"Learning isn't just spending the day in the library reading."

BarcelonaAnything that isn't geared toward being productive is wasting time. This is a widespread feeling these days in many aspects of life, including when deciding what to pursue. Content creator and popularizer Sergio San Juan encourages us to free ourselves from these constraints as much as possible through his book Infinite learning (Arpa, 2025), which has the same name as its newsletterThe book addresses the opportunities and challenges that can arise when new learning is achieved outside the educational system. This is not just another book to help you pass exams or competitive examinations, but rather a guide intended for everyone, according to San Juan, to provide guidance for "learning for life, rather than for the classroom."

San Juan, 24, explains that even at a very young age he felt he lacked encouragement at school and began reading philosophy and psychology books on his own. Despite studying Business Administration because he saw it as a career with opportunities, he has fully immersed himself in the many paths that lead to lifelong learning. "Learning isn't just about spending all day in the library reading, but also about interacting with the world," asserts the educator, for whom learning is "a way of life" in which concepts such as curiosity or, perhaps much less popular, the concept of "inquisitiveness" play a key role. shout, which is the ability to pursue a long-term goal and persevere until achieving it.

In the book, San Juan exposes the dichotomy between learning by setting specific goals or allowing oneself to be a bit of a fool until one finds that aspect that truly excites one, which he argues without overlooking the fact that modern times don't make it easy. "We increasingly define ourselves by what we produce," to the point that "when we're not pursuing a goal, it almost seems like we're throwing our lives away," reflects San Juan, recalling that even instruction manuals have been invented for leisure time. Given this, he proposes leaving at least some room for curiosity without setting a goal.

"We mustn't lose a little of a child's curiosity and avoid falling into that prison of goals, spending all day chasing something concrete, because we're almost forgetting how to live to pursue goals," he warns. In the book, San Juan provides recommendations on how to choose what to learn—contrary to popular wisdom, he assures that "learning does take up space," but there's room to remove it from the discipline chosen first and from "almost" everything—as well as strategies for learning and how to maintain learning over time, although he admits that it must be adapted to circumstances.

First of all, because employment or economic circumstances can be a determining factor. "We don't all have the same amount of time, energy, or attention," asserts San Juan, but also because he maintains that there is no Holy Grail for learning success. "My recommendation is to try a lot. While you can afford it, try it, and when you're clear on what you're doing, go all in," he advises, opting directly for what sparks interest: if you want to learn English, he believes it's not necessary to start with Latin because it's better for learning languages. Starting from the idea that "difficult practice leads to an easy life and easy practice leads to a difficult life," he adds that, "if we want to create learning that is meaningful and lasting over time, it's necessary to overcome difficulties," but with meaning: learning Elvish is difficult, but perhaps it's not very helpful.

Surround yourself with good tutors

Now that social media (and beyond) is exalting individualism or questioning qualities such as acting guided by motivation or even scientific knowledge, San Juan says his piece. "Most geniuses aren't self-made," he assures, and gives the example of Einstein, a prodigious physicist who didn't emerge from nowhere: the myth says he got poor grades, but in reality, "he received a more effective education than most, and he had tutors" who helped him awaken his concerns, so they helped him awaken his concerns. Of motivation, which he sees as "the great forgotten," he says that it is "a means to learn better and maintain that learning over time," and of science, that "scientific research, with its imperfections and limitations—at least for now, it doesn't answer everything—is one of the best sources from which to learn."

He also acknowledges that learning is not a bed of roses and has its dangers, and warns that we can be easily deceived – remembering that, for example, when we reflect on someone else, "we should not confuse popularity with credibility" – and that "harmful ideas easily take root in our minds," as is the case with "as we know it." Likewise, when deciding what to learn, it is necessary to prevent fear from deciding for you. "If we decide based on fear, we will save ourselves the present discomfort of facing it, but we will be paying the price of regretting it in the future," he emphasizes, adding that "regret can be kept hidden for years, but sooner or later it will knock on the door." Therefore, he advocates that, "even if circumstances don't make it easy, muster the courage to learn what is important to you."

San Juan has also learned from books. Despite having arranged his knowledge in an order that he hopes will also be useful to others, the learning path is not usually so structured: "There are no independent phases with a beginning and an end. There is a chaotic and disordered whole that language cannot capture." Now, after having published Infinite learning, which took a year and a half to write, wants to be "super-innovative" to continue learning: "I hope my curiosity continues to lead me to unexplored places and new ideas."