reading

Science has calculated the real impact of reading books on your brain. And it has a very simple recipe: 30 minutes a day

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It is well known that a sedentary lifestyle It is one of the great enemies of public healthespecially at advanced ages where muscle loss is a great danger. However, there are sedentary activities that are really beneficial and that we sometimes stop, such as reading books. Its benefit is such that science has shown that immersing yourself in the pages of a good book It not only feeds the intellect, but also lengthens life. The demonstration. One of the most important studies who wanted to focus on the benefits of reading, beyond the cognitive benefits or the richness of vocabulary for everyday life, analyzed a group of 3,635 nationally representative participants in the United States over 12 years. And as a result, they saw that the longer the time spent reading books, lower risk of mortality. The results. To understand the magnitude of the discovery, the researchers followed all the patients until 20% of them died and only 80% remained. There they put the cut and began to draw conclusions. The first is that non-readers reached this point at 85 months, while book readers reached this same threshold at 108 months. This is something that translates into a 23-month survival advantage for those who had the habit of reading books, or in other words, readers reduced the risk of mortality by 20% throughout the 12 years of follow-up. Furthermore, this protection was maintained regardless of a person’s gender, wealth, education, or health status. The format matters. Although you may think that any type of reading is appropriate, even the back of a shampoo, the reality is quite different. In this case, the study explicitly compared the impact of reading books versus reading the newspaper or a magazine. The findings here demonstrated that reading books contributes to a significantly greater survival advantage than that seen with newspapers or magazines. While magazines offer short articles that we often skim, books require a higher level of concentration. Something that is enhanced above all because the authors constantly present themes, characters and topics and that is essential to be able to follow the thread of the story that is being presented to us. Because? Here science is quite clear that the key is in the brain, since the “cognitive score” functioned as a complete mediator of this survival advantage. This means that reading books improves cognition and it is this cognitive improvement that prolongs life. Here reading books activates different specific neural processes that create this advantage. Among the most notable points, we find that active reading of books improves skills such as reasoning, concentration, critical thinking and vocabulary. But it also promotes social perception, empathy and emotional intelligence, which can lead to better health behaviors and stress reduction. Fundamental things when we talk about extending life. It’s backed up. In addition to the original study published in 2016, science has wanted to continue investigating the benefits of reading with a study published in 2024 where the complexity of reading in older adults pointed to less cognitive decline. But it has also been decided to analyze even the cultural level of the citizens, where it has been seen that low literacy increases mortalityonce again making the act of reading books stimulate our brain and protect our cognitive reserve. Although it is not necessary to be reading all day to guarantee having a better brain, studies specifically point out that with about 30 minutes a day It is enough to start reaping these advantages and obtain more years of life in which to continue reading. Images | Blaz Photo In Xataka | The problem is not that we are reading fewer books: it is that the books we read are much simpler and easier

We have been reading philosophers from the West and Asia for centuries in search of the secret of happiness. Turns out the Aztecs had it

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Each course Lynn Sebastian Purcell, philosophy professor, repeat the same experiment. After reviewing the passage from the ‘Odyssey’ in which Ulysses renounces an eternal life of pleasures with the nymph Calypso to search for his wife and son, the teacher presents a dilemma to his students: How many would do the same as the king of Ithaca? “How many of you would reject immortality and a pleasant existence on the condition that you never see your family and loved ones again?” defiant spear Purcell to the classroom. The answer is always the same: nobody. The ‘Odyssey’ is an epic poem that connects with the Greco-Latin tradition, but in reality that particular passage about Ulysses summarizes well the vital philosophy of a civilization that lived thousands of kilometers from the Ionian Sea: the aztec. Goal: happiness. I don’t know exactly who you are, but it’s quite likely that you, me and the more than 8 billion Of people who share this world, we agree that it is desirable to have a happy life. Logical, right? Happiness is one of those golden nuggets that philosophy has been searching for for centuries. I did it in times of Epicurus and he does it in our days. In fact one of the most famous treatises of Bertrand Russella famous philosopher of the 20th century, is titled with a phrase that is quite a proclamation: “The conquest of happiness”. The lesson of Ulysses. However, it is one thing to aspire to happiness and another to decide how to achieve it or even what exactly happiness is. This is where the passage from the ‘Odyssey’ of the nymph Calypso. If it’s just about seeking happiness, Ulysses already had it, right? If we agree that the goal is to be happy (just like that), isn’t it a good idea to spend an eternal life, free of illness and deprivation, living with a goddess on a distant paradise island? Why does Ulysses decide to return to the sea… and his hardships? “Let it be worth it”. Ulysses’ attitude (like that of Purcell’s students) connects fully with a philosophical ethic that for decades has gone unnoticed in the West: that of the pre-Columbian Aztecs. For them, remember the teacherwhat humanity really seeks is not so much a life full of happiness and pleasures as “an existence that is worthwhile.” That’s the goal. The texts that are preserved and tell us about how the Aztecs saw the world show that for them humanity faced “an existential problem,” In Purcell’s words: a brief, fickle existence, during which it is impossible to control everything just as it is not to skate in a quagmire. “Slippery is the land”. “What they wanted to say is that, despite our best intentions, our life is prone to error, failure in our objectives and, therefore, to ‘fall’, as if we were going to end up in the mud. Furthermore, this earth is a place where joy comes mixed with pain and setbacks,” explains the professor in an article published by the Philosophy Association (APA). In it he remembers that this entire conception of the world can be summarized in a popular saying: “Slippery, slick is the earth”“slippery, slippery is the earth.” Wait, Aztec philosophy? Exact. It has not been easy to survive and in the West we may not have paid enough attention to it, but that does not mean that the pre-Columbian Aztecs created a valuable philosophical corpus, with different currents and treatises. “We have many volumes of his texts recorded in his native language, Nahuatl,” claims Purcell at the BBC. “While few of the pre-colonial hieroglyphic-type books survived the Spanish burnings, our main sources of knowledge derive from the records made by Catholic priests until the early 17th century.” A different vision. Thanks to them we preserve codices with sayings, exhortations, poems, dialogues… different manifestations that essentially tell us about the same thing: how the Aztecs who lived between the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th approached existence. Good example is the ‘Florentine Codex’a bilingual work by friar Bernardino de Sahagún on pre-Columbian knowledge. His legacy is not only interesting because of what he tells us, it is also interesting, Purcell claimsbecause it opens our eyes to “another pre-modern culture with an ethics of virtues”, one different from the legacy of Aristotle or even Confucius. “Place of joy with fatigue”. At this point the question is obvious… If the Aztecs believed that what humans really want are lives “worthwhile”, even more than joyful and pleasant existences, how to achieve it? How to face the passage through this world, “a place of joy with fatigue and pain”, as an Aztec passage says? The key is in a recipe with four ingredients, four “levels” that allow us to enjoy a rooted life, “neltiliztli”. Continuing with the metaphor of existence as a swampy terrain, full of mud, the idea is to take root to gain a foothold. And how to achieve it? To begin by ‘rooting’ in one’s own body. As Purcell explains, the figurines and descriptions we preserve of the Aztecs show us that they liked to exercise their bodies. In fact, they had a regimen of activities aimed at stretching and strengthening the body that is partly reminiscent of yoga. Rooted in the body, it had to be done at another level: the “psyche”, seeking a balance between the heart and the head, desires and judgment. “Only in the middle can you go, only in the middle can you live”, advises one of his works. Social creatures… and of the earth. In an article Published years ago in Aeon, the scholar of Latin American philosophy points out two more levels at which those who want to achieve a rooted life must work, “neltiliztli”, a term that is also used as “truth” and “goodness.” The first level is “rootedness in the community.” We live surrounded by people, in societies in which we play a role that connects us with others and activates the … Read more

There are TikTok influencers reading ‘Wuthering Heights’ and not understanding its vocabulary. It shouldn’t surprise us

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A viral video where a young Spanish woman complains about the difficulty of reading the romantic classic ‘Wuthering Heights’ has sparked a generational debate about reading comprehension. But beyond the controversy, the data show a real problem: reading skills are falling in all generations, with digital natives being the sector of the population most especially affected. The video. It lasts just two minutesbut it has been generating debate for days. A 25-year-old girl complains, with her copy of ‘Wuthering Heights’ in hand, that she finds the language archaic, she needs to consult the dictionary constantly to understand terms like “tin” or “par excellence”, and she estimates that it will take months to finish it. The video has accumulated millions of views and has unleashed a generational war on social networks: how is it possible, say the most veterans, that a university student does not know relatively commonly used words or is not used to consulting a dictionary? The conversation should not be limited to pointing out blame and differences between educational levels. We are facing a generational change that alludes to how written language is processed, and ‘Wuthering Heights’ has become the accidental battlefield on which to explore that transformation. New times. There is a gap between contemporary narrative aimed at young audiences and literary classics. Young Adult (YA) prose, a genre that attracts millions of readers on social networks (a fact: 55% of the readers who roam TikTok are between 18 and 34 years old, and 78% they are women) prioritizes immediacy, agile dialogues and direct descriptions. It is literature designed for rapid consumption, in tune with digital rhythms. Emily Brontë, for her part, wrote for Victorian readers accustomed to long subordinate clauses, detailed descriptions, and a vocabulary that assumed a certain formal education. Distance is both temporal and structural: different narrative architectures for differently trained brains. The data. The TikTok viral could be interpreted as an isolated anecdote, but a recent study by the BBVA Foundation prepared by Spanish researchers with international data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). It reveals a progressive decline in reading and numerical skills since the Millennial generation: those born after 1980 show significantly lower cognitive skills than Baby Boomers and Generation X when they were the same age. According to the study, Generation Z obtains reading comprehension scores up to 20 points below Generation PIAAC standardized testswhich evaluate the ability to understand, interpret and use written information. The gap widens in numerical skills: young people born after 1995 show difficulties in interpreting graphs, calculating percentages or solving basic mathematical problems applied to real situations. The deterioration is systematic, and also affects developed countries with advanced educational systems. Eyes that do not see. The studies of eye tracking from the Nielsen Norman Group document how users read on the Internet following an F pattern: two horizontal sweeps across the top, followed by a quick vertical scan down the left side. Reading becomes selective keyword tracking. This behavior, typical of Internet browsing, is inappropriate for complex texts that require following arguments developed over multiple pages. The architecture of attention changes: we move from deep dive to shallow scan. The fault of social networks. Digital platforms are designed to capture attention through short, dopamine content. The algorithms reward 15-second videos, striking images, and texts that are consumed at a glance. The attention economy does not encourage depth, and reading ‘Wuthering Heights’ requires the opposite: sustained concentration, tolerance for ambiguity, the ability to memorize information while constructing cumulative meaning. They are skills that atrophy without training. If new generations show systematic deficits in these areas, the consequences transcend the debate over whether or not someone can read a Victorian classic. They affect how we process information of all kinds: medical, legal, financial, political… The young woman in the viral video may be a symptom of something more worrying than the inability to read texts with unusual vocabulary. Facilitate access? This controversy opens up a multitude of tremendously fascinating sub-controversies: educate better or facilitate access to complex texts? For example, Penguin Random House launched its collection in the United Kingdom in 2019. Penguin English Library with updated translations of classics, maintaining the original meaning but eliminating obsolete linguistic turns that slow down reading. The also British The School of Life He published versions “translated into modern English” of philosophers such as Schopenhauer and Nietzsche. AND apparentlythese editions sold 40% more than traditional versions among readers under 30 years of age during the year 2020-2021. But there is also the counterargument that simplifying language impoverishes the experience of reading. The classics are not just arguments or themes that can be transported to any packaging. For example, Brontë’s prose, with its labyrinthine subordinate clauses and convoluted vocabulary, builds atmosphere and rhythm. Removing that complexity to “make it easier” to read is like reducing the length of a classical music symphony because today’s listeners prefer three-minute songs. The search should perhaps be to improve reading training, not to adjust the texts to the less prepared reader. In Xataka | The best books to read in 2026: a selection of readings from all genres for a year between pages

ChatGPT has the same chance of hitting the Lottery Jackpot as a witch reading the guts of a crow

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There are those who always play the same number. Others travel half of Spain looking for the combination they have dreamed of or simply a special date. This dance of fetishes related to the Extraordinary Christmas Lottery Draw is now added a new name: ChatGPT. And the question is not only whether artificial intelligence is capable of guessing the winning number, something that is obviously not possible. It goes much further than that: there is a lot of superstition in this, but also of believing at face value what the AI ​​tells us. Even when we know that there is nothing behind it to support its results. ChatGPT and the lottery. Christmas is coming and with it interest in the Lottery increases. And with it, an unexpected protagonist also emerges again: ChatGPT. The OpenAI ‘chatbot’ has become another Christmas classic thanks to the fact that, one more yearwe Spaniards ask you again what the winning number will be. The objective is clear: that ChatGPT deciphers the tenth that the Fat Man will win in the 2025 Christmas Lottery. Although only chance rules here. It doesn’t get wet. The Christmas Draw is carried out using a system of two drums, with a manual mechanism, in which all the balls are identical, both in weight and size, so that they have exactly the same chance of winning. The prize is drawn from the first pot and the number to which it is associated is drawn from the second pot. The procedure for drawing the balls is completely random and, therefore, so is the winning number. The chance of getting it right is 0.001%. If you have ever tried to ask ChatGPT what the Gordo will be on December 22, its answer is what it should be: If you insist, he also repeats the same thing: “I cannot tell you with certainty what the winning number of the Spanish Christmas Lottery will be. And in fact no one can. The draw is designed to be totally random; each number from 00000 to 99999 has the same probability of being awarded.” He is not trying to sell us the bike and makes it very clear why: “although there are those who try to use theories, superstitions or even artificial intelligence to predict numbers, these methods have no real foundation: in the end, each number still has exactly 1 in 100,000 probabilities.” Finish singing. But, if we try to scratch a little more, it ends up showing a random number. If you give it a ‘prompt’ asking for a number based on a mathematical sample or taking into account the history of winning combinations, ChatGPT tells us that “I can give you a simulated number as a result of a fictitious statistical sample, but you must be clear that it does not increase your probabilities nor does it represent a real prediction.” And then, what was expected, his bet. In this case, 32,704. Of course, by trying to ask the same question in several different conversations, each time it offers a different answer. The ending doesn’t even have to match. It’s a totally random answer again. The new search engines. Chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini they are displacing search engines traditional when it comes to search for specific information on a topic or even a much longer explanation. Even Google itself he is taking it to the kitchen to change the way we interact with the internet. If before we asked Google what could be causing a headache or what could happen to us if we took an expired medication, now the quickest, simplest and most accessible way is to have a conversation with the AI ​​as a “know-it-all” to have the solution to all our questions and concerns. Even with those that have no answer, like Gordo’s winning number. A digital superstition. The infinite possibilities of AI are leading us to use it in quite peculiar ways. From have a romantic relationship with her until resorting to it to replace psychological therapy or even interact less with other humans. In the case of the lottery, just as there are gestures associated with good luck, such as passing the tenth over the belly of a pregnant woman or the figurine of a Virgin, asking ChatGPT to choose a number for us is a new digital superstition. Another space to which we have also opened the door to artificial intelligence, “just in case” is right. Cover image | Generated with Gemini In Xataka | We have become filled with digital superstitions. They are a horror for our productivity In Xataka | ChatGPT and the Christmas Lottery: what you can do with artificial intelligence and how to ask it for a prediction

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

How to create a podcast from a text to study, investigate or simply listen if you don’t feel like reading

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Let’s explain How to create an audio from text wearing artificial intelligenceso that you can have a kind of podcast to study or review something when you do not feel like reading. Thus, instead of having to be reading a text, you can simply relax while listening. We are going to start the article with a series of previous tips and recommendations to take into account before putting the task. Then, we will tell you how you can do it with one of the best tools available for it, and we will continue with two ways to do it with assistants of AI as Chatgpt And some other alternative that is also interesting for Generate voice with artificial intelligence. Before starting, things to take into account Before starting to get to work with this, there are some things that you must take into account. First, you must define whether this audio or “podcast” that you want to create is educational, informative or only entertainment. Try too Be clear if you are going to listen to only you or also some other person, in order to polish how well finished it is. A written text does not always sound natural when you listen to it, especially when you have longer and somewhat intricate phrases. That is why it can be recommended that The phrases are short and close languagenot something that makes you heavy listening. In cases where you are going to be able to do it, Decide tone and voice stylechoosing between one more formal or informal. This may depend on the content you want to consume in audio, and also if you are going to listen to only you or other people. It is also recommended that You take care of the audio duration. The recommended duration may vary, because if it is something dense or to study it may be that from 20 minutes begin to get tired, but if it is for leisure or something narrative you should not have problems with longer durations. If it is something dense, try to segment the content well. And finally, Always check the result and do not be afraid to try again If you don’t convince you. Because sometimes the voices of AI may sound unnatural or there may be errors, and that is why it is important to check it even if it is a bit. In the end, The most important part is in the script That you will create to be narrated, and in this it is what you will have to spend most of the effort. Try to be natural, with good scores and well structured. Audios from your notes with notebooklm The first tool you can use is Notebooklm from Google, a service with which you can use artificial intelligence to organize your sources, and even Create an audio summary As if it were a podcast. It is a kind of chatgpt, but in which everything you do will be based on the sources you have added by hand. You can use notebooklm Through its official website or by mobile applications. The official website is Notebooklm.google.comor also in their apps In Google Play For Android and In the App Store For the iPhone. You can use it for free, but its payment version will give you more audio summaries. The first thing you should do with this tool is to create a notebook or work space. Inside, In the left column you can add sourceswhich are the files that the AI ​​will use to obtain the information. They can be text documents, slides, PDF, YouTube videos or links to web pages or online items. Once you have added the sources, Go to the section of Studiowhere the tool will create an audio summary of the content of all files. With this you will create your personal podcast To get information about everything you want. How can you do it with chatgpt and others AI Another option is to use a generative AI such as Chatgpt, COPILOT, Gemini either Deepseek. These tools They do not allow you to create a downloadable audio file although this is something you can do with other third -party tools. What you can do is listen directly to the AI ​​app. What you have to do is Create a summary script of an article. Then, this script can be heard directly in Chatgpt, Gemini or other platform, or take it to another AI that generates a downloadable audio. Let’s explain everything step by step. To start, you have to tell Chat GPT to make you summarize an article or a web page. For that, You must attach it and include the prompt or the instructions to generate your script. The article from which you want the summary can be included by uploading the text file or PDF, or directly putting the website. The prompt that we have used is as follows: “I want to create an audio to listen to a summary of the content of this website. I want you to generate the script to then copy and paste it into a program that passes from text to audio. The script has to be narrative, without structure, you simply have to write it to read it from there. (Link)” As you can see, in the prompt we have reiterated that the text generated by chatgpt It must be natural and should be read directlybecause sometimes if you do not mention it, you can tend to generate a script scheme with things to be filled, and what I want is to generate a text to copy and paste. Here, It is you who decides how and what do you want to make the summarybeing able to be one or several files that you raise or add. Just remember that Everything you upload or vintages will be saved on servers of the company that owns the AI, so be careful in the event that you are adding sensitive data that you … Read more

There are more and more people summarizing books with chatgpt instead of reading them: Welcome to the era of post-alfabetization

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@alz_zyd_ In X: Spending an hour asking Chatgpt about Adam Smith generally teaches you the triple to spend an hour reading ‘the richness of nations’. University students use because it is a better and more efficient way to learn. The comment of Doug Henwood: We have fully entered postalfabetization and this is really alarming. They talk about A silent transformation but quite fast and, apparently, massive: Students have discovered that they can “read” ‘The richness of nations‘, The academic manual of economy par excellence, talking with Chatgpt. According to the first – University Professor – an hour of dialogue gives them more processable information than weeks battling with Adam Smith’s original. Efficiency is overwhelming. In Xataka The new illiteracy has nothing to do with knowing how to read or write: it is to use AI as an oracle instead of as a tool AND Many students are adopting this practicesomething endorsed by Papers. They do it without fuss. They have simply found a better method to absorb complex knowledge: They load the PDF They ask for the main ideas. They throw specific questions. They ask for clarifications. They request contemporary examples. The result: Understanding the fundamentals of the economy in a fraction of the necessary time so far. The problem is that they learn to read manuals in a very different way. This cognitive mutation has been baptized by Henwood as “postalfabetization.” We continue to have the ability to read, but we have outsourced intellectual digestion. As with spatial orientation and the use of GPS, we are delegating a basic brain function at AI. From this There was already talk More than fifteen years ago. Deep reading It demands mental resistancetolerance to ambiguity, gradual construction of criteria. Chatgpt Instead, it offers instant clarity and immediate synthesis. {“Videid”: “X9N4GWC”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “OpenAi has presented chatgpt agent”, “Tag”: “chatgpt”, “duration”: “47”} The generation that grows with this practice will develop other cognitive skills: On the one hand, higher processing speed, better synthesis capacity, perhaps broader conceptual connections. On the other, a huge dependence on algorithmic intermediary. When all the information comes pre-processed, the muscle of critical thought ends up atrophy. Postalfabetization is surely inevitable, probably irreversible. Those who dominate both modes – traditional lift, dialogue with AI – will have an advantage. The rest will be trapped in their own efficiency: brilliant on the surface but vulnerable in depth. Outstanding image | Thought catog In Xataka | The “superpower” of reading a lot in a short time is less overlap when you hear how Bill Gates gets (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news There are more and more people summarizing books with chatgpt instead of reading them: Welcome to the era of post-alfabetization It was originally posted in Xataka by Javier Lacort .

If you also feel that you do not have so much time to read as you would like, there is a solution: the “fast reading”

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I confess that Bill Gates gives me some healthy envy. Not just to have A current account which looks like a phone number with so many figures, but for its ability to Read more than 50 books a year. I have tried and it has been impossible for me. But Do not shoot the towel. Scientific evidence revealsthat there is a balance point between the speed of reading and the ability to understand and retention of the content that is being read. However, with adequate practice, that balance can be improved by accelerating the reading speed without compromising Reading understanding. Research Like those of the University of Guayaquil, they conclude that the reading speed can increase significantly with the practice and use of appropriate techniques. An average reader reads between 200 and 400 words per minute, while through rapid reading training, that speed can reach speeds of up to 1,000 or 1,700 words per minute. Strike a balance Fast reading is especially useful for processing long texts superficially, being useful for obtaining general ideas or punctual information. It is not recommended in contexts where a deep understanding, detailed analysis or memorization of the content is required, but when it comes to seeking specific information or in texts that address subjects of which previous knowledge is already had. The main ones involved in a slow reading speed are: Subvocalization: It is the habit of mentally pronouncing the words that are read. That limits the reading speed since the visual image of the word that interprets the brain is vocalized as if you are reading aloud, undergoing the need to vocalize each of the words and not limit itself to the compression of it. Word reading by word: The global understanding of the text decreases. Regression: reread several times or have to search in the next line of text as it breaks the reading flow. Low concentration: It affects both speed and retention. Quick Reading Techniques Science reveals that this speed increase is not a magical process, but the result of the conscious training of eye movements, vocabulary expansion and the use of strategies to improve global understanding, and not only the amount of words read per minute. 1. Fragmentation This technique is to avoid reading word by word and assimilating the Words by groups. For example, to start training, you can group the words of the phrases of two by two and increase the number progressively With practice. At first it may be a bit strange, but the brain recognizes the words for its morphology, which explains, for example, that you Cberreo Pdeue Read Etse Txeto. If you read it Word A Word would cost you more than in block because a word contextualizes its adjacent. This principle makes your view jump between words, not word in word during reading. The usual thing is to start reading like this:In-a-place-of-the-scan-of-whose-name-no-quiero-alleging But with a little practice, we soon start reading like this: ANDn a place-of the stain-of whose name-I do not want to remember With proper training, the number of “pauses” is reduced: In a place in the stain-of whose name I do not want to remember. 2. Use a visual guide The rupture of the reading flow is one of the most frequent causes for reading the reading. This usually happens when you have difficulty finding the following text line. The solution: as simple as using the finger to indicate the start of the next text line or an equivalent visual guide. On screens you can use the mouse pointer as a guide. If you prefer Read on mobiles or tablets, the edge the screen or any other reference can contribute to the view not to hesitate when looking for the next line and the reading inertia is maintained. 3. Be faster than voice If when you read you listen to the words in your brain, you are not reading quick enough. As we have said before, this phenomenon is known as subvocalization. To avoid this, it will be necessary to train the reading speed trying to read faster than that inner voice is able to vocalize. In doing so, it will be forcing the brain to prioritize visual processing instead of the “auditory” of your internal voice, thus improving the reading speed. 4. Infinite look Like any other muscle, ocular muscles should also be exercised to improve reading speed. One way to improve your performance is to practice infinity to get a visual sweep of the most efficient text. This technique consists in drawing the infinity symbol (∞) on the text block, so that the look runs in a more global way, not line by line, and improves the capture of words by blocks. In Xataka | The productivity books that have helped me the most: the recommendations of the Xataka editors Image | Unspash (Thought catog, Eliott Reyna)

WhatsApp now summarizes your messages not read. The question is how the hell does it without reading your messages

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WhatsApp has released Its function of summarizing messages thanks to AI To avoid the classic case of neglecting the mobile for a while and finding 400 messages in a group that throws smoke. This needs an explanation regarding privacy, since WhatsApp has been presuming end -to -end encryption for years, which clashes a priori with which an AI can read those messages to summarize them. Why is it important. Goal has achieved something that seemed impossible: creating an AI that processes the content of your messages without anyone, not even the goal itself, can read them. The new function, available in the United States in the absence of global deployment, allows Goal AI Generate summaries of group conversations not read keeping point -to -point encryption. It is as if they had invented an employee with amnesia who can do his job but immediately forget what he has seen. The context. Technological ones live in the permanent dilemma between offering usefulness without destroying privacy, especially in the AI ​​era. WhatsApp promised encryptionbut that prevented any intelligent function. Goal has found a third way. What does happen: Your mobile figure messages with a password that only knows a virtual armored machine on target servers. The AI ​​processes the content within a sealed environment, generates the summary and deletes it instantly. If someone tries to spy from outside, the virtual machine “breaks” and stops working. What does not happen. Meta cannot access your original messages or store them. Meta employees cannot read the content processed by AI. Abstracts are not used for advertising purposes or linked to your identity. In detail. Goal has developed a technology called “Private Processing” –He explained it in his blog two months agobefore this announcement – that works as a digital panic room. The system uses special hardware that creates sealed compartments on its servers. Your mobile verifies that you are talking to the correct virtual machine before sending data. Your IP address is hidden through relays of third parties, and the system knows that you are a legitimate user, but not “who you are” specifically. The result: a “summarize in private” button that gives you the key points without reading everything. Yes, but. This technology raises risks that Meta is not admitting publicly. Trust is fragile because the company has a scandal history, from Cambridge Analytica even mass leaks through Open private messaging to companies without consent. What happens if a government forces to modify the system? There is also the idea of ​​the frog in a boiling water saucepan. Today they are armored optional summaries. Tomorrow will they be automatic suggestions, real -time translations or advertising based on “anonymous” content? The panoramic. This, in the case of a product as massive as WhatsApp, will mark the standard for private AI. Apple already has something similar with Private Cloud Compute. Signal, Telegram and Discord presumably will implement equivalent versions. Google will have to answer, although its business model based on collecting data makes this more complicated approach. WhatsApp precisely premiered advertising recently, but for now goes by. In Xataka | Goal AI in WhatsApp: 17 functions and tricks of the blue circle with the artificial intelligence chat Outstanding image | Goal

To end the chaos of the messages without reading

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There is a moment that can be especially annoying when opening WhatsApp: when we realize that a group has ‘uncontrolled’ and we have dozens of unrepted messages. While we were in a meeting, traveling or simply busy with something else, our contacts have made plans, they have changed their minds, they have argued and have even reached conclusions. Everything is there, in a mess of messages. And now, we have to dig between them to understand what happened. That task may be about to be easier. WhatsApp has just released A function that promises to change the way we read the chats. It is called “Message Summaries” and uses the technology of Goal AI To summarize, privately and automatically, pending messages. It is integrated into the messaging application. What exactly is this function? The idea behind the sets of messages is simple: when you enter a chat with unreposed messages, you can ask goal to summarize them by clicking on the corresponding icon. Nothing to go one by one. As we can see in the video, the AI ​​analyzes them and gives you a quick view of what has happened, as if someone made you an executive summary. A way to update without having to review the entire conversation. The goal itself raises it with a recognizable example: you arrive from a flight without wifi, you enter WhatsApp and you find too many messages to read. The summary helps you know what happened at that time, without having to read all the chats. The best thing is that the whole process is done privately, according to the company, without even WhatsApp or goal can access the content. With the focus on privacy. The key to this new function is in what Meta has baptized as “Private Processing”It is a system that allows the messages to be processed directly from the cloud, but without neither goal nor WhatsApp can see what is in them. It is a way of using artificial intelligence without compromising user’s privacy, in their own words. This system works with a confidential execution technology, based on safe environments (TEE), which allow AI to generate answers without keeping messages or sharing them with anyone. In addition, the summary is visible only for those who request it: the rest of the chat people will not know that this function has been used. According to WhatsApp, this function is not activated by default. Its use is voluntary and depends on each user. For those who decide to prove it, there is the option to configure which chats can be used with functions of ia like this, through the advanced privacy section. It is a mechanism that, on paper, allows limiting the scope of AI within the application. Available for now alone in the United States. The summaries function is beginning to deploy in the United States and, for the moment, only in English. From WhatsApp they ensure that its intention is to take it to other languages ​​and countries throughout the year, although for now there are no concrete dates for its arrival in Europe. Images | WhatsApp In Xataka | Pocket alternatives: the best free tools to save links to read them later whenever you want

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