May 14th, 2014.
Last night, while reading Miguel Nicolelis’ book Beyond Boundaries, I came across the description of a simple experiment in which the author studied the redistribution of somatosensory cortex functions after applying local anesthesia.
The results were simply astonishing: immediately after the agent was applied, completely shutting down the information flow from a certain body part, the corresponding cortical area began to reorganize to process input from neighboring regions. This fantastic functional plasticity contradicts old theories of the brain cortex, where certain areas were strictly tied to processing functions of specific body parts.
In other words, there is no such thing as an empty place. Neurons are a huge computational aggregate, constantly contested by other structures in need of processing power. As soon as one input nerve fails—whether from anesthesia blocking signals or trauma severing sensors—neighboring cortical regions immediately begin competing for that territory.
I also thought that, in some sense, this principle of filling all available space applies to time management as well: if you want to stop spending time on empty, pointless, and meaningless things, you simply must not allow yourself time for them. Cut out of your behavioral repertoire the hours wasted in social media, the aimless and uncontrolled distraction of political articles, and multi-hour computer game sessions.