The brain of a blind artist

This clip will give you a new view of what the brain can do.  Eşref Armağan is a painter who was born without sight.  He has never seen landscapes, but can paint them with the perspective of a sighted person.  Researchers from Harvard found that the visual cortex of his brain lit up when he was drawing just the way the visual cortex would light up for someone with sight.

I can’t help but wonder how many more amazing things we will learn about the brain and how students learn.  This story reminds me to always look for new paths to learning.  It reminds me not to make assumptions about what my students can do.  It inspires me to begin the new year looking for new ways to challenge my own learning.