Cross-Modal Plasticity
Freshman year of college I was given my first open-ended prompt for a research paper. When I found out that the topic was completely in my hands, I knew exactly what I wanted to research. Prior to college I was introduced to a blind artist, John Bramblitt, who used his sense of touch to overcompensate for his loss of sight.
One sense being heightened to make up for the loss of another sense is called cross-modal plasticity. John Bramblitt’s story of cross-modal plasticity impacted me and led to the paper's question:
“How does cross-modal plasticity differ for each sense? How do these deficiencies affect a person’s creativity?”
This paper examines Bramblitt's, and other individuals’ creative endeavors, which help redefine what it takes to be "creative."
After completing this assigment, I understood the difference between writing about a topic that truly intrigues me and writing about a topic for a grade. Now, I always try to branch out into areas of interest through my writing.
