Stubbing Your Toe on Metaphors

It may be possible to study brain formation not as a metaphor. Just the facts. But, boy, I sure find it hard.

The way your experiences carve your brain into a physical manifestation of those interactions seems to leave a lot of metaphors laying around to be stepped on.

Like, for example, the neuron that does not build strong connections dies. What happens to the kid who doesn't connect? As Passover approaches, I can't help but think that they live forever in the Narrows of limited experience.

So for example, a motor neuron dies if it doesn't connect to the muscle it is supposed to wire up. And that happens an awful lot. Between 40 and 75% of fetal neurons die.

Toe: stubbed.