I belive i witnessed evolution in progress

My younger sister was born without 1/3 of her brain, all her drs were baffled saying she should be in a veggie state! Yet she has normal iq, graduated HS, even has a career! She even gave me a wonderfull nephew.

Her brain truly evolved to work with what little she had!

a reply to: HolydarknessVA

Because most of the brain is storage space for a life time of memories, (imo).

Some people suffer encephalitis at birth reducing there brain size, yet lead normal lives.

Sounds to me like she had a lot of love and support...

And more importantly...

A strong will to succeed against all the odds...

Awesome!

- JC

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: HolydarknessVA

Because most of the brain is storage space for a life time of memories, (imo).

Some people suffer encephalitis at birth reducing there brain size, yet lead normal lives.

She is missing most of the left side of her brain which controls all out motor skills and a majority of how we function

Male pattern baldness
Earlobes attached to the head
No wisdom teeth

These are the signatures of evolution in process too I believe.

a reply to: HolydarknessVA

So your 'theory of evolution' has us requiring less brains?

You may be right...

a reply to: HolydarknessVA

Stories like this are heart-warming and I enjoy reading about them. What was the cause behind your sister's issue?

When the brain adapts to injuries or natural deformation, it's usually called 'neuroplasticity' rather than evolution. Neuroplasticity is how the connections that form our brains can be rerouted through different areas to keep things going. Evolution takes generations to occur.

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: HolydarknessVA

Stories like this are heart-warming and I enjoy reading about them. What was the cause behind your sister's issue?

When the brain adapts to injuries or natural deformation, it's usually called 'neuroplasticity' rather than evolution. Neuroplasticity is how the connections that form our brains can be rerouted through different areas to keep things going. Evolution takes generations to occur.

There is nothing to prove what happened they belive it happened at birth and was not discovered until shenhad a car wreck at 21

originally posted by: HolydarknessVA

originally posted by: Kandinsky
a reply to: HolydarknessVA

Stories like this are heart-warming and I enjoy reading about them. What was the cause behind your sister's issue?

When the brain adapts to injuries or natural deformation, it's usually called 'neuroplasticity' rather than evolution. Neuroplasticity is how the connections that form our brains can be rerouted through different areas to keep things going. Evolution takes generations to occur.

There is nothing to prove what happened they belive it happened at birth and was not discovered until shenhad a car wreck at 21

You've lost me a little bit

Does she look normal? Head size etc. There are usually physical signs when someone has significant brain problems.

a reply to: HolydarknessVA

Awesome story... the brain is an amazing entity in life. I will forever be mystified by its abilities and origins.

It's my belief that the Pineal Gland is the engine of the brain. It can and will work with what it is built around it... continuously striving to bring unity to duality. How the electrical circuits/synapses are occurring and completing their signal paths within each of our brains are as unique as a finger print. As a species we may get a grasp on what areas of the brains perform circuitry paths, but it is an almost impossible feat to be able to trace individual circuits that correlate to the inputs/outputs electrically, that operate and keep our body vessels alive and operating.

If the wiring to certain parts of the brain is unable to function, because its not physically there to be able to function... than that means the brain will provide extra curcuitry/energy spent on the heart and other various 'will' driving variances. Every humans body will attempt alternate healing when a section is not able to. It's why deaf people have incredible sight, or vice versa.

I's almost bet, that in your sister's case. The amount of wrinkles (grey matter) is not missing... its this grey matter that enables more electrical surface for circuitry paths to find grounds to. Einstein had approximately 10-15% more grey matter (wrinkles) in his brain... that surface area is what decides brain function limits. The added wrinkles increase the overall surface area.

a reply to: HolydarknessVA

you witnessed plasticity in progress.

there was a kid who had a hemispherectomy (removed half his brain) and he went on to graduate college. Neuroplasticity is an amazing thing.

originally posted by: HolydarknessVA
My younger sister was born without 1/3 of her brain, all her drs were baffled saying she should be in a veggie state! Yet she has normal iq, graduated HS, even has a career! She even gave me a wonderfull nephew.

Her brain truly evolved to work with what little she had!

The outer layer of the brain (white matter) is the actual processing units. The inner layers (grey matter) are the interconnects between the different regions. The more you use a particular region of a brain, more neurons will form. Taxi drivers have an enlarged hypothalamus due to all the routes that they learn. We recently discovered that parrots have the same intelligence as chimpanzees, because they used smaller neurons and packed them in more densely.

a reply to: HolydarknessVA

I think you witnessed adaptation of a person so beautifully and wonderfully created
The human body is capable of awesome abilities, even beyond science

If her children have the same condition and excell, I may be corrected

First off, I am happy to hear about your sister! That's great news.

This was evolution but by a different means than you say. Humans have already evolved to have brains that are able to compensate for scenarios like this. Like Texan said, it's an amazing organ.

Awesome story. I wonder how much we actually know about the human brain? We claim to know a lot but then these stories popup and mystify us.

.....Great avatar by the way, I have sunk a lot of time into that game ....

originally posted by: HolydarknessVA
My younger sister was born without 1/3 of her brain, all her drs were baffled saying she should be in a veggie state! Yet she has normal iq, graduated HS, even has a career! She even gave me a wonderfull nephew.

Her brain truly evolved to work with what little she had!

Neuroplasticity, particularly when the brain is still in development, is one amazing "feature" of our brains.

Cool outcome, but not evolution (and I say that as a staunch proponent of the science of evolution).

originally posted by: ClovenSky
Awesome story. I wonder how much we actually know about the human brain? We claim to know a lot but then these stories popup and mystify us.

.....Great avatar by the way, I have sunk a lot of time into that game ....

We don't know everything about the brain (nor does any credible scientist claim to do so) but the brain's ability to adapt is well documented. Exceptional outcomes such as this don't invalidate what we do know about the brain .

originally posted by: ttobban
a reply to: HolydarknessVA

It's my belief that the Pineal Gland is the engine of the brain.

Demonstrably wrong, seeing as people have their pineal glands removed and lead otherwise perfectly normal lives.

Evolution. Like getting a tan. Takes millions of years dummy.

All the sexual confusion is certainly evolution though. (in the plant kingdom, sexed plants will turn hermaphrodite when the fields survival is threatened, in a last ditch attempt to double breeding efforts. So now we get to watch the same thing with humans and play dumb for a hundred years.)

a reply to: HolydarknessVA

This isn't evolution. Your sister just uses 2/3s better of
what most don't use at all.