Thursday, March 10, 2011

The Wonders of Silly Putty



Remember this stuff? It was moldable like clay, yet it had wondrous properties. You could press it on a comic and it would copy the image. Of course we'd then stretch it, distorting the image. The following is from sillyputty.com (yes this stuff has its own site):

Silly Putty is a pretty unique substance. It stretches without breaking, yet it can be "snapped off" cleanly. It bounces higher than a rubber ball. It floats if you shape it in a certain way, yet sinks in others. It can pick up pencil marks from pages and comics from some newspapers. If you slam it with a hammer, it keeps it shape, yet if you push with light, even pressure, it will flatten with ease. Gravity has a slow, yet devastating effect on Silly Putty creations.
With all of these unique properties, it's no wonder people are puzzled (yet love to play with) Silly Putty.

Your brain is like this- moldable like clay, but with wondrous properties. The brain adapts to its situations and surroundings. Much like Silly Putty can be shaped. Remember taking Silly Putty to a comic or newsprint to make a copy? Your brain does the same (imprints information). Bouncing...have you (or your mind) ever bounced off the walls? Your imagination can probably do all of Silly Putty's wondrous properties.

So that leads me to the question of brain injury-will it ever be like it used to be? To answer that, just look at the Silly Putty. Can it be taken out of the package, played with, and some gone, and still be sold as new? I don't think so. But it can still be molded, shaped, played with, and retain most, maybe all, of its properties.