Neuroplasticity vs Livewiring

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 Our brains change a lot.  In fact, reading Livewired, a book by David Eagleman convinces me that our brains are in continual flux.  In fact, reading the book and writing this blog alters my brain.

Neuroplasticity is a common term used to describe this phenomenon.  However, the term does not capture the dynamism of brain change for the author.  He prefers live wiring as a more apt word to describe the ever morphing brain.

I think this is more than semantics.  I think this is a wonderful way of expanding the frontiers of brain science.  I also think that minting more precise terms is a wonderful aspect of free thinking.

Just think of the Orwellian nightmare in 1984, the dystopian novel.  The government was paring down the English language as means of thought conteol.  Of course the exciting frontiers of brain science will wither and die should such society emerge.

Thanks to our free world, we witness the brain mint new word to describe its way of etching knowledge onto itself.

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