The internet, the brain, and plasticity
New favorite book today is The Brain That Changes Itself, by Norman Doidge. Lots of food for thought. So what if you had terrible parents! You can change! Find new paths.
Also the idea that bits and senses are rather similar -
[A]ll our sense receptors translate different kinds of energy from the external world . . into electrical patterns that are sent down our nerves. These electrical patterns are the univeral language ’spoken’ inside the brain - there are no visual images, sounds, smells, or feelings moving inside our neurons.
Of course you *knew* that, it’s obvious, but it’s the basis of plasticity - not only are all those impulses the same (bits are bits) but different areas of the brain that process them do it using a similar structure (in layers!). And if one of those processing areas is injured or vanishes for some reason, another area can take up the cudgels and do the work.
Also, for me as someone who tries to play an instrument, day after day, slog slog, a cheery rationale: There’s a competition for brainpower going on inside your head. If you stop practicing, the “brain map” area used for those skills will be turned over to something else instead.
If you ever ask yourself, “How often must I practice French, or guitar, or math to keep on top of it?” you are asking a question about competitive plasticity. You are asking how frequently you must practice one activity to make sure its brain map space is not lost to another.
It’s time to plan your plastic brain map for 2008.