TED Community » Rodrigo Velez

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Science (specially neuroscience and physics), Math and education.

Talk to me about

Anything, I like to learn.

People don't know that I'm good at

Cooking

Comments

• TEDCred score: +0.20 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• +1

  A comment on Conversation: Who pays on a first date?

  Aug 7 2011: I always end up screwing it up when I try to pay she gets offended, if I don't try to pay then another gets offended, I always get if wrong, I don't even know what to do know.
  
  That happens to me all the time, paying, opening doors.. you get the idea, it seems as if women don't have a common ground on what to allow a man do or don't for them.
  
  Personally I like to pay when I'm one on one with a friend, girlfriend, first date, cousin, sister, etc. if there's more than one then I only for myself, and/or my gf (if present) and only if she likes it.

• A comment on Conversation: Does a selfless act exist?

  Aug 7 2011: Well it depends on what you call "selfless". If by selfless you mean doing something for others that will compromise your well being and/or stop you for doing something you really need/want to do for yourself and/or risking your own good (life health), etc. then yes, there are lots of examples.
  
  But I don't think a "pure" selfless act exists, why? because normally every selfless act is followed by a feeling of satisfaction, that good feeling of helping other people, of course I'm not saying you'll get an orgasm every time you help somebody but either you'll help him/her waiting for something in return, as a "may need him/her" in the future or simply because you want to help and you get the "good feeling" sensation.
  
  That good feeling sensation is the one that will drive you to do another selfless act, if you really hated it the first time, chances are you will not do it again, and that is because you did not find it as a satisfying experience, opposed to what you think you would feel, falling in doing something for expectation.
  
  My point is selfless acts do exist, but we can't think of a selfless act as a pure expression of selflessness, because behind every selfless act there's this wonderful and beautiful feeling of helping another human being.. or cat.. or dog or you know whatever :P
• +1

  A comment on Talk: Kathryn Schulz: On being wrong

  Apr 20 2011: I think people is more affraid of being wrong, because people does not forgive mistakes, they suddenly stop trusting, they satanize you, etc. that's why the idea of being wrong is unacceptable.
  If society would behave more benevolent towards a mistake maybe de wrongdoer would accept his mistake and try to correct it, cause the idea of society punishing makes you hold on to what you have and sink even deeper in your mistakes

• A comment on Talk: Birke Baehr: What's wrong with our food system

  Nov 30 2010: Cheers for the boy! Although I don't agree with him. We've all heard GM food makes it possible to feed most of the world, stop using pesticides, health benefits like the golden rice bla bla bla, on the other hand we hear so much about health issues, but we have to ask oursevles, does consuming GM fruits and vegetables have harmful effects? I think the health issues we're having is because we dont excersice nor eat correctly i.e. junk/fast food. I bet a well balanced GM diet is not as harmful as they say it is, I dont even think it's carcinogenic. If 20 yrs ago an old man died they said they died of old age, today an old man diead because of cancer or any other disease, is it really like that? or is it that 20 yrs ago we didnt have the tech we have today to diagnose the problems we're having now? Well it's a self-choice personally if GM food stared to beign labeld I would proudly go to the supermarket and buy my GM labeld food.
• +1

  A reply on Talk: Diane J. Savino: The case for same-sex marriage

  Aug 30 2010: Your thought experiment is just wrong. I dont think anyone could just say "mmm I think I'll become gay" it just can't happen.
  I dont think the HS tendency will grow enogh to become a majority, it is true that the figures are growing incredibly fast, but I think there will be a point in which their population will stop growing.
  Scientifically speaking HS are as useless and as horrible as any catholic priest, because biologically speaking our only goal in life is to procreate, which neither of them do.
  Today we live in an overpopulated planet, which will not see any harm in trend that will slow down that tendency.
  Personally I believe that gays are born, maybe made, but they did not chose to be the way they are, I hope natural selection will keep their numbers to a safe point. I dont think gay parents will have gay children since straight parents have gay children, and if your argue that today we have enough tech to create a baby artificially I dont think everybody has the money for it.
• +2

  A comment on Talk: Dan Dennett: Responding to Pastor Rick Warren

  Jul 30 2010: I really liked his idea of teaching the facts of every religion in school.
  Religion has a lot of importance in society, moral codes are based on religions.
  A lot of people follow a religion just because their parents passed their religion to their children, with his new idea, the lifechanging decision of becoming a part of a religion will be truly meaninful, making, as he said, an informed decision.