We read "The Brain that Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge, MD and learned about neuroplasticity. That is the discovery that our brains work in ways that were thought to be impossible just a few years back. Back then, it was thought that the adult human brain is more or less static, somewhat like a modern laptop with a good operating system. It works and it calculates and it ages. But Michael Merzenich, author of "Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life", carried out experiments that showed two new facts about adult human brains.
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They change themselves, depending on how they are used, all the while strengthening their ability to do the activities their owners perform
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When their owners deliberately perform actions using their attention, the rewiring and strengthening of brains is stronger and faster. In other words, paying attention matters
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Both of these facts were counter to what neurologists had been taught for decades. So much so, that Merzenich was accused of falsifying his data if it showed them to be true.
In the early days of computers, removable boards were inserted into a slot on the machine. The board had connections temporary inserted by hand in the right places so that it made given things happen. That was before the "program" was changed by changing the "words" in the computer "language", which was faster and easier. The connections to make things happen or inhibit them from happening work in a similar way in our brains.
The programs in our brains are aggressive and tend to take over a neighbor's area if if isn't being used. But areas can be reclaimed if the original use is increased.
Quite a bit of effort has gone into the creation of computer software that can increase one's attention span, recall, sound and visual perception and related skills. The book The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: How to Optimize Brain Health and Performance at Any Age is a good one for an overview of training efforts, research and products.
The web site Brain HQ is associated with Michael Merzenich and his efforts and colleagues and is an inexpensive ($10/month) way to try out some scientifically validated software for improving brain performance. Brain HQ is also available as an app.
You can see how all this relates to folk ideas that trying matters, that persistence pays and that believing you can affects whether you actually can.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
