Fascinated by the Brain

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 In his book The Brain, David Eagleman portrays the skills of Austin Naber.  Austin, then aged 10, could stack cups in a dazzling arrays of formations.

After undergoing a brief training, Eagleman dares to compete against the young pro.  The kid was, of course, the convincing qinner.

I would think that the kids brain was firing with different strategies.  I would think that a brain scan will show a fiery pattern in the kid rather than David Eagleman’s.

The case turned out to be the opposite.  Despite my initial surprise, reading the book further made me make sense of the brain scan results.

Think of driving; once you master it you can go from point A to point B without really thinking about how you made the journey.  The route has to be a well trodden one-like a short commute from home to work and vice versa…you get my point.

Our brain creates  neural pathways to simplify things for us.

Practice has eased cup stacking for young Austin.  I guess we have to follow similar patterns to develop skills.  It is a best way to utilize the three pound gift inside our skulls.


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