It happened when I was having breakfast this morning. I bought a potato and egg pancake, a bag of Tujia spicy sauce pancakes, and a sesame ball (a local Nanchang snack, a fried ball-shaped treat). I set the air fryer to 150°C and heated it for 3 minutes. When I took them out to eat, I found that the Tujia spicy sauce pancake was unevenly heated—one part cold, the other hot—while the sesame ball was evenly heated throughout. Later, I used AI to analyze the differences between the two foods and discovered:

The spicy sauce pancake is a flat, multilayered thin pancake with a dry, hard, porous texture. When laid flat in the fryer basket, its bottom is pressed against the metal mesh, making it difficult for hot air to reach. It can only conduct heat through the metal, and the folds and multilayer structure create "hot air dead zones." Plus, its dry, hard texture conducts heat slowly, resulting in uneven heating. In contrast, the sesame ball is a smooth, sealed sphere. Its firm glutinous rice texture allows for more even heat transfer. The fried shell also prevents localized overheating, and the high-speed circulating hot air can wrap around it 360 degrees, ensuring even heating.

Seeing these small details in life, I suddenly remembered a question that has always puzzled me: what is the true purpose of reading? Some say it's for a diploma; others say it's to cope with family expectations. There seem to be many answers, but at that moment I suddenly understood:

Reading is for understanding the truth.

Of course, understanding the truth is never something you fully grasp just by finishing a book. The principles in books need to be tested in real life: encountering different viewpoints prevents stubbornness; going through experiences helps us see which principles truly stand the test. Reading is “learning principles,” practice is “proving principles.” Only by combining the two can we truly understand the books and grasp the truth.

Ultimately, the purpose of reading is to ensure that in this complex world, we always hold a standard for judgment and confidence in action—living with clarity and avoiding many pitfalls.