blog 10

In chapter 9, Hughes briefly mentions that the loss of one sense can heighten others. This has always fascinated me, and then I wondered how this can relate to creativity. So, I went to the place that answers all my questions: Google (um, where else?) What I found, however, almost directly related to our class and was really quite interesting.

The New Yorker published an article called "The Mind's Eye" in July 2003. The article is about people who become blind later in life. Doctors told these patients to simply forget trying picture things in their mind because it was believed that the brain was not capable of doing such a thing when there was no real stimuli. When we are young, the brain is considered flexible and capable of doing such things, but once we develop, it becomes "inflexible." This, however, is not the case. There have been several accounts of blind people practicing holding and creating images in their minds. It is called "visual imagery" and it is like any other skill we have; it must be practiced and mastered to do it well.

The article overall was really fascinating, but the part that interested me even more was that hallucinations can accompany visual imagery. I guess that would make sense since one would be creating images in the mind, but I think it is more than just images. Now, let me say this: the article did not say anything about an altered state, but it seems to me as if this heightened awareness in the mind is actually just that: an altered state.

The article did touch on my original question. When the visual (or auditory, whichever) part of the brain is no longer being used for that particular sense, it starts using that part for the other senses, and this how another sense becomes heightened. Scientists did not believe it possible to use visual part of the brain after becoming blind. Of course, this appears to be wrong. One CAN still create images in the mind even after becoming blind...and even enter an altered state of consciousness while doing it.