biology

Livewired

Livewired is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Livewired rather than just read about it. In short: Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain is a non-fiction book by David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University. The book explores and extends the phenomenon of brain plasticity, with the term livewired proposed as a term to supersede plastic.

Key takeaways

Livewired belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Livewired to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Livewired from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Livewired: The Inside Story of the Ever-Changing Brain is a non-fiction book by David Eagleman, a neuroscientist at Stanford University. The book explores and extends the phenomenon of brain plasticity, with the term livewired proposed as a term to supersede plastic. As of late 2020, the book was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. A Kirkus review described the book as "outstanding popular science," while New Scientist magazine wrote that "Eagleman brings the subject to life in a way I haven’t seen other writers achieve before." Harvard Business Review wrote that Livewired "gets the science right and makes it accessible... completely upending our basic sense of what the brain is in the process." The Wall Street Journal wrote that "since the passing of Isaac Asimov, we haven't had a working scientist like Eagleman, who engages his ideas in such a variety of modes. Livewired reads wonderfully, like what a book would be if it were written by Oliver Sacks and William Gibson, sitting on Carl Sagan's front lawn.”

References

External links Livewired website (includes excerpts)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Livewired

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Livewired claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Livewired before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Livewired ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Livewired

In research: Livewired appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Livewired in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Livewired is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2020 non-fiction books, Canongate Books books, Cognitive science literature, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Livewired outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Livewired in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Livewired means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Livewired out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Livewired in simple terms?

Why does Livewired matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Livewired?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Livewired.