Galvanic Systems: A Deeper Dive into the Metaphor, with Help from a Marine Engineer

By Dr. Patty Gently on July 9, 2025

Bright Insight Support Network founder and president Dr. Patricia Gently supports gifted and twice-exceptional adults in their own autopsychotherapy through identity exploration, structured reflection, and alignment with inner values. A writer, educator, and 2e adult, Dr. Patty centers depth, integrity, and complexity in all aspects of her work.

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Galvanic Systems: A Deeper Dive into the Metaphor, with Help from a Marine Engineer

After I shared my original post on rethinking giftedness through a galvanic frame, a marine engineer reached out with a perspective that lit me up, quite overexcitably. What he offered wasn’t just adjacent; it was strikingly aligned. His explanation of how galvanic processes are used to protect and stabilize ships added profound nuance to the metaphor I had only just begun to explore. He explained in detail:

I'm a ship's engineer by trade. We use different metals to control corrosion, creating galvanic cells intentionally such that sacrificial anodes are consumed rather than the ship's hull or other important components such as propellers, coolers etc.

The galvanic series determines which metals will corrode preferentially over others.

There's other subtleties that can cause disturbances - “stray current" can occur from shore side equipment when at the quay.

Some ships also have a system to negate the natural galvanic action of mixed metals in an electrolyte with a system called ICCP - impressed current cathodic protection.

So, here is a picture of the galvanic series, and here is a deeper dive into this material (marine and metal puns possibly intended).

The Galvanic Series and Sacrificial Anodes

So here are some terms for you that will not likely show up on my “terms" page.

Anode: The part of an electrochemical system where oxidation occurs, meaning it loses electrons. In galvanic protection, the anode corrodes in place of the more important metal components it's meant to protect.

Sacrificial anode: A deliberately more reactive metal placed near key components (like steel hulls or propellers) that corrodes first to protect the main structure from degradation.

Galvanic cell: A basic electrochemical cell formed when two different metals are connected through an electrolyte, generating a flow of electric current due to differing electrochemical potentials.

In marine engineering, galvanic corrosion occurs when two dissimilar metals are in contact with an electrolyte (like seawater). This sets up a galvanic cell, a kind of natural battery, where one metal corrodes (loses material) preferentially. This isn't always a problem, either. In fact, it's often used intentionally.

Engineers will install sacrificial anodes, typically made from more “active” metals like zinc, aluminum, or magnesium, near key components such as propellers or hulls. These anodes corrode first, absorbing the electrochemical damage and protecting the more critical parts of the ship. They are literally sacrificed for the integrity of the whole.

Now think about that metaphorically.

Many gifted, or what I'm calling galvanic, individuals serve as emotional, intellectual, or social anodes in their environments. They absorb stray voltage: tension in a group, unspoken conflict in a relationship, inefficiency in a system. Their nervous systems pick up what others miss, and they transmute or contain it, often without anyone realizing that a cost has been incurred. Like sacrificial anodes, they preserve the larger structure, sometimes at their own expense.

Stray Currents and Environmental Sensitivity

Stray current: Unintended electrical current that leaks from its designated circuit and finds an unintended path through conductive materials like metal surfaces, leading to unexpected corrosion or damage.

The engineer also mentioned stray current corrosion, a phenomenon that occurs when electrical current, intended for one path, leaks into other parts of the system. These currents might come from shore-side equipment or nearby ships and can cause unexpected corrosion.

This maps fantastically onto how galvanic individuals often react to ambient signals, a subtle comment, a shift in energy, even symbolic or systemic tension. Their systems are highly receptive. They feel what isn’t said. They process unspoken dynamics and unacknowledged dissonance. And like metal corroding silently under stray current, their inner systems can be disrupted by external stressors many others never register.

ICCP: Scaffolding for the Galvanic System

ICCP (Impressed Current Cathodic Protection): A corrosion prevention system that applies a small, controlled electrical current using an external power source, balancing electrochemical activity and protecting the ship’s metallic components without requiring continuous sacrifice of metal parts.

Some ships use ICCP technology to further stabilize their systems. Instead of relying solely on sacrificial metals, ICCP uses an external power source to apply a controlled current that neutralizes corrosion.

In human terms, and as attended to in the original post, this would be the equivalent of external scaffolding, support systems like grounding practices, attuned relationships, trauma-informed education, or school and workplace accommodations. Rather than waiting for internal systems to collapse under stress, ICCP-like support helps modulate the environment and preserve the person’s integrity over time. It isn’t indulgent, it’s protective.

Fresh Water vs. Salt Water

Interestingly, the engineer pointed out that fresh water is less conductive than salt water. In metaphorical terms, this might represent environments that are less reactive, contexts that don’t charge the system as quickly or intensely. Galvanic individuals often need time in these “low-conductivity” settings to recharge and stabilize. These environments can act as buffers, reducing overstimulation and allowing for nervous system recovery. Still, many galvanic individuals also seek salt water, socially or emotionally, for its richness, depth, and stimulation. Salt water, socially or emotionally, can be beautiful, and also “high-voltage." And if we stay in it too long without support, we risk internal corrosion from the very current that once felt invigorating.

Copper, Iron, and Internal Ecosystems

Even within ships, different metals are used strategically: iron anodes for protecting internal steel components, copper for reducing marine growth. Each metal serves a different role based on the vulnerability and function of the system it protects. Metaphorically speaking, galvanic people often do this too. They adjust their roles, their responsiveness, and their protective instincts based on context. They intuit what is needed: containment here, insight there, advocacy elsewhere. It's adaptive and compensatory, and it is also seen as a form of masking that can wear us out.

As I like to say, “Put your energy where it does the most good." Maybe we need to put the right conductor where it does the most good. This is about goodness of fit and adaptation. And yet even good fit can become over-function if left unchecked. Metaphorically, even a well-placed conductor can overheat when the system demands too much and regulation is insufficient.

Complexity and Longevity

Finally, the marine engineer remarked: “There are many many complexities and subtleties in keeping ships afloat for 20–50 years.” And isn’t that true of humans, too? Especially for those whose systems are hyper-responsive, symbol-sensitive, and developmentally volatile. Longevity, thriving, not just surviving, requires a deeper understanding of how systems interact, corrode, protect, and sustain. It requires seeing the whole ecology, not just the visible outcomes.

Galvanic individuals are complex systems. Their inner lives are not made up of single circuits or isolated responses, but of layered, recursive feedback loops that shift dynamically across time, environment, and relational context. What may look like contradiction is often compensation; what appears chaotic is often complex regulation in motion. Maintaining integrity in such a system is not a matter of fixing one part. It’s about tending to the relationships between parts. Some circuits may even function as internal sacrificial anodes, dimming or narrowing in scope as a form of energetic triage to preserve higher-order functions. Galvanic systems often redirect charge to what feels most urgent or meaningful, conserving spoons in the process. Like ships engineered to navigate varying waters, these systems require more than durability. They require responsive adaptation, intelligent design, and constant recalibration to remain whole across a lifetime of changing conditions.

Final Thought (for now, tee hee)

This marine frame has only deepened my appreciation for the galvanic metaphor. It shows that being highly charged, highly responsive, and highly sensitive is not inherently pathological. It’s engineering. It’s biology.

It’s survival.

And like ships designed for long, demanding journeys, galvanic individuals need regular maintenance, conscious design, and systems that help them stay afloat, without corroding in silence, sinking into hidden spaces, or wrecking against unattended shores. Without consistent recalibration and relational resonance, even the best-engineered systems can destabilize. Complexity alone is not the liability, though. Unattended complexity is.

To the marine engineer who shared his world: thank you. You didn’t just add insight. You added language and structure to something deeply felt that I did not have all the language for.

Now it has form and framing.