TED Community » Alvaro Cevallos

More About Me

I'm passionate about

Food, books, Japanese language, Pop culture, Social networks, Never stop learning, traveling,

An idea worth spreading

Fashion is not a luxury.
If you have question look for an answer, there are not stupid questions.
Being "ignorant" is not the same as to be "stupid".

Talk to me about

Books
Pop Culture!
Pop Art
Internet
Anime!

Comments

• TEDCred score: +0.10 TEDCred reflects your contribution to the TED community.

• A comment on Conversation: which is the most universal feature of human beings?

  Feb 17 2011: I believe that there are many things that make us human.
  We always are in look for answer of what we don't know, most of us are able to fell regret for doing something against our believes/principles. we can spend time doing thing that only gives us pleasure, even do we have covered our basic needs, example: eating.
  
  and so many more things that make us different from all the creatures on our small blue planet.

• A comment on Conversation: Are printed textbooks obsolete? Are there good reasons to keep using them along with or instead of digital learning environments?

  Feb 17 2011: the world is moving towards digital materials, but we had to remeber that digital materials are still expesive in under-developed and developing nations, which make the book a more cheap fountain of information and learning. Also you can't donate a digital book, but you can donate a paper one. Of course you can print the digital material, but will only create more waste.
  
  and besides, i cant take a digital reader to the beach without the fear of sand, water or even battery issues. if I lose or break a book, that ok if not that expensive, if tit broken I can still read it!, but what about if a lose or break my iPad or Kindle? And isen't the most fun part of been a reader is to go to kill time a library or book shop?
  
  books will stay with us still for a really long time...
• +1

  A comment on Conversation: What was the most amazing social experience you had and why?

  Feb 17 2011: I just came back from one year exchange in Japan, I can recall two great social experiences that I had.
  
  It was summer and we had 3 months of vacation before the next semester started and with a friend we decided to do some traveling to Hiroshima, but in order to save to some money and get some great experiences we decided to do some hitchhiking from Kobe to Hiroshima, which is around a 5 hour travel. Hitchhiking is unusual in Japan, but because of the Japanese culture, people will always help you if you are in need. A lady with a 6 year old child too us two, me and my friend Maria all the way to Hiroshima. Her name was ..., she had never taken someone doing hitchhiking, but was truly excited about it, she told us that she felt inside a movie. Even though we where not fluent in the Japanese language, she did not mind explaining the most she could things we were not able to get a grasp on. We were really amazed to she how happy she felt to help a pair of Ecuadorian strangers, and how we never felt form her a sense of need of special retribution. Still before getting to our final destination we stop at ramen place, according to her the best ramen in the area, and invite her dinner, which she was really great-full.
  
  Also I went to some traveling in China, with my friend Gustavo, we had to take a train form Xi'an to Shanghai, but unfortunately, we had to take the "hard seat" class on a 24 hour train! It was kind of amusing to see how real Chinese people travel, I sensed that because we were the only foreigner on the train wagon. In China we had a great language barrier, because we spoke no Mandarin, but even so people in China are all about, make you fell part of the group. While in the train a man in front of me offered me sesame cookies, even though I was only able to say thank you. I felt like they embraced me as one of them and not as and outsider, it was truly amazing