Last week/weekend, Noah was in town and we hung out a couple of times. I’m sure Barbara and Donna would be happy to know that we talked about them quite a bit…

Mom - I think you did quite a bit right.

Mike - I haven’t gotten through the whole bit, but I definitely liked this portion:

“Plasticity, then, in the wide sense of the word, means the possession of a structure weak enough to yield to an influence, but strong enough not to yield all at once. Each relatively stable phase of equilibrium in such a structure is marked by what we may call a new set of habits…we may without hesitation lay down as our first proposition the following, that the phenomena of habit in living beings are due to the plasticity of the organic materials of which their bodies are composed.”

This is also very good brain food. Quite nutritious. And it’s exactly what I’m trying to get at with the post above. We may spend too much time trying to “figure out” how phenomena like stickiness and influence, when the answers have already been laid bare by nature. Can’t wait to see your post.

It’s very similar to the notion of Plasticity discussed in William James’ “Habit.” You’ll find it in the second paragraph here - http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/prin4.htm

“Habit” is about how our brain learns, just as Barbara mentioned.

I’m working on a post right now for my blog that will touch on this. I’ll let you know when I post it.

Thanks for brain food.

Clay — awesome post! The concept of stickiness, along with the ability to flow and stretch, are great images that actually make me think of what brain-based learning looks like. When we learn something new it stays in our brain for a certain period of time. If we don’t connect it to something else, it generally fails to stick, but when we do make connections, it not only sticks but gets stronger, becoming part of the neural network that helps us to trap and retain new knowledge and understanding …

Love those connections!

Glad you liked the post. I had just read that Michael Beirut quote yesterday, I think, and I was thrilled that someone had put something I believe into words so succinctly. Because while I don’t design, per se, I do have to dive into whatever business I happen to be working on at the time, whether it’s machine tools or roofs (as is the case for my B2B clients right now). See you soon, man.

Second, this is awesome. It’s exactly the kind of stuff I like reading on blogs (marketing or otherwise). I think this quote from Michael Bierut on design explains why this perspective is so great: “But the great thing about graphic design is that it is almost always about something else. Corporate law. Professional football. Art. Politics. Robert Wilson. And if I can’t get excited about whatever that something els is, I really have trouble doing good work as a designer. To me, the conclusion is inescapable: the more things you’re interested in, the better your work will be.”