturbing. The same stone twice. Germany may have become independent of Gazprom’s gas pipelines, but its solar panels and grid technology bear, directly or indirectly, China’s stamp. Good: Berlin has just hit the brakes. The collapse of a seemingly innocuous financial operation last week has revealed that Germany is carefully reviewing every watt that enters its system to avoid repeating the historic Russian gas mistake. The trigger. The Italian company Snam SpA intended to acquire a minority stake in Open Grid Europe (OGE), one of the largest gas network operators in Germany. On paper, it was an investment between European partners. In practice, the German Economy Ministry saw the shadow of Beijing. The problem was not Snam, but its shareholders. The state-owned State Grid Corporation of China owns 35% of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which in turn owns a third of Snam. For the Merz government, that was risk enough. Given Berlin’s refusal to accept the proposed solutions, Snam withdrew its offer last week. A clear message. Berlin does not want companies with Chinese state participation to have access to the country’s energy arteries, even indirectly, which marks a change in doctrine compared to the era of Olaf Scholz, who at the time allowed the Chinese shipping company Cosco to enter the port of Hamburg. The current executive is much more defensive: national security takes precedence over capital. The question is… Too late? If blocking the purchase of a gas network is relatively simple, unraveling technological dependence on China is a logistical and economic nightmare. 95% of the photovoltaic cells installed in Germany come from Chinese manufacturers. And almost the entire wind industry, especially offshore, depends on rare earths controlled by China. The German energy transition is based on Asian hardware. Germany needs Chinese technology to meet its climate goals. And he doesn’t hide it. The German government has already raised this concern in international forums, denouncing the Chinese overcapacity in sectors such as electric mobility and solar energy. Technology that is needed but now considered a “systemic risk.” Is decoupling possible? In 2018, the German government already had to intervene so that the state bank KfW bought a stake in the network operator 50Hertz, preventing it from falling into the hands, again, of the Chinese State Grid. Seven years later, the strategy of “patching” individual acquisitions seems insufficient in the face of structural dependence. If the experience with Russia is any guide, Berlin seems to have decided that, this time, the price of security must be paid in advance, before anyone decides to turn off the tap. But today, the reality of the market is stubborn: replacing Chinese hardware means, almost invariably, paying more and taking longer to deploy renewables. Image | rawpixel In Xataka | If you were expecting cheap electricity this winter, we have bad news: Holland

let them start reading romance books

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At a time when more and more couples need schedule sex As if it were a work meeting, it would seem that romantic spontaneity is on the way to extinction. Routine, stress, children, screens and lack of time have pushed many people to live desire as a reminder on the calendar. And yet, in the midst of this sexual recession, thousands of readers are finding an unexpected spark in a place that years ago would have sounded almost naive: romance novels and, especially, the romanticasythe hybrid between romance and fantasy that dominates sales charts and social networks like BookTok. Reading, the new spark of desire. A growing number of women describe how their sex life was disappearing until they started reading romances. In a report for the New York Timesa reader commented that she and her husband went from having sex “twice a month” to “twice a day.” It wasn’t magic, he explained that reading worked as an emotional and physical trigger that they had not experienced in years. In Women’s Healthanother woman recounted how, after a chain of medical problems and stress, her libido evaporated… Until the novels helped her feel connected again with her eroticism and with her partner. The secret seems to be in the mix of what is written in this type of novel: magical worlds, growing sexual tension, complex female characters and explicit scenes that place their pleasure at the center. It is no coincidence that sexologists and therapists describe this type of readings as a “gym of the imagination” that reactivates reactive desire—that which does not appear alone, but with appropriate stimuli. It does not activate only the body: it first activates the mind, fantasy and emotion. What this boom reveals. Beyond the morbidity, the increase in popularity of these readings speaks of something deeper. According to TIMEromance novels allow you to explore desire from a safe place: without pressure, without expectations, without fear of judgment. They are a mental space where you can allow yourself to fantasize, recover the feeling of being desired and understand what truly excites you. For many women it is the first time they connect with their sexuality out of curiosity and not out of obligation. As detailed in Betchesthese stories work as a psychological warm-up, key in long-term couples where desire usually fades not due to lack of attraction, but due to lack of imagination and novelty. This “reactive desire” needs stimulation—and books offer it without shame. Furthermore, this explosion cannot be understood without the community. BookTok has converted these readings in public conversation: recommendations, rankings of spicetheories, private jokes, covers analyzed to the millimeter. A shared culture that has made talking about sex, desire or fantasies out loud normalized. Love in times of screens. We live in a culture that idealizes sexual spontaneitybut reality does not accompany. Endless schedules, mental loads, attention-sucking social networks and suffocating routines leave very little room for spark. In fact, studies point to a global decline in sexual frequency, especially between young couples. It is not that there is no desire: there is no time for it to appear. For this reason, many couples have started planning sex. Anticipation—flirty messages, relaxed dinners, screen-free space—works better than waiting for the flame to magically appear. In other words, planning does not kill desire, it protects it; and this is where romantic novels fit in: they create anticipation, they build tension, they reintroduce the game. They are, for many people, a way to feel something similar to the beginning of the relationship again. A revolution with nuances. However, several experts—from the NYT until ABC Australia— also warn of risks: idealizing perfect encounters, expecting synchronized orgasms or pressuring the partner to replicate fantasies that may not fit their relationship. Distinguishing between fantasy and real life, therapists remember, is key for this boom to be a help and not a source of frustration. In a world without time for desire, reading reignites it. What these stories demonstrate is not that fiction replaces reality, but that it inspires it. That sexuality does not disappear: it goes dormant. And that, for many people, these books offer something that was missing in their lives: mental time, emotional space, imagination, play, and the feeling of being seen and wanted. In an era of planned sex, exhausted desire, and frenetic routines, romance novels have shown that intimacy doesn’t need spontaneity: needs intention. Perhaps that is why this phenomenon does not stop growing. Not because it promises impossible orgasms, but because it restores—without haste, without judgment—the desire to love and be loved. As one reader confesses interviewed by Women’s Healththe key is not in dragons or vampires, but in something much simpler: “It’s not the books. It’s that they reminded me of who I was.” Image | Unsplash Xataka | Romantasy has become the most read genre in the world. According to its Spanish authors, there is not even

many times the problem is another

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In recent years, the use of the word ‘depression’ the truth is that has been expanding to refer to practically any type of state of being a little sadder than normal. This is precisely what you wanted highlight the psychologist Marian Rojas, who points out that “many people don’t have depression, what they have is an empty life”a phenomenon that deserves a careful approach from medicine to avoid diagnostic confusion and inadequate treatment. In this way, when there is an existential voidyou may even think that what you are suffering from is depression. But the reality is very different, and the treatment may be useless (beyond the placebo effect). What is existential emptiness? It is described as a feeling of lack of meaning, purpose or satisfaction in the life one is having. In this way, it is not a mental disorder per se, but rather a human state that can generate anguish, hopelessness and disconnection with oneself and the environment. According to Viktor Frankl, a pioneer in logotherapy, existential emptiness occurs when the individual does not find reasons that give meaning to their existence, generating deep vital frustration and a feeling of “being empty inside”. existential void. In this way, scientific studies support that existential emptiness is associated with feelings of hopelessness and apathy, and may be a risk factor for develop an anxiety problem or depression if not addressed in time. But it is not that existential emptiness is a synonym for suffering from depression; it is a mental disorder that alters, in a very basic way, the chemistry of our brain. What is certain is that this lack of meaning is also linked to a greater risk of suicide, mainly when the person feels useless or disoriented in their life purpose. What is clinical depression. On the other hand, we have this mental disorder that can be diagnosed by a doctor and is characterized by a persistent combination of symptoms such as deep sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, fatigue, changes in appetite and sleep. This is a condition that requires a combination of psychological therapy along with drugs that can partially reverse this situation. It is important to note that although depression can lead to feelings of emptiness, sadness and hopelessness, existential emptiness can appear without the clinical signs that allow depression to be diagnosed. Therefore, not all discomfort related to life dissatisfaction should automatically be labeled as depression. Key differences. The first thing to understand in this case is that depression manifests itself with persistent symptoms for at least two weeks and that it affects multiple areas of life. But experimental emptiness can be a less intense discomfort that is limited to more temporary situations. Furthermore, depression presents clear physical symptoms such as fatigue or sleep disturbance, something that does not match the existential emptiness that is related to a lack of purpose and meaning in life. But a more important point is that in depression there is a biochemical alteration in the brain related to serotonin and other neurotransmitters. And that is why we give specific drugs to increase the concentration of these molecules that are altered in this mental disorder. But in the existential void this does not happen. Why it is important. Differentiating them is essential to provide the best possible help, because treating a person with depression is not the same as treating a person with an experimental void. As we have said before, clinical depression may require pharmacological treatment, cognitive therapy or even both at the same time. But on the other hand, the experimental void only needs psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at finding meaning and personal values. Because basically giving an antidepressant to someone who does not have depression is like giving them candy, since if there is no alteration in the level of neurotransmitters in the brain, the effect is null. It is the same as giving antidepressants to someone who does not have this disease, since it will not cause any effect or even greater euphoria. Regain control of the narrative. What Marian Rojas puts on the table It is not a denial of depression.a serious and real illness that requires rigorous treatment, but a warning about how we are interpreting our own discomfort. In a hyperconnected but socially atomized world, it is easy to feel that emptiness. The easy solution is to ask for a medical diagnosis that validates our pain. The difficult solution, but often the necessary one according to modern psychology, is to accept that sometimes being unwell does not mean being sick, but rather it is a warning signal from our brain to make structural changes in how we live, what we work at, and who we love. As studies on quality of life and mental health suggest, the cure for the “empty life” is not in the pharmacy, but in the reorientation of values ​​and reconnection with a purpose, something that, unfortunately, no algorithm or prescription can do for us. Images | Sydney Latham Nik Shuliahin In Xataka | We’ve found a clue to depression in an unexpected place: vinegar

Reopening nuclear power plants sounds very spectacular, but Google has a plan B in case it’s not enough: solar energy

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Data centers for are insatiable monsters those who are responsible for them must feed. OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Anthropic and Google are burning money riding colossal data centers for training and management of artificial intelligence. But these installations are not expensive to set up: they are also expensive to maintain. They require a considerable amount of energy to functionand Google has just received a ‘shot’ of renewables. All thanks to a direct connection to the largest system in the United States. Renewables to power AI. Google and TotalEnergies have just signed a agreement of energy purchases for 15 years. The contract stipulates that the energy company will deliver 1.5 TWh of electricity from its Montpelier solar plant, in Ohio, to Google. The plant is still under construction and they estimate that it will have a capacity of 49 MW, but the most important thing is that it will be connected directly to the electricity system. PJM. It is the largest network operator in the United States. It covers 13 states and data centers are representing a relevant portion of the operator’s pie: in its last annual auction, the load of these facilities PJM capacity sale triggered at 7.3 billion dollars, 82% more. Astronomical needs. In the statement from TotalEnergies, the company that this agreement illustrates its ability to meet the growing energy demands of the major technology companies. The problem is that it is not enough. If we focus on Google, the consumption of its data centers was 30.8 million megawatt hours of electricity. The company has been focused on AI for years, but the recent ‘boom’ has made it double what its centers consumed in 2020 (14.4 million MWh). Currently, data centers are estimated to account for 95.8% of Google’s total electricity budget. But it’s not just Google: the International Energy Agency esteem that global data centers consumed 415 TWh last year, representing approximately 1.5% of global electricity consumption. It seems little put in percentage, but Spain consumed in 2024 231,808 GWh, or 231 TWh, in 2024. The data centers of a handful of companies alone consumed twice as much as an entire country. And the estimate is that this data center consumption will double by 2030, reaching 945 TWh. Renewables are not enough. Now, although renewables are a support for the total energy required by data centerssolar and wind power have two limitations: intermittency and variability. Generation depends on weather conditions and time of day, meaning it fluctuates dramatically even throughout the same day. This instability clashes head-on with the high reliability and availability requirements of data centers. These are installations that must operate continuously and cannot assume cuts or Unforeseeable drops in supplysince AI or cloud storage would suffer the consequences. These renewables require backup batteries, but it is complicated and expensive to have such a large number of batteries just to power data centers. Pulling the gas and looking at the nuclear. That’s where other sources come into play. On the one hand, nuclear. In October 2024, Google signed the world’s first corporate agreement to acquire nuclear energy from SMR reactors. The first will come into operation in 230 and it is expected that, together, they will be able to satisfy the technology company with 500 MW of capacity by 2035. On the other hand, natural gas. In October of this year, the Broadwing Energy Center project began, a new natural gas power plant that will have a capacity of 400 MW and is scheduled to come into play at the end of 2029. Decarbonization and pressure. And the big question is… doesn’t the use of gas for AI clash with the technology companies’ objectives of achieving decarbonization percentages for both 2030 and 2050? We have already seen that oil companies have been getting off the renewables bandwagon because they have seen that fossil fuels are still relevant in the technology industry, but in the case of Google, they rely on the fact that projects like the Broadwing Energy Center They will have CCS systems. This means that it will have carbon capture system that will be able to permanently “sequester” 90% of the emissions. It means burying the problem, literally, since the CO₂ will be stored a mile underground. In 2020, before the AI ​​boom, the company established the goal of operating with carbon-free energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week by 2030. It will be interesting to see how they plan to offset these emissions thanks to renewables, but the IAE estimates that the demand for data centers will not stop growing in the short term and that adds another problem: a increased pressure on the electrical grid which is added as another element to manage. Because the big underlying problem is that the demand for energy is growing at a faster rate than the capacity to generate new electricity, and it is something that has an impact on companies’ bills, but also in homes. Images | Unsplash, Google Data Center In Xataka | China does not have a spending problem with AI. What it has is a huge income gap compared to its main rival

AI is turning us into editors of ourselves. We approve what we no longer know how to create

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Some time ago Spark, my email clientintegrated an AI response generator that learns from your style. It works surprisingly well. Since then I follow a simple rule: if the email comes from a human, I respond by typing. If it comes from a bot or mass mailing, I let the AI ​​answer for me. The fact is that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish which is which. And that’s where the real problem begins. Because it’s not about efficiency. It is about we have accepted, without realizing it, that communication can be symmetrical in its mediocrity. You write to me with AI, I respond to you with AI. We all save time. Nobody says anything quite real. I know too many people who have crossed the line: using AI not just for generic emails, but for everything: Tweets that sound like a corporate manual. LinkedIn posts with that unctuous and necessarily inspirational prose that smells of prompt wander from three paragraphs away. Proposals to clients. Reports to the boss. Slack messages that you used to write in seconds and now go through ChatGPT. They have become editors of their own communication. Creative directors of words that they no longer search for. And in a way it works, you have to admit. The report arrives on time. The proposal sounds professional. The tweet, for reasons unknown to me, achieves engagement. If the result is what counts, and it saves you time, what’s the problem? The problem is subtle. So subtle that almost no one notices it. Writing was never just about producing readable text. It was the friction of searching for the exact word, and in that search better understanding what you wanted to say. Writing was thought becoming visible, even to oneself. The effort to articulate was the effort to think clearly. I remember some articles in which I noticed that effort until I reached the result I wanted. An example is this 2019long before ChatGPT. That process matters. Now we delegate that friction. We give the AI ​​a vague idea and it articulates it for us. We just need to recognize if it sounds good, not generate it from scratch. We have gone from being authors to being approvers. Something atrophies when you stop looking for your own words. It’s not just personality or style. It is the ability to think accurately, because thinking well and writing well were always the same thing. When you externalize articulation, you externalize thinking. The worst thing is that it is invisible. There is no dramatic moment in which you stop knowing how to think. You just start to need a little more help each time. A little push to find the words. Then a full draft that you just “revise.” Then you don’t even check carefully because “AI makes it cool.” The argument is always the same: “but the result is good.” And yes, it may be. The report is understood. The proposal convinces. The tweet works. But There is a difference between a text that works and a text that you really thought. The first can get you a client. The second can make you understand something you didn’t know you thought. This is how an entire generation can lose the ability to articulate complex ideas without realizing it. Because each individual step seems reasonable. Every shortcut seems harmless. And the results, indeed, are acceptable. But “acceptable” has become the new standard. And in the process we have forgotten that writing was not just a means to communicate ideas that were already clear to us. It was the very mechanism to keep things clear.. AI is not making us worse writers. It is turning us into non-writers. And without writing, without that struggle to find the right words, pWe also lose the ability to have ideas worth writing down.. We have normalized an existence where we monitor our own communication instead of generating it. Where we approve instead of create. Where language is something that we recognize when we see it, but that we will no longer know how to produce from silence. And we call it productivity. In Xataka | I increasingly like technology that doesn’t want anything from me: the one that has a purpose and leaves you alone Featured image | Xataka

The best MediaMarkt deals on technology and entertainment during Black Friday, today November 23

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After the Day without VAT, MediaMarkt has once again celebrated its Black Fridaya campaign in which we can once again find many offers in technology and entertainment. In this article we are going to review, mentioning the five best bargains we’ve found. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra by 989 eurosone of the best phones of the year with one of its best prices to date. PlayStation 5 Pro by 699.99 eurosthe same price as only the console on offer, but in this case it comes with a game. nintendo switch 2 by 479 eurosa good price considering that it comes with Nintendo’s most expensive game. Xiaomi 14T by 333 eurosa gem for such a complete mobile. Samsung HW-B66CF/ZF by 149 eurosa sound bar compatible with Dolby Atmos. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra If there is a mobile phone that is standing out this Black Friday for its price, it is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultrawhich on the other hand has earned first place in our Xataka NordVPN Awards 2025. By 989 euroswe are talking about a phone that has a very good screen with anti-reflective treatmentits processor is very powerful, its battery offers very high autonomy and its software is not only one of the ones we like the most, but it will be updated for seven years. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links PlayStation 5 Pro The PlayStation 5 has once again dropped in price in all its versions. Even the PlayStation 5 Pro has done so too and can now be found on MediaMarkt for a price of 699.99 euros in its edition with the video game ‘EA Sports FC 26‘ in digital. In fact, if you buy it with the video game it costs the same price as if you buy it without it, since in other stores the console has a price of 699 euros. PlayStation 5 Pro + EA Sports FC 26 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 But if what you want is the nintendo switch 2Be careful because MediaMarkt has the console along with the ‘Mario Kart World‘on offer for a price of 479 euros. It is practically almost the same official price, for a difference of 10 euros, that the console has without a game. And considering that this video game is Nintendo’s most expensive, it’s not a bad price at all. Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi 14T Although it was launched last year and has a new generation, we cannot forget that the Xiaomi 14T Right now it is at a very good price. MediaMarkt has it for only 333 euros. It is a high-end mobile phone that stands out both for its 1.5K resolution screen and for its its cameras that are signed by Leicawhich offers a very attractive photographic result. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung HW-B66CF/ZF Sound bars are very interesting accessories for televisions, since the sound section is usually the one that is weakest on TVs. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, the Samsung HW-B66CF/ZF has dropped on MediaMarkt to 149 euros. And be careful, for this price it comes with a wireless subwoofer, offers a power of up to 370W and is compatible with Dolby Atmos. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | MediaMarkt, El Corte Inglés and Compradicción (header), Google, Amazon, WiZ, PocketBook, Samsung In Xataka | The best mobile phones (2025), we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price (2025). Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 159 euros

Roman roads changed the world. And this Google Maps from 2,000 years ago allows you to explore them

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What have the Romans given us? It’s not a question I ask myself when I can’t sleep, but the brilliant satire that Monty Python captured in ‘Brian’s life‘. He aqueductsewage, education, irrigation, health, wine, public baths… and roads. At its peak, it is estimated that The empire’s network expanded over 120,000 kilometersbut as excavation has been carried out, more and more remains of Roman roads have been found. On some occasions we have brought some “Google Maps” of the Roman Empirebut what we have in our hands today is the culmination of an anthological work that compiles some of the most important sources of the arteries of the empire and captures those roads is an impressive interactive map with almost 300,000 kilometers of roads. The tool is called itiner-eand it is something that can absorb us for hours and hours. The Google Maps of the Roman Empire If you have already taken a tour of the mapyou should know that it is a living element. As discoveries are made and the location of the tracks is determined, the team will update the map. But what we currently have is the result of more than five years of work carried out by a team with members from both the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the Aarhus University of Denmark. In it study published in Naturedetail that it is “the most detailed and complete digital data set of roads in the entire Roman Empire” published so far. In fact, it exceeds the known length of Roman roads by more than 100,000 km thanks to both greater coverage at the focus and better spatial precision. Previously, the Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations (DARMC) mapped 188,554.7 kilometers. To do this, the researchers identified both the most important routes and the paths of archaeological and historical sources, locating them using both historical and current topographic maps. The main sources have been the Antonine Itinerary and the Tabula Peutingeriana, but the “milestones” and settlements close to each other (for example, limits of the empire, such as those near Hadrian’s Wall) are what have allowed researchers to assume the existence of roads that connected them. Other sources include summaries of the Roman road network in specific regions, maps from the Mapping Past Societies, the Barrington Atlas or the Tabula Imperii Romani, among many others. As a result of this work, the new map includes 299,171 kilometers of roads (to connect a territory of more than four million square kilometers), and they are divided as follows: 103,478 kilometers of main roads, 34.6% of the total. 195,693 kilometers of secondary roads, 65.4% of the total. And it is not that more than 100,000 kilometers have been taken out of the bag, but that roads that previously crossed rivers or were simple straight lines, have now been drawn with greater precision, adapting to the topographical peculiarities of the terrain. Now, although the work is amazing and we can see by playing with the different layers of information that many of the main roads coincide with current roads, the researchers confess that “only” the location of 2.737% of the Roman roads is known with certainty. That is why the vast majority of itiner-e roads show the legend “hypothetical” or “conjecture”, just before detailing the record from which they took the data. This certainty depends on: Certainty: segments well documented in the sources, which have been digitized with high spatial precision. Guess: segments with lower spatial precision due to a lower level of documentation. Hypothetical: paths that are speculated to have existed, but for which there is insufficient evidence to classify them within one of the above groups. For example, roads in desert areas where the infrastructure was less fixed and where several parallel roads have been found. But beyond satisfying our curiosity, something we can do with this map is… play. The team has including a function that is still in beta status and allows you to explore the time these routes took. To do this, we have to select between several points and select between four modes of land transportation: On foot at a speed of 4 km/h. By oxcart at 2 km/2. In an animal like a donkey at 4.5 km/h. And on horseback at 6 km/h. We can also select maritime routes with speeds of 2.5 km/h downstream and 0.6 km/h upstream. In the end, that rebel group from ‘Life of Brian’ was quite right when it came to saying that one of the most important things the Romans had done for them had been the deployment of roads. Because they were fundamental to speed up transportation within the empire’s domains, and that work is noticeable even today. They were the foundations on which we build our roads and urban centers. It is something that becomes clear when we observe that the only place in the empire in which there was not such an important or meticulous deployment, such as Africa and the Middle East, where trade on wheels was abandoned in favor of camel caravans in the 4th-6th centuries, has consequences today. Images | itiner-e In Xataka | Forma Urbis Romae: the gigantic map of Ancient Rome conceived in 1901 and still unsurpassed today

pretend you’re someone else

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In a way, the sappy Saturday afternoon movie cliché of “the strength is within” is a scientific reality that conditions the way in which human beings face challenges and problems. Brian Tracy, best-selling author of ‘Swallow that toad!‘ explains in his conferences that the first step for any significant change on a personal level is in self-image, that is, in the idea that each person has about who they are and what they deserve. According to the expert, this inner image directly influences what that person dares to do and the results they obtain. According to Tracy, to successfully face new personal and professional challenges, it is essential to transform the internal voice that defines us and the way we speak to ourselves. Changing that internal conversation is essential to changing the approach with which goals are faced and the motivation when it comes to achieving them. In the same way that a football team does not face a game with the same motivation when the entire audience fervently cheers it as when it is booed, the brain needs a vote of confidence to achieve positive results. Self-image shapes reality Self-image is not only how others see us, but a set of beliefs and perceptions that each person forms about their own identity and abilities. This image does not always match the one other people perceivebut it is just as important or more important. For example, if you define yourself as someone who “can’t achieve certain things” or “always fails,” your decisions and behaviors will be conditioned by that premise and, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, those limiting ideas will end up taking over. On the other hand, a positive self-image expands the capacity for action and allows us to make decisions with more confidence. The concept is summarized in a phrase attributed to the poet and playwright Jean Cocteau: “They achieved it because they did not know it was impossible.” If someone or oneself keeps repeating that something is not possible, is unfeasible, that one does not have the capacity to do it or that it will never be achieved, most likely is that it is not achieved or achieving it costs much more. It is not only important what we say to ourselves, but also how. According to the study carried out by Ethan Kross and his team at the University of Michigan, “when we treat ourselves in the second person we take greater distance from emotions and are more rational.” In this dialogue in the second or third person, using the pronoun “you” instead of “I”, activates a phenomenon called “distanced internal dialogue” that facilitates emotional regulation, reducing anxiety and internal fears, improving decision making. The key to this change in perception is that, by changing the way we address ourselves in the second person, the speech from “I can’t” to “you can” is changed. Kross’s later studies revealed that maintaining an internal dialogue in the second or third person changes the way we describe ourselves. The researchers detected that participants who used their name or a pronoun in this self-dialogue used more general qualifiers (“I am an optimistic person”, “I care a lot about learning”), and fewer traits linked to their social role (“I am a student”, “I am a mother”). Numerous research They demonstrate that internal dialogue directly impacts our ability to solve complex personal problems and challenges. Maintaining a positive and balanced dialogue helps to sustain attention, plan, self-regulate emotions and persist in the face of adversity. The scientific results They demonstrate that the internal monologue is not mere noise in your head, but has a direct impact on the results. However, in the same way that positive language in this internal dialogue improves results, negative language has the opposite effect. Negative self-talk that reinforces distorted beliefs can cause anxiety, block action, and affect mental and physical health. Paradoxically, it is much more common to use language with ourselves that we would not tolerate under any circumstances from anyone around us. Phrases like “you’re not good enough, you’ll never get that or you don’t work hard enough“are some examples of that self-inflicted abuse in internal dialogue. A recent analysis indicates that “the thoughts that are part of that internal dialogue are energy and if they generate guilt, anger or shame, they must be changed by thoughts aimed at changing your attention and your mental life in another direction.” In this sense, transforming the way we talk to ourselves improves our resilience and comprehensive well-being. Brian Tracy’s advice for changing your self-image includes identifying your limiting beliefs and formulating a new, specific self-image, with positive affirmations in the present tense and with emotion. Spending a few minutes a day visualizing yourself acting like the person you want to be reinforces that new internal reality. You’ve probably seen elite athletes on the starting line countless times saying to themselves, even out loudthat they will achieve their objectives. That visualization is part of your positive self-talk: “this is exactly what is going to happen because you are able to make it happen.” It is also essential to “act as if”, that is, to behave daily like that new person you want to be, with small habits that demonstrate that transformation. In Xataka | Lack of motivation is a problem for productivity. The trick to avoid it is simple according to science: start Image | Unsplash (Elisa Photography, Noah Buscher)

We have been talking about railguns for years without seeing their real damage. Japan just showed an image that says it all

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Japan is going through one of the most crucial transformations in recent decades: that of its rearmament. It is its most aggressive defense policy since Second World Warand the Ministry of Defense justifies because we are in the “most severe and complex phase of the last 80 years.” And there is nothing that better exemplifies Japanese rearmament than a cannon that, until not long agoit was science fiction material. The electromagnetic cannon. Reconfiguration. Starting in the 1990s, Japan stopped investing significantly in its Self-Defense Forces. He economic bubble burstthe “lost decade” and demographic difficulties implied that the military spending of 1% of GDP that they adopted after the Constitution of 1947 would be maintained. In 2023, things changed. As a result of geopolitical complexity, they decided that they would invest 2% of their GDP in rearmament. In figures, we are talking about about 271,000 million euros until 2027, but recently The target has been brought forward to March 2026. This reconfiguration will manifest itself in four dimensions: the aforementioned increase in military spending, the restructuring of the Self-Defense Forces, a relaxation of restrictions on the export of weapons and the expansion of long-range offensive capabilities. That’s where the railgun comes into play. Electromagnetic cannon. Like gunpowder, it fires a projectile that gains speed as it passes through a barrel. However, it uses electricity instead of gunpowder. Two metal rails form a circuit that, when closed by the projectile, generates an intense magnetic field. This produces a beastly force that propels the projectile at high speed, allowing hypersonic, precise and long-range shots. This speed would allow that would travel without detour even in the most unfavorable weather conditions. Japan has been investing in this field since mid of the 2010s, and a few weeks ago, the Japan Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) performed the first proof documented firing of a naval electromagnetic cannon at a real ship. Mounted in it JS Asuka test shipthe prototype is a cannon of 40 millimeters in caliber and six meters in length. It requires four huge energy containers to power the weapon and the projectiles used were small missiles of about 320 grams, stabilized by fins and without an explosive head. There is no need for an explosion: upon reaching those 2,300 meters per second, the kinetic energy is comparable to that of a 1,000 kilo car crashing into something at 140 km/h. Success. During them, the system achieved a record by firing projectiles at a speed of 2,300 meters per second. It is a speed of Mach 6-7, but in addition, they also pushed the useful life of the barrel to the limit. The estimate was about 120 shots, since it was established in previous phases of the investigation, but they got perform more than 200 shots without the system failing. ATLA had conducted open sea tests before, but never against a real target. And although they had already commented that the tests were a success, now they have shared photographs in which you can see the holes left by these projectiles. The target ship was in motion, but due to the enormous speed and stability of the projectiles thanks to the enormous power of the system, the entry holes allow an almost perfect view of the “cross” left by the projectile passing through the hull. Challenges. Now, understanding how a railgun works is easy, but executing it is extremely complex. It is a brutal technical challenge due to several factors: The stability of the barrel: the system generates tremendous heat, so dissipation systems must be effective enough not to compromise the integrity of the barrel. Wear and tear not only affects the speed and accuracy of the projectile, but can cause accidents on the boat itself. The energy: since it requires so much electricity to operate, it must have storage systems large enough to allow it to operate with the necessary power and during intense fire sessions. Miniaturization of the system: these cannons are extremely large and, although ATLA has managed to contain it quite a bit, mounting them on ships is not easy due to both the length of the cannon itself and the set of batteries required. Integrating a railgun into a ship is not easy. Perspectives. Currently, ATLA is working on evolving a system which might not be as far from the action as was thought a few months ago, and this miniaturization would allow it to be mounted on other types of vehicles, in addition to ground defense lines. But apart from as a weapon, the agency has mentioned that the concept of electromagnetic acceleration could be applied to other areas. For example, to the “mass throwers” ​​that would allow launching materials electromagnetically in space transportation. The problem is that other challenges are added, such as the imperative need to calculate the trajectory millimetrically or develop recovery methods for these goods. USA and China. And, although it may seem like another test of weapons, what Japan has achieved is a milestone. After fifteen years of research and some 500 million dollars invested in the technology, The United States left in 2021 the development of electromagnetic railguns (although they are now with larger versions). Japan has persevered and its testing demonstrates that the system can be viable in a real-world context. And another that has continued to develop this technology is China. They are keeping it more secret, but we have already seen images of Chinese ships with an electromagnetic cannon and power containers on the front. And that, precisely, it was these two countries that They are taking steps forward when developing this technology It’s not a coincidence. They are both engrossed in technological warbut also in a escalation of military tension that has been going on for months and that is leading both countries to accuse each other of invading their respective territory. Images | ATLA, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force In Xataka | Taiwan has had an idea if Beijing invades it: surprise China underground

Mexico desperately needed Mexicans to care about axolotls. So he put them on the bills

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The cultural phenomenon around Mexican axolotl It began with an apparently modest gesture: its appearance on a bill, part of a design process in which specialists in Xochimilco advised the Bank of Mexico to faithfully represent this unique species and its chinampero ecosystem. The initial intention was pedagogical and symbolic, but it ended up unleashing an unexpected enthusiasm of unknown dimensions. The creature that conquered a country. As we said, the emergence in 2021 of the axolotl on the Mexican 50 peso bill completely transformed the country’s relationship with a species that, until then, was known only by specialists and inhabitants from Xochimilco. From the first day of circulation, the design captivated millions of people, not only for its aesthetics, but for the soft and enigmatic figure of the amphibian that, unintentionally, embodied a mixture of tenderness, identity and cultural pride. Without millions in circulation. The bill became an immediate phenomenon: collectors, families and young people began to keep it as a small treasure, which explains why, more than four years later, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has announced through a report that 9.8 million Mexicans They keep or collect this bill as if it were a treasure and they have decided to remove it from circulation. In fact, the bank has detailed that 68% of those consulted, who responded that they keep or collect this paper currency, have one to five units. According to the calculation, if 9.8 million Mexicans keep a 50 bill, it is estimated that around 490 million pesos of this currency, or its approximate equivalent of more than 26 million dollarsare out of circulation. Hallucinatory. Awards. Its success even led to it being internationally awarded as ticket of the yearconsecrating what was already intuited: the image of the axolotl had connected with a collective sensitivity that went far beyond the economic. And behind that image there was a real animal, an axolotl called Gordaselected after a careful process of documentation and photography, which ended up becoming a national figure without anyone planning it. The daily life of la Gorda. Gorda currently lives in Axolotitlán, the National Axolotl Museumwhere she remains in a deep and well-kept fish tank where she is no longer constantly exposed due to her advanced age. Even so, those who visit it can recognize it by small white spots on its head, a feature that ended up becoming its hallmark. Its fame has generated a parallel ecosystem of objects and souvenirs (from stuffed animals to mugs and clothing) that have reinforced its presence in the country’s daily life. But beyond popular culture, specialists have remembered that admiration also implies responsibility: the axolotl is a extremely fragile speciesdependent on a specific environment, and its sudden notoriety only makes sense if it translates into greater awareness about its conservation. Gorda’s story shows that a single specimen can become a bridge between citizens and nature, but also that collective emotion must be accompanied by decisions that guarantee the survival of the species. An extraordinary creature. The qualities axolotl biologicalfrom its ability to regenerate limbs, tissues and even parts of the brain, to its breathing through gills, skin and mouth, or its condition as a salamander that does not complete metamorphosis, have made it a unique animal in the world. However, this singularity coexists with a critical situation: he Ambystoma mexicanum It is classified as extremely endangered and the destruction of its habitat has been constant for decades. Xochimilco, the only place where this species exists naturally, faces a combination of threats: accelerated urbanization, water pollution and the presence of invasive species that have decimated native ones since the 1980s. And more. Added to this are improvised interventionssuch as the release of axolotls without scientific protocols, which end in almost immediate mortality due to thermal shock, poor water quality or competition between specimens. The specialists they insist in which the conservation of the axolotl is not an act of isolated goodwill, but a technical process that requires strict control of the environment, genetic evaluation, slow acclimatization and comprehensive protection of the channels. The fragility of the animal reflects the fragility of the ecosystem that supports it. Restore Xochimilco. Scientists say that the conservation of the axolotl is inseparable from recovery of Xochimilcoand that evidence has led researchers and chinamperos to undertake shelter projects that recover ancestral agricultural techniques. These restored chinampas act as safe microecosystems where axolotls can remain free of contact with invasive species and with adequate water quality. The objective is not to create artificial reserves, but return to the environment its original balance so that the species can survive without eternally depending on human intervention. Xochimilco is not just a historical heritage nor a tourist postcard, it is a living system that regulates floods, stabilizes temperature, supports traditional agriculture and houses a biodiversity that depends on its continuity. The axolotl is only the visible tip of a problem much broader: if your home disappears, ecological functions on which the entire region depends will also disappear. The hype. Be that as it may, the social phenomenon of the 50 peso bill demonstrated that an image can change public perception of an entire species. Gorda became a symbol recognized by millions of people, capable of arousing curiosity, affection and an unexpected sense of identity. But the real impact is not in the collection of banknotes or in the objects inspired by the axolotl, but in the opportunity it opened to understand that conservation is a deeply cultural act: Only what is known is protected, and only that with which a bond is generated is cared for. The challenge in Mexico now is to convert that emotion into a sustained commitment. The bill gave visibility, and the restoration of Xochimilco will decide if that visibility has a future. The axolotl, meanwhile, has already occupied a place in everyday life, and now it is the country that must decide if it will also occupy a place in its future. Image | Dgzvs2012 In Xataka | We … Read more

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