Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain

infotropism: the brain maximizes its resources to interpret whatever data flows in. And recall the illusion with the horizontal

when they change, they do so only in small spots.

Reflect the world. Brains match themselves to their input. Wrap around the inputs. Brains leverage whatever information streams in. Drive any machinery. Brains learn to control whatever body plan they discover themselves inside of. Retain what matters. Brains distribute their resources based on relevance. Lock down stable information. Some parts of

It tries to constantly change its circuitry to maximize the data it can draw from the world. To that end, it builds an internal model of the outside, which equates to its predictions. If the world proceeds as expected, the brain saves energy.

In contrast, baby brains modify across vast territories.

At the extreme, this is how reptile visual systems work: they can’t see you if you stand still, because they only register change. They don’t bother with position. And such a system is perfectly sufficient: reptiles have been surviving and thriving for tens of millions of years.

This is the powerful difference between just in case information (learning a collection of facts just in case you ever need to know them) and just in time information (receiving information the moment you seek the answer).

If a blind person passed her finger repeatedly over the bumps of Braille, but had no motivation to learn it, no rewiring would occur, because the right neuromodulators would not be present. Similarly, if adding a new telelimb to your body has relevance to you, your body will learn it—just as Faith the dog mastered a unique body plan.

relevance. Your brain adjusts itself according to what you spend your time on, as long as those tasks have alignment with rewards or goals.