The Plastic Mind

The other day someone mentioned something about the interesting ways that our minds work. It reminded me of when my family purchased an electric toothbrush. Our dentist recommended it, and so we bought one. The one we bought had a timer so that it would turn off after the recommended two minutes of brushing. The first time I tried it I almost didn't finish; it felt to me like putting a bumblebee into my mouth. The tickling vibration sent a shiver down my spine and it was all I could do to keep the thing pressed against my teeth. I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to be able to use this device regularly.

I resolved to give it a couple weeks before deciding. If I'm anything, I'm a dutiful patient. It was the second or third time I tried using the toothbrush that it happened. I stuck the thing into my mouth and turned it on. Once again I felt the shiver down my spine. Somewhere in that two minute period though, something happened. My mind wandered just a little bit and my brain readjusted. When the timer went off, I realized that the sensation no longer bothered me. I continue to use the toothbrush to this day.

Many years ago I read about an experiment in which people were fitted with glasses that flipped the image that the wearer saw so that it was upside down. Within a couple of days the subjects minds had adjusted. They no longer perceived the image as upside down but right side up. I have experienced something like this myself when getting new eyeglasses. When you first get them, it's like looking from within a fishbowl. The world looks warped as if taken with a fish eye lens. Within a few days, however, the image straightens out and looks normal. It's an amazing insight into the plasticity of the mind.