Get Silly! jordanmarsh6, November 30, 2021April 5, 2023 I learned recently about a pretty fascinating fellow named Franz Gall. Franz lived from 1758-1828 and was the developer of a field known as “phrenology”. You probably haven’t heard of phrenology, just like I hadn’t heard of it. Phrenology is the study of the conformation of the skull as an indication of mental faculties and traits of character. Put even simpler: Franz Gall believed that bumps on your skull, or the shape of your head, contributed to the personality and strengths that a human had. Pretty wild right? His hypothesis was that different regions of the brain controlled different parts of your body (something he was correct on), and that the parts of the brain that controlled strengths that you had would bulge your skull in that location (something he was most likely incorrect on). For example, if you were an excellent public speaker, you may say that the part of your brain responsible for speech is very strong. The part of your brain responsible for speech is largely in a place called Broca’s area, which is usually on the left side of your brain towards the front. Thus, Franz Gall would probably expect a person with a gift for speaking to have a protrusion of their skull on the left side towards the front. Franz Joseph Gall examining the head of a patient. 1 There is one main thing I find fascinating about this story: it combines a very-true part of neuroscience with a very-not-true part. The truth is that different functions of the brain are localized to different areas in the brain. The untruth is that perceived bumps or protrusions in the skull result from overworking some functions. While Franz Gall may seem silly for believing in the bumps on the skull that result from localized brain growth, he actually helped push the field forward by insisting that different areas of the brain control different functions. We have to be willing to risk “protrusions on the skull” for “localizing brain functions”. In other words, we have to be willing to look a little silly to innovate. That innovation can come in the form of entrepreneurial ventures, relationship improvement, or even just individual goals. For example, in a stale marriage it may seem silly to insist on going on a weekly date and trying to act like you are meeting for the first time; but if both parties buy into the idea it may help to rekindle what was lost. If you’ve ever watched Shark Tank, you are probably very aware of some of the silly ideas that are pitched; but some of them become huge money makers. I’m convinced that feeling silly is a crucial part of setting new goals for yourselves. I’m grateful that Franz Gall did the work he did, because it reminds me of the amazing good we can eventually do if we’ll endure feeling a little silly from time to time. 1: Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Franz Joseph Gall examining the head of a pretty young girl, while three gentlemen wait in line. Coloured lithograph by E.H., 1825. 1825 By: E. H.Published: 1825 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Self Improvement