About the Book:
Phineas Gage was truly a man with a hole in his head. Phineas, a railroad construction foreman, was blasting rock near Cavendish, Vermont, in 1848 when a thirteen-pound iron rod was shot through his brain. Miraculously, he survived to live another eleven years and become a textbook case in brain science.
At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was no longer Gage," said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable.
His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn’t happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.
At the time, Phineas Gage seemed to completely recover from his accident. He could walk, talk, work, and travel, but he was changed. Gage "was no longer Gage," said his Vermont doctor, meaning that the old Phineas was dependable and well liked, and the new Phineas was crude and unpredictable.
His case astonished doctors in his day and still fascinates doctors today. What happened and what didn’t happen inside the brain of Phineas Gage will tell you a lot about how your brain works and how you act human.
About the Author:
John Fleischman writes science for the American Society for Cell Biology, books for kids and others, and articles for the "Harvard Health Letter" and "Air & Space Smithsonian." He was a science writer at Harvard Medical School, a science broadcaster at Boston's WGBH (public radio), and a senior editor for "Yankee" and "Ohio" magazines.
Why Teach Phineas Gage?
The curious, somewhat disgusting, and completely fascinating story of Phineas Gage delves into early brain science and psychology. It is my hope that some students who are exposed to this amazing research will be inspired to enter the fields of science or psychology.