09
COLD OPEN DELUXE ✦ Nº 09 / 20
The Man Who Survived an Iron Rod Through His Brain
A railroad blast drove a metal bar clean through his skull — and he got up and talked.
Wikimedia Commons · John M. Harlow, M.D. · Public domain
VERMONT · 1848
Meet Phineas Gage
Gage was a well-liked, capable railroad foreman. While setting an explosive charge, a spark set it off early, launching his tamping iron like a javelin — through his cheek, behind his eye, and out the top of his skull.
Wikimedia Commons · Based on original photograph by Jack and Bever… · CC BY-SA 3.0
THE INJURY
43 IN
THE IRON ROD THAT WENT THROUGH HIS HEAD
Over three feet of iron, clean through
The rod was more than 43 inches long and over an inch thick. It passed completely through his brain and landed dozens of feet away, smeared with what it had taken with it.
09
THE UNBELIEVABLE PART
He stayed conscious. He spoke. He walked to the cart.
Gage never even lost consciousness for long. Within minutes he was talking, and he later walked with help. He lived another dozen years after taking an iron bar through the brain.
BUT HE WASN'T THE SAME
'No longer Gage'
The rod destroyed part of his frontal lobe — and something about him changed.
BEFORE
Responsible, well-balanced, respected
AFTER
Reportedly impulsive, profane, unreliable
THE QUOTE
Friends said he was 'no longer Gage'
THE DEBATE
How much he changed is still argued
WHY HE MATTERS
He changed how we understand the brain
Gage became one of the most famous cases in the history of neuroscience — early, dramatic evidence that specific parts of the brain shape personality, planning, and self-control.
Wikimedia Commons · BruceBlaus · CC BY-SA 4.0
9
09
THE POINT
He survived losing part of what made him 'him.'
Gage's body recovered from the impossible. What the injury revealed is deeper: that who you are lives in physical tissue — and can be altered in an instant.
THE RECEIPTS · THIS REALLY HAPPENED
Look it up yourself
WHO
Phineas Gage, railroad foreman
WHEN
September 1848
WHERE
Near Cavendish, Vermont
THE INJURY
A 43-inch iron rod through his skull
THE OUTCOME
Survived ~12 more years
THE SIGNIFICANCE
Early evidence the brain shapes personality
9
DISCUSS
What do you think?
If an injury can change your personality, where does 'you' actually live?
How much of who we are is fixed — and how much is physical?
9