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Javier

@javierbutnotreally.bsky.social

3K followers 1.4K following 160 posts

Education and Instructional Design expert. I love languages. 🇪🇸 español 🇬🇧 English 🇩🇪 Deutsch 🇫🇷 français 🇮🇹 italiano 🇯🇵 日本語 🏳️‍🌈🇮🇨

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · 4d

This is an excerpt from my latest article on storytelling. If you're interested, take a look and consider subscribing to my newsletter: it's free!

kognitivo.net/p/storytelling

The cognitive science of storytelling

We remember stories better than bullets. But are characters and drama really needed to learn better? A guide to storytelling in education that keeps the focus on outcomes.

kognitivo.net

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · 4d

Not all storytelling is focused on learning.

Take the Iliad:

Quote by Javier Santana saying Homer describes in unexpected detail how Aeneas’ spear cuts through Achilles’ shield’s many layers of metal (cuts through bronze, stops at a layer of gold). For centuries, scholars assumed Homer provided a technical description of shield construction. More recent scholarship shows the design would make the shield useless

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Sep 13

More on this topic: www.kognitivo.net/p/encoding

A practical guide to learning anything: how value drives encoding

Your brain won’t memorize because you asked nicely. It will when you quietly raise the cost of not knowing. Here’s how to do exactly that, so you can make learning stick on purpose.

www.kognitivo.net

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Sep 13

Learning happens when the brain processes information by performing cognitive actions that require understanding of the information (such as summarizing, connecting or grouping information). Learning happens once those actions have been correctly performed, but it is not a distinct action by itself.

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Sep 13

Learning is not an action.

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Aug 11

You can tell ChatGPT was made by US Americans because it praises every sentence you type, even the dumb ones: “That’s a great question!” Honey, I know it wasn’t, just give me the answer.

If it were made by Germans:
“Can you help me write an email?”
“Nein.”

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Aug 8

Where does the AI-calculator analogy truly break down?

With LLMs, skill erosion happens by default unless they're used with intent. Even so-called “higher-order thinking” depends on the skills being eroded, so the idea of “making room” for it falls apart.

www.kognitivo.net/p/ai-calcula...

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Jul 11

Refusing to speak it is the best way to never speak it.

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Jul 11

I live in Germany, so quite a lot!

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Jul 6

Here’s how I became fluent in German in just 3 months:
- I didn’t :’)
- It was more like 5 years!!
- I sounded stupid in German for 4.9 years
- I nearly quit every other month

Real learning is messy. It takes time and effort. Don’t trust marketing claims!

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · May 7

🎉 I'm very happy 🎉 to announce that I’ve started a NEW BLOG! 🥳

It's called ✨KOGNITIVO✨ and it's about the Science of Learning!

My last article is on “Retrieval practice”, one of the best ways to learn according to science.

I’m sure you'll find it interesting!

👉 open.substack.com/pub/kognitiv...

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Apr 8

🫶🫶🫶

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Apr 8

If you read closely you’ll realize that I never said the opposite: I wrote “you can *also* say”. However, there’s a difference: as opposed to what happens in English or Spanish, where the most idiomatic version is “to have hope”, in those cases I mention the most idiomatic way is a different verb.

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Apr 8

😍😍😍🥹

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Apr 8

Nurturing hope is such a beautiful collocation, you can also say that in other languages like French and Spanish ☺️

Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Apr 8

In most languages, "hope" is something you "have", like a possession. But in French you can also "guard" it, like a letter you never send but always carry. In German, you can "draw" it, like water from a deep well. And in Japanese you can "embrace" it, like a baby in your arms. Beautiful, isn’t it?

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Apr 4

4) Cuidado con via Garibaldi: puede ser una calle sombría donde te atracarán o una calle encantadora.
5) Elige una persona al azar por la calle. Cuéntale que tomaste un café horrible en Milano (no importa si nunca fuiste) y pregúntale dónde puedes tomarte uno en condiciones. Siempre funciona.

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Javier @javierbutnotreally.bsky.social · Apr 4

Guía para visitar cualquier ciudad italiana 🇮🇹

1) Empieza siempre por la Piazza del Duomo.
2) Busca cualquier cosa que se llame Vittorio Emanuele (calle/galería/monumento). Te va a gustar.
3) Mantente alejado de la stazione.

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