At 11, I could say ‘I am sodium’ (Element 11), and now at 79, I am gold.

At 11, I could say ‘I am sodium’ (Element 11), and now at 79, I am gold.

Language, that most human invention, can enable what, in principle, should not be possible. It can allow all of us, even the congenitally blind, to see with another person’s eyes.

Music is part of being human.

Although I think it is wonderful to have the whole world of music available in something that small and to have it conveyed with such fidelity almost straight into the brain, I think the technology is also a danger.

Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.

Fascinating, Doidge's book is a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain.