Why books are here to stay | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series

Transcriber: TED Translators admin Reviewer: Krystian Aparta

Traductor: Florencia Bracamonte Revisor: Veronica Zamora

I will lend books to people, but of course, the rule is

Presto libros a la gente pero, claramente, la regla es

"Don't do that unless you never intend to see that book again."

"No lo hagas a menos que no tengas intenciones de volver a ver ese libro".

[Small thing.]

[Pequeñeses]

[Big idea.]

[Grandes ideas]

The physical object of a book is almost like a person.

El libro físico es casi como una persona.

I mean, it has a spine and it has a backbone.

Es decir, tiene columna vertebral;

It has a face.

tiene un rostro.

Actually, it can sort of be your friend.

De hecho, hasta puede ser tu amigo.

Books record the basic human experience

Los libros registran la experiencia humana

like no other medium can.

de una forma imposible para otros medios.

Before there were books,

Antes de que existieran los libros,

ancient civilizations would record things

las civilizaciones antiguas registraban los sucesos

by notches on bones or rocks or what have you.

con anotaciones en huesos, piedras u objetos similares.

The first books as we know them originated in ancient Rome.

Los primeros libros modernos se originaron en la antigua Roma.

We go by a term called the codex,

Lo conocemos con la palabra "códice".

where they would have two heavy pieces of wood

Se trata de dos piezas pesadas de madera con las que se formaba la tapa,

which become the cover,

and then the pages in between would then be stitched along one side

y las páginas dentro se cosían por un lado

to make something that was relatively easily transportable.

para armar un libro que fuese relativamente fácil de transportar.

They all had to completely be done by hand,

Debían armarse a mano en su totalidad.

which became the work of what we know as a scribe.

En eso consistió el trabajo de quienes hoy llamamos "escribas".

And frankly, they were luxury items.

Y, honestamente, eran objetos de lujo.

And then a printer named Johannes Gutenberg,

Entonces, el orfebre llamado Johannes Gutenberg,

in the mid-fifteenth century, created the means to mass-produce a book,

a mediados del siglo XV,

inventó el método para producir libros en masa: la imprenta moderna.

the modern printing press.

It wasn't until then

No fue sino hasta entonces

that there was any kind of consumption of books by a large audience.

que grandes audiencias pudieron acceder a los libros.

Book covers started to come into use in the early nineteenth century,

Las portadas de los libros comenzaron a usarse a principios del siglo XIX

and they were called dust wrappers.

y se denominaron "sobrecubiertas".

They usually had advertising on them.

Por lo general, contenían publicidades.

So people would take them off and throw them away.

Así que la gente las quitaba y las desechaba.

It wasn't until the turn of the nineteenth into the twentieth century

Fue recién a principios del siglo XX

that book jackets could be seen as interesting design

que las sobrecubiertas se consideraron como un diseño interesante en sí mismas.

in and of themselves.

Such that I look at that and I think,

Tanto así que con solamente mirar, pienso:

"I want to read that.

"Quiero leer ese libro; me interesa".

That interests me."

The physical book itself represents both a technological advance

El libro físico representa tanto un avance tecnológico

but also a piece of technology in and of itself.

como un ejemplo de tecnología en sí mismo.

It delivered a user interface

Nos brindó una interfaz

that was unlike anything that people had before.

diferente a todo lo que conocíamos hasta el momento.

And you could argue that it's still the best way

Y puede debatirse que continúa siendo la mejor forma

to deliver that to an audience.

de mostrar la información al usuario.

I believe that the core purpose of a physical book

Creo que el propósito esencial del libro físico

is to record our existence

es registrar nuestra existencia

and to leave it behind on a shelf, in a library, in a home,

y dejarla atrás en el estante de una biblioteca, o en en el hogar,

for generations down the road to understand where they came from,

para que las generaciones futuras entiendan de dónde vienen,

that people went through some of the same things

que las personas experimentaron las mismas cosas que ellos ahora.

that they're going through,

and it's like a dialogue that you have with the author.

Es como un diálogo que se mantiene con el autor.

I think you have a much more human relationship to a printed book

Creo que podemos tener una relación mucho más humana con un libro impreso

than you do to one that's on a screen.

que con uno digital a través de una pantalla.

People want the experience of holding it,

A la gente le gusta la sensación de sostenerlo, pasar las páginas,

of turning the page, of marking their progress in a story.

señalar su progreso a lo largo de una historia.

And then you have, of all things, the smell of a book.

Y, finalmente, tenemos el aroma de los libros:

Fresh ink on paper or the aging paper smell.

tinta fresca sobre el papel, o el aroma del papel antiguo.

You don't really get that from anything else.

No se consigue eso de ningún otro medio.

The book itself, you know, can't be turned off with a switch.

El libro mismo no puede apagarse con un interruptor.

It's a story that you can hold in your hand

Es una historia que puedes sostener en la mano y llevar contigo a todos lados.

and carry around with you

and that's part of what makes them so valuable,

Eso es parte de lo que los hace tan valiosos,

and I think will make them valuable for the duration.

y creo los hará valiosos por mucho tiempo.

A shelf of books, frankly,

Una estantería de libros, honestamente, está hecha para sobrevivir más que tú,

is made to outlast you, (Laughs)

no matter who you are.

sin importar quién seas.