Mobile Tech & Gadgets

incremental games. And it makes perfect sense

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The video game is an interactive medium. Even genres like walking simulators have some of the best mechanics in the industry (there are moments of ‘What Remains of Edith Finch‘ either ‘Mixtape‘ which are impressive), but there are a type of games that are made so that we play as little as possible. They are the ‘idle games‘, games designed to be played alone or with as little attention as possible from the player. Within the same genre there is a twist: incremental games in which there is a certain strategy to achieve that objective of jplay less and less and get bigger rewards. They have a lot of pull. And also all the sense in the world. The psychology of games made so you don’t play First of all, we must make some concepts clear. Incremental games are titles designed so that the numbers within the game do not stop growing. Progressively, we get larger numbers, more resources or more power. At the beginning, we must pay some attention, but the goal is to achieve optimize the game so that we don’t even have to look at the screen. ‘Idle Slayer’ is an example of this type of game: the character advances alone and we only have to pay attention at certain moments to optimize the achievement of those resources, but the doll advances whether we look or not. If we pay attention, resources will increase faster, but it is not totally necessary either. More than Marathon in the last 24 hours Then there are the incremental games. These are already more active and require us to pay attention by clicking on the screen or making frequent decisions. The goal is the same: to reach a point where there are even systems that click for us, prioritizing automation. The most normal thing is that genres intersect because, really, they are not separated. ‘Idle Slayer’, ‘Cookie Clicker‘ (which may be the most famous) or ‘AdVenture Capitalist’ are clickers at first and end up becoming ‘idle’ games in which the goal is the same: automation of everything. Are they big sellers? Well, they are not at the level of large productions or the most played games at all times on Steam, but they do tend to have communities of around 500 or 1,000 people at any time. They are good ‘distractions’ to have there on a second monitor while we do other things, with the satisfaction of seeing how the numbers on the screen go up little by little. In short: we invest, we make decisions with what we earn and the idea is to automate. And the most interesting thing about incremental games is, precisely, the psychology behind them. In some studies that have been made about this type of games (two very good ones are “Play to wait” and “Busy doing nothing? What players do in idle games“) details what tools they have to hook us and encourage us to “play”. The keys that stand out are: Continuous progress: Even though the actions are simple, we see rewards and have a constant sense of progress. Reinforcement and anticipation: Waiting is not empty, since when we get a reward, we are already planning the next one. Motivation cycle: we wait, we collect the prize, we reinvest to achieve improvements. Planning: The fun is not in the immediate reward, but in what we will get in the future when those investments bear fruit. And the low cognitive load: we can resume them at any time and they are suitable for short sessions. Those are the main characteristics why these games are liked, but then there are the psychological levers that they activate, those “brain tickles” that make us want to continue playing. What comes into play here is the reward system with that feeling of “the next improvement is coming, so I’m going to take five more minutes”, but also elements such as the accumulation effect that comes into play when we see multipliers that give the feeling of personal effectiveness and, above all, that we don’t have to pay attention. Known as “delegation of action”, the player outsources that work to the system and the pleasure when playing comes precisely because the numbers get bigger and bigger without us having to make an effort, so we have a certain satisfaction in feeling that the world moves forward without our surveillance, but that it is generating rewards for us. You may think that it is empty dopamine, but the satisfaction and attraction of the genre is also marked because there is a certain planning on our part. With what we have achieved, we buy some improvements and not others because this way we will get the rewards we are looking for. In turn, that satisfaction does not come only from the rewardbut rather that we feel that we have made the right decision to obtain said reward. Although I have sometimes had times of being “hooked” on some of these games, they are not really my type. As a curiosity, yes, they are fine, but in the end those mechanisms and the dopamine they generate do not make much of an impact. I like the reward of a ‘type game’ better.Devil‘ either ‘Destiny‘ which, in the end, is based on the same thing, but with a much clearer and more direct interaction on my part. Except ‘Rusty’s Retirement’, that game is spectacular and I really liked it, Now, I completely understand why these incremental games are so successful. In Xataka | Independent analysts agree: “The Steam Machine is an expensive curiosity, not a gaming device for the masses”

We have turned the absence of demands into the most expensive good on the market. And we call it silence

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Rolls-Royce has an engineering department dedicated exclusively to calibrating how much silence should enter the cabin of a Phantomand what exact type. Not absolute silence, which they found creates nausea and disorientation, but a specific silence: an almost imperceptible residue of engine sound that confirms to the occupant that the power is still there. Only he has decided not to bother him. They call him “engineering silence“and costs almost more than the engine. This gives us a clue as to where the shots are going: silence has never come free. The mansions have walls of one and a half meters, the gardens served as an acoustic barrier and the operas are built so that not even half a creak reaches the neighboring box. The fact that silence is a luxury is not new, it is history, what is new is that it is no longer necessary to buy land to achieve it. Now silence is manufactured. And like any manufactured product, it can be sold, packaged and improved in the next version. Silence has been a side effect of privilege: the rich living away from the noise because they could afford the land and the distance. Now we move to silence as a product designed by sound engineers. The active cancellation headphonesone more simile xatakerothey do not eliminate noise but rather shape it. They generate the reverse wave calculated exactly to cancel out the frequencies of the airplane or the noise in the cafeteria. It is the same logic, but in reverse, that Volkswagen and other manufacturers use when They pump through the speakers a synthetic engine roar so that a stealthy electric car sounds like it has another engine. We make fake noise for those who want to feel powerful and fake silence for those who want to feel safe. In both cases, what you pay for is not the sound or its absence, but the feeling of having control over it. But the silence of a Rolls-Royce and the silence of an unanswered call have something in common that goes beyond sound: they are both, in reality, absence of demand. And control, not silence, is what has become a premium item. The most expensive version of acoustic disconnection is not not hearing the noise on the street, but not even having to respond. The assistant that filters calls, the agenda that decides who deserves your attention and who doesn’t, the possibility of sending someone off with a “my team will contact you” without it sounding like an excuse. This is not sold by Apple, Bose or Sennheiser. It is bought with power. The noise, meanwhile, has stayed exactly where it was: in those who cannot afford to avoid it. The silent carriage of the AVE because the rest is not and no one expects it to be, the neighbor messing around with the drill at odd hours, the bank notifications that you cannot silence in case a danger signal appears at some point, the hum of work WhatsApp groups (another epidemic) who assume that you are available on a Tuesday night, because answering quickly is an obligation for those who do not have the margin not to do so. The silence has been gentrified. Even something else: it has been converted into a subscription. And like any subscription, as soon as you stop paying, the noise returns. In Xataka | There is a generation working for free as a documentarian of their own life: they are not influencers but they act as if they were. Featured image | Xataka

The best offers from El Corte Inglés and MediaMarkt in technology and entertainment, today, July 5

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After Amazon’s Prime Day, many stores have gotten to work offering very attractive offers. Both El Corte Inglés and MediaMarkt continue to have many discounts available through their campaigns, so in this article we are going to review the best deals in technology and entertainment. JBL Tune 777 NC by 79 eurosBluetooth headphones that promise an autonomy of up to 70 hours. Lenovo Legion Go S by 649 eurosa consolidated PC with a very attractive price, especially in the midst of the RAM memory crisis. LG OLED C5 by 949 eurosan OLED television that is perfect for movies and gaming. HP OmniBook X Flip 14 by 917.23 eurosa convertible laptop with an OLED screen and Windows 11. nintendo switch 2 by 459 eurosthe console with a video game to choose from four different options. Nintendo Switch 2 + game of your choice The price could vary. We earn commission from these links JBL Tune 777NC One of MediaMarkt’s Deals of the Day is the JBL Tune 777NCBluetooth headphones that currently cost 79 euros (before 129 euros). However, Amazon has a practically identical model (770 NC), at least in specifications, so 69.99 euros. In any case, we are talking about headphones that promise a autonomy of up to 70 hours of usea very high figure that we do not often find. They also have adaptive noise cancellation and have fast charging. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Lenovo Legion Go S Although many devices have increased in price due to the RAM crisis, there are many others that do the opposite, lowering the price through offers. It is the case of the Lenovo Legion Go S which is currently in El Corte Inglés for 649 euros (at the same price at MediaMarkt). We are talking about a console with a Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, eight-inch screen, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage and Steam OS operating system. Lenovo Legion Go S (512GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links LG OLED C5 MediaMarkt has the offer again LG OLED C5a television that we recommend for its quality-price ratio. It incorporates an OLED panel of, in this case, 55 inches that offers a refresh rate up to 144 Hz (via VRR) and supports both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Its price is 949 euros instead of 1,299 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links HP OmniBook X Flip 14 If you are looking for a good laptop, El Corte Inglés right now has the HP OmniBook X Flip 14 for a price of 917.23 euros instead of 1,199 euros. It is a convertible computer that incorporates a 14-inch OLED screen, Ryzen AI 7-450 processor, 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of internal storage. Plus, it comes with Windows 11. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 Finally, MediaMarkt has once again launched one of its best promotions in the nintendo switch 2since it is on offer for 459 euros instead of 469.99 euros and gives you a video game to choose from four different options: ‘Kirby Air Riders’ ‘Hades 2’ ‘Metroid Prime 4 Beyond’ ‘Mario Tennis Fever’ Nintendo Switch 2 + game of your choice 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. Image | MediaMarkt, El Corte Inglés and Compradicción (header), JBL, Lenovo, LG, HP, Nintendo In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | Best wireless over-ear headphones. Which one to buy and five recommended models

Brussels says that two thirds of what is sold in Europe has problems

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In 2022, the European Commission did a study about the most popular spices on the market. The x-ray was devastating: fraud was the order of the day. Furthermore, it was extremely common. We are talking about pepper, cumin, turmeric, saffron or paprika. That was a huge scandal and the Commission itself asked the Member States to strengthen controls. What happened next cannot surprise anyone. Let’s talk about cinnamon. In 2023, cinnamon was the fifth most imported spice in the Union. In September 2025, the Commission’s science and knowledge service (the Joint Research Center) analyzed more than a hundred samples of cinnamon marketed in a dozen countries of the European Union. The result? More than 66% of the samples analyzed They have problems. What happens to them? Well, they either violate international quality regulations or the food safety legislation of the European Union. Some show signs of fraud, others a high amount of lead and some more exceed the legal limits of coumarin (a substance that, although natural, is potentially toxic to the liver). That’s without counting fraud, of course. Up to 9% of samples labeled as Ceylon cinnamon were totally or partially replaced for Cassia cinnamon, “a cheaper and lower quality alternative, with a stronger flavor and containing coumarin naturally.” What we can do. That’s the worst. Judging by the results of the JRC, we can do little with the means we have right now. “The type of irregularities detected in cinnamon, including fraudulent practices, is diverse and cannot be addressed with a single analytical technique, which is why standardized methods are needed,” says the Commission. Taking the problem seriously would entail taking action on the matter. Above all, because the high rate of irregular cinnamon samples on the European market indicates that “all actors in the sector, from policy makers to control laboratories and manufacturers, must pay attention.” A version of this article was published in 2025 Image | Michael Collett In Xataka | It looks like honey, it smells like honey, it tastes like honey, it’s not honey: the import fraud that devastates Europe

Science confirms that movement literally ignites your creativity

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Being in front of a screen or a piece of paper and needing ideas to emerge is something that for many people is an urgent need, but the problem here is that sometimes it is completely impossible. But the reality here is that we have a wonderful way of get these ideas to come to mind through a simple walk. Science has studied it. For decades, experts have been looking for a way to unblock our brain in this situation, and here a study published in 2014 had a lot to say, since the researchers demonstrated through four experiments that walking has a positive effect on the creative thinking that is often lacking. However, his greatest contribution was the dissection of what type of creativity benefits from movement. Specifically, they saw a drastic improvement in the divergent thinkingwhich is nothing more than the ability to generate multiple new and original ideas from a stimulus, but a null or even slightly detrimental effect on the convergent thinkingwhich is the ability to arrive at a single correct or logical answer. The best. With all this we come to the conclusion that walking is an extraordinarily powerful tool for brainstorming or starting a project from scratch, but it is not the best strategy if what we need is to solve a complex mathematical equation or find the exact answer to a test. In the real world. This study laid the foundation in a controlled environment where, in fact, part of the experiments showed that the effect persisted when walking on a treadmill in front of a blank wall, ruling out that the visual stimulus in the environment was the only one responsible. But when we leave here, the logical thing we think is that everything can end up changing. And to answer this, a study published in 2024 in American Psychologist took research out of the lab thanks to sensors and real-time evaluations in 157 young adults and analyzed daily steps in an everyday context. Your results confirmed that both acute walking episodes and the regular habit of going for a walk are directly associated with greater performance in verbal creative ideation. That is, the effect was not a laboratory anomaly, but rather translated perfectly to the real world. And it is confirmed again. This same year, a systematic review published in the journal PLOS ONE analyzed 23 independent studies where 1,036 participants were grouped together. Their conclusions indicated that there is a large and statistically significant effect between walking and having better divergent thinking. But there is still no evidence regarding convergent thinking. Images | Emma Simpson In Xataka | Psychology knows that feeling pleasure in the misfortune of others is not a psychopath: it is a very “human” reaction.

Two 5,000-year-old tombs in Jabal al-Tayr reveal how Egypt learned to build the great pyramids

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The pyramids of Ancient Egypt remain a mystery thousands of years later: we are not even sure how they were made (there are theories that point to ramps and master logistics to hydraulic systems) nor how they reached such a level of knowledge and skill working with stone. Because between a pantheon carved in rock and a colossal pyramid like that of Giza there is a whole world of evolution. Well, at the site of Jabal al-Tayr (Minya) a team of archeology professionals has just found that middle ground. The discovery. The Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt has found a funerary complex that brings together two tombs from the Early Dynastic Period and burials from the Predynastic and the Late Period. The first tomb has a particular geometry: the thickness of its walls becomes thinner as it ascends. The second Mohamed Abdel Badie, head of the Egyptian Antiquities Sector, account for Daily News Egypt that this solution could be the engineering antechamber that made the stepped pyramid and smooth-sided pyramids possible. In short, it may be a clue to how the Egyptians began to understand how to support large masses of stone. Why is it important. Because having burials from different periods in the same space makes it easier to analyze the evolution of funerary architecture in the centuries prior to the construction of the great pyramids. These preliminary studies indicate striking similarities between the design of these newly discovered tombs and the famous tomb of King Den at Abydos. According to El-Leithy, this resemblance reinforces the archaeological importance of Jabal Al-Tayr as a necropolis, both architecturally and for the Egyptian civilization itself: it was used continuously from the Predynastic Period to the Late Period. Context. The evolution of Egyptian funerary architecture began with the mastabas of the first dynasties: a rectangular structure with a flat roof, built of adobe or stone, with a vertical well that went down to the burial chamber. From the mastabas they went to the stepped pyramids. In fact, Djoser’s tomb at Saqqara It started as a mastaba and expanded until it became a step pyramid, the first large stone structure in Egypt. The tombs of Jabal al-Tayr belong to the Early Dynastic Period, that is, to the time before Djoser, when the constructive solution that would make the pyramid possible was still being sought. In detail. Mohamed Abdel Badie explains They probably used the first tomb to extract the stone for reuse, but the preserved sections still contain important details about how it was built at the time, such as cut marks and remains of large pieces of wood that reinforced the walls. The second tomb has almost the same shape but is much better preserved because it was not looted. At the site they also found older burials where there were bodies in a fetal position wrapped in plant fiber mats and accompanied by ceramics from the Naqada II and Naqada III periods, prior to the formation of the Egyptian state. Yes, but. This finding does not clearly demonstrate that the tombs are direct ancestors of the pyramids; at the moment it is a hypothesis based on the design and its resemblance to the tomb of Pharaoh Den in Abydos. The archeology team has yet to determine the exact date of the tombs, who lies there and what relationship they have to the known sites of Abydos and Saqqara. In Xataka | If the question is how the Egyptian pyramids were made, science has an idea: hydraulic systems In Xataka | China’s first pipeline network is 4,000 years old and something revolutionary: it was built without the need for kings or nobles Cover | Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and Alex Azabache

“With increasingly frequent heat waves, more importance could be given to urban trees”

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The asphalt radiates heat, the air becomes dense and thermometers shoot up, and anyone who has walked through a big city in the middle of summer knows the abysmal difference between crossing a square concrete in full sun and take refuge under the canopy of a wooded park. The problem is that, for decades, modern urban planning has treated trees and green areas as mere “urban furniture” or a dispensable ornament to beautify the streets. A big change comes with the climate emergency that we have above our heads, and the scientific community points to the need to make a radical paradigm shift. They specifically propose that urban forests are no longer seen as something merely decorative, but rather that they must be protected and financed with the same priority as the electrical grid, sewage or telecommunications. Under investigation. A published essay At the beginning of the month in PLOS Climate has dotted the i’s after years of scientific evidence and launched a petition to governments to legislate on urban forests, considering them as essential infrastructure for climate resilience. This positioning, which functions as a roadmap, does not emerge from nowhere, but is directly aligned with the most serious warnings of recent years, including the IPCC 6th Assessment Report. In this document, the United Nations already pointed out sustainable urban planning and green infrastructure (such as parks, urban forests and vegetation covers) as key and irreplaceable adaptation and mitigation measures against global warming. Our shields. To understand why scientists urge legally shielding trees, just look at the physical data. As stated in a recent academic review on urban forests as “nature-based solutions”, the presence of forest mass In cities, it directly attacks two of the worst symptoms of climate change, which are heat waves and torrential rains. This is because trees mitigate the dreaded “urban heat island” effect through evapotranspiration and thermal shading, dramatically reducing surface temperatures. At the same time, they act like giant sponges by acting as critical structures in regulating stormwater, preventing catastrophic flooding, and acting as natural filters that improve air quality. Public health. The impact of trees goes far beyond thermodynamics, since various studies compiled in publications such as the one published in ScienceDirect have demonstrated that the lack of trees is, literally, a public health problem. For example, an article published in 2023 shelled the physiological, psychological and immunological mechanisms by which green cities transform our health, reducing chronic stress and improving our immune response. But the evidence on biodiversity and cardiovascular health is still impressive, since the evidence indicates that being exposed to diverse urban ecosystems reduces the incidence of heart disease. The experts. Daniel Jato, professor of Engineering and Environmental Management at the UIV, pointed out in statements to SMC that “in the current context, marked by increasingly frequent, intense and early heat waves, perhaps the role of urban trees could have been emphasized even more.” Images | sq lim In Xataka | César Franco, engineer: “In Spain we are not immune to the effects of climate change, we need to intensify conservation”

The Rhine is running out of water due to heat waves. And that is a logistical and energy disaster for Europe

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A new wave of extreme heat is hitting the heart of the European continent, and the consequences go far beyond the records in thermometers or the fact to see raised tram tracks. The Rhine River, Western Europe’s most important river highway, is seeing its water levels plummet and the result is that a logistical bottleneck is being generated that threatens the supply of fuel and fundamental raw materials for Europe. The worry. The alarm has begun to be raised when it has been detected that the barges that navigate the river can barely carry half of their capacity, putting the supply of an important part of Europe in check. And all because of these heat waves that we are experiencing in Europe. To understand the magnitude of the problem, you have to look at how inland navigation works, since the Rhine is not limited to water crossing Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, but is an industrial artery. Literally, coal for thermal power plants, chemicals for industrial giants, oil or automotive components are transported through this river. The drought. When the flow of the river begins to decrease, its depth also decreases, and this collides with vessels that have a critical threshold. This means that if the water drops below a certain level at key points such as the famous Kaub bottleneck in Germany, captains are forced to drastically reduce their load to avoid running aground on the river bottom. This makes load 50 or even 30% of the boat’s capacity It is not an exaggeration, but a physical necessity. This triggers a domino effect that means that, if a ship carries half the load, it takes a second to do the same work. And since there are no infinite ships, transportation prices skyrocket and goods either do not arrive on time or become very expensive. It’s not just the Rhine. Although the exact impact figures should always be taken with caution because they vary greatly depending on the stretch of the river and the type of vessel, the general diagnosis is incontestable. Here the Joint Research Center of the European Commission has studied in-depth how limitations due to low water levels impact European rivers. Its scientific framework perfectly explains the current collapse, since low levels not only reduce cargo capacity, but completely alter continental logistics flows, drastically increasing operating costs. The reasons. Here the different institutions are clear that the problem lies in the lack of rain in spring and the lower amount of snow accumulated in the Alps during the winter, which causes the river to lose its natural “reserve” for the summer. But also, the Rhine is clearly warming. This not only has clear economic effects, but also serious ecological impacts on the river’s fauna, which in turn forces additional restrictions to be imposed. The new normal. What we are seeing this year does not seem like an event that remains a simple anecdote to tell our grandchildren, but rather the different evidence indicates that seeing low flow will be increasingly frequent due to climate change. The proposed solution involves the use of AI to predict exactly when we will see these very low flows to optimize the supply chain, or simply build flat-bottomed boats with better drafts to be able to continue transporting cargo when the river is at even lower levels of flow. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Global warming has stepped on the accelerator at an unprecedented rate and we are getting closer to the point of no return

2,200 years ago, the Earth’s magnetic field collapsed. Some wine amphorae recorded it with unprecedented precision

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Finding some ceramic at a site is a fairly common occurrence, but in archeology the context is almost everything: this way you can discover from the Roman legions took away their vices there where they were going 1,800 years ago they were already used as piggy banks. Or even strange movements of the Earth. It’s what has happened in three sites in Jerusalem, where 24 pieces of ceramic have functioned as a kind of millennia-old compass record. The discovery. A research team from Tel Aviv University, Ariel University and the University of California, San Diego has managed to obtain geomagnetic information from 17 handles of wine amphorae from the island of Rhodes and seven jugs made there in Jerusalem, more specifically from the sites of the City of David, the Jewish Quarter and the Givati ​​parking lot. What makes them special are two things: on all of them the names of the potter and the supervisor of that year’s production appeared. There is another surprising fact from the analysis of the pieces: reveal that between the years 206 and 156-155 BC the Earth’s magnetic field lost more than 30% of its intensity. The scientific explanation. When clay is fired at high temperatures, the iron-containing minerals it contains are oriented according to the magnetic field that exists at that moment and when they cool, they stay that way forever… or until they are heated above the Curie temperature. If they are heated some time later in a laboratory under certain controlled conditions, it is possible to obtain the signal and intensity of the magnetic field from the time of manufacture, which is known as “archaeointensity analysis.” Why is it important. Because the ceramic pieces revealed that the magnetic field weakened much faster than estimated with current models. On the other hand, because magnetism offers an alternative to radiocarbon to date ancient objects and structures with a precision that carbon cannot always offer. Already there were studies that they affirmed it, but this confirms it for the Hellenistic era. Context. The starting ceramics are stamped handles of amphorae made on the island of Rhodes between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. In the Hellenistic period, these amphorae circulated throughout the eastern Mediterranean, loaded with wine or oil. Greek amphorae they used to have engraving the name of the potter and the annual official who supervised production, called the eponym. This administrative custom turns the Rhodes amphorae into a chronological instrument of incredible precision: it is possible to date pieces with a time deviation of less than one year, something that is rarely seen in archaeology. In detail. Collaterally, this finding also has implications for the acra fortressa building that the Seleucid king Antiochus IV ordered to be built around 167 BC to control the city during the time of the Maccabees and whose exact location has been one of the most lively debates in archeology in Jerusalem for decades. In 2015, at the Givati ​​car park site, a team of archaeologists discovered part of a defensive ramp that they associated with Accra. The problem is that one of the vessels found in its structure belongs to a ceramic type that does not appear until after 130 BC, that is, decades after when Antiochus IV ordered the construction of the fortress. If the ramp were part of the original Acra of 167 BC, the vessel in its foundation would have to date from before that date, not later. Furthermore, its magnetic intensity fits with a manufacture from the end of the 2nd century BC. C. What does this mean? That ramp may not belong to the original Accra structure. Yes, but. The study concludes that a jug found under a defensive ramp in the Givati ​​car park is too recent to be linked to the original construction of the Accra fortress. But that information does not resolve anything: the ramp could have belonged to a later renovation phase or the jug could have been placed there later. On the other hand, Previous investigations in the Levant They already pointed to a drop in the magnetic field between 220 and 160 BC, and this finding supports it with unprecedented precision. Even so, 24 vessels are an insufficient sample to consolidate the curve on a regional scale: more samples are needed from more sites. In Xataka | A cargo sunk in a Swiss lake 2,000 years ago confirms it: the Roman legions did not deprive themselves of anything In Xataka | The most polarizing and divisive scientific debate of the moment has to do with wine. With one 1,700 years old Cover | Israel Antiquities Authority and Toa Heftiba

The price of apartments in Madrid is so sky-high that it is cheaper to buy an island in Scotland

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The island that you see on these lines on the left belongs to the Summer Isles archipelago, it is on the northwest coast of Scotland and it can be yours: a 35.9 hectare piece of land located in the heart of the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area, with caves, beaches, cliffs, a fully equipped cabin and even a jetty. Luxury. Buying an island is not something that most of us can do on paper. Or yes: it costs less than the average price of a 90 square meter apartment in Madrid, According to Tinsa data, one of the large multinational appraisal companies. The idea is no longer so crazy because if you can afford an apartment in Madrid, you can afford an island where Christ lost his lighter. The accounts don’t come out. The island of Mullagrach, as it is called, is available for bidding at the modest price of 350,000 pounds sterling, about 406,000 euros. And according to Tinsa, the average price of housing (new and used) reached an average value of 4,605 ​​euros per square meter in the first quarter of 2026. And rising: 18.07% annually, that’s nothing. That average value for a small apartment in Madrid is 414,481 euros. Idealista has fresher data and even more dizzyingly high: 5,984 euros per square meter in May 2026, so a 70 square meter apartment would cost 418,000 euros. Madrid is not alone: Tinsa has a map where you can choose provincial capitals, provinces and autonomous communities. Taking as a basis those approximately 400,000 euros and that area of ​​90 square meters, the reality is that it would also be better for you to buy that Scottish island than an apartment in Donosti or Barcelona. Average house price in the first quarter of 2026. Tinsa Why is it important. Beyond the joke of the island, because an acquisition like this has its substance and its fine print, the comparison is powerful to highlight once again the runaway price of housing both in purchase like for rentconcentrated especially in large nuclei. When buying a remote island is better than a medium-sized urban apartment, it becomes clear that there is a structural problem in large cities like Madrid, Barcelona, ​​London, Lisbon, Amsterdam: people who work there but cannot afford to live there. A reminder: the average salary in Spain was 29,540.26 euros per worker in 2024. To meet the 30% you need to undertake the purchase with a mortgage, you would need to allocate your salary in full for more than four years. Yes, you can buy an affordable apartment in Villaconejos del Caudillo, but your job is not there. And the offer of basic services in towns, after decades of depopulation and concentration in large cities, leaves a lot to be desired. The agglomeration economy At its best: the value of land depends not so much on its size or how fertile it is, but on its location relative to employment, services and transport networks. Context. The increase in housing prices in Madrid is neither new nor random: it has its explanation in a strong imbalance between supply and demand of a basic necessity common to the majority of large European cities, which concentrate more and more population and employment, while rural areas become empty, as confirmed by the OECD. The result? Urban housing is rising in price because many people want it and there is not enough housing available, nor is there public housing nor is there regulation. On the other side of the coin, rural land is stagnating or declining because fewer and fewer people want to live there. The island for sale is a good example: it is isolated and lacks basic services nearby. In fact, the offer is not rare: according to Fotocasa You can have your own island from 320,000 euros, although without construction. In detail. There are several economic mechanisms that explain this price gap between the Scottish island and the Madrid apartment. To begin with, the elasticity of supply: in a large city there is the space that there is and a series of restrictions (heights, assets, etc.) that do not exist or apply to a lesser extent on remote rural land. Demand is also different: you need to live close to your work, so the need for urban demand is inelastic. The demand for remote islands is a luxury good with a small interested base. Yes, but. Thus, the comparison between an island and an apartment is juicy enough to pass up, but in practice having an island implies a series of hidden costs that are not within everyone’s reach. And we are not talking about something as simple as not being able to get a mortgage: you have to get there by boat or helicopter, there is no doctor or supermarkets, there is no infrastructure, services and even coverage can be a problem. And if you regret it, let’s see how you find a buyer to get rid of it. In Xataka | Spain has a housing deficit and a huge problem to solve it: a land jam that blocks millions of apartments In Xataka | The plain of Madrid has become a nest of urbanizations and illegal homes: the problem is what to do with them Cover | Isle Ristol by Rude Health and Alev Takil

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