The brain that changes itself – Dr Norman Doidge
Book - The Brain That Changes Itself - Norman Doidge, MD
Background story:
As many of us do, we hone our focus on that which we feel comfortable with and that we are likely to excel at. With reading, in an effort to prevent limiting my learning to a narrow field I began exposing myself to books based on recommendations from others, rather than sticking to the topics I would normally choose.
I found that my curiosity into gaining an insight into the minds of others helped overcome the initial lack of interest in these titles' topics, but to my surprise, I then became engrossed in the content itself as it engaged new ideas and thoughts that I would otherwise not have had.
It wasn't until I read this title that this fascination with new frontiers I had begun to develop was put into perspective.
Books guidance and advice:
"Only a few decades ago, scientists considered the brain to be fixed or ‘hardwired’ and considered most forms of brain damage, therefore, to be incurable. Dr. Doidge, an eminent psychiatrist and researcher, was struck by how his patients’ own transformations belied this and set out to explore the new science of neuroplasticity by interviewing both scientific pioneers in neuroscience, and patients who have benefited from neuro-rehabilitation.
Here he describes in fascinating personal narratives how the brain, far from being fixed, has remarkable powers of changing its own structure and compensating for even the most challenging neurological conditions. Doidge’s book is a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain." - Oliver Sacks
End result:
"An utterly wonderful book, its message is one of hope: it is not just our brains that shape our thinking, but our thinking that, very definitely, shapes our brains." - Iain McGilchrist.
My curiosity with what I had experienced in developing interest of other fields and the benefits of it, are covered in part in this book.
Building new pathways by continually exposing ourselves to new ideas may result in potentially limiting cognitive decline as we age, but most importantly enjoying the experience along the way
