Pragmatic Thinking and Learning

DIY Brain Surgery and Neuroplasticity

You can physically rewire your brain. Want more capability in some area? You can wire yourself that way. You can repurpose areas of the brain to perform different functions. You can dedicate more neurons and interconnections to specific skills. You can build the brain you want.

Before you get carried away, put away the Dremel tool and dental pick; there’s an easier way to do brain surgery. No tools required.

Until recently, it was believed that brain capacity and internal “wiring” were fixed from birth. That is, certain localized areas of the brain were specialized to perform certain functions according to a fixed map. One patch of cortical real estate was devoted to processing visual input, another ...