Theories of brain structure and function have it that there are two sides of the brain: the right and left sides. The left side of the brain leans towards(or get stimulated by) logic, sequence, details, rules, facts, words and languages, practicality, strategies and patterns. The right side , on the other hand, gets stimulated by imagination, colors, symbols, images, spaces, feelings, intuition , and things that "sound right" more than things that "make sense".
People tend to have preference to use either side more than the other, which obviously affects their education, growth, interests, hobbies and so forth. People who are 'left-brain-sided' (yes i made up that term) tend to be rational, analytic and objective. They prefer the maths and sciences and its easier for them to remember names rather than faces(or shapes). People who are 'right-brain-sided' tend to be more imaginative, creative and big-picture oriented. They prefer arts, philosophy & religion and for them, remembering a face or an object's function is much easier than remembering its name.
Naturally, each type finds themselves drawn to certain activities and topics which suits their brain side preference. And even in the same task, each does it their own way. I'll take learning as an example , since it's discussed alot in Mirqah's learn 2 learn course ( And Yes , this is advertising, but it's Kimo's company fa I might as well). Right-brain-sided people, prefer to learn by watching videos, illustrated instructions, or even better yet... by giving it a shot themselves. They may or may not give the "accurate" but it will sure be creative in some way or another. They can't stand lots of verbal instructions and , it's very unlikely that they follow the instructions fully, whereas, left-brain-sided people are more likely to benifit from textual descriptions, step by step instructions, theories and proofs. They will follow the instructions to the point and are more likely to give a very "accurate" output. (Now that I write that, I realize it has some resemblance to the Ku theory, not sure what exactly but I feel something there. Anyway, this one's sure more scientific and not made up :) )
Having said that, I think most people of one type, both; hold themselves higher in the qualities that they value , yet envy the other type for the qualities they're short on. Meaning, a right-brain-sided people hold themselves high on creativity, colorfulnes...etc but envy the left-brain-sided people on their organization and attention to details. They would keep wondering how the other's life works without the ability to make decisions quickly using their "hunch" and having to rely only on informed decisions, yet how their own lives would be so much better if they were more ratinal and objective in their choices.
Now comes the funny part, I have both sides of my brain almost equally influential, i.e. i don't have a prefrence towards one side or the other. You'd think, "Wow, that's amazing. It means you're able to balance, right?"Actually, no... it makes you bi-polar. Imagine that you like all sorts of things, on one hand, you're challenged by numbers, languges, logic, sequence .. and on the other hand, you enjoy colors, patterns, images, feeling.. When would you have time to stimulate both side? For example, on any given evening after work, you have enough time to do one or two things, from a list of at least 10 things that you'd like to do.
I try to do my own balance though, my job as an IT business analyst, depends highly on the left side of the brain , while I chose hobbies that tickle the right side, like writing, photography and card making. That , of course, is in a perfect world that does not account for mood swings (when I end up wanting to be artsy when I'm at my analytical job and be analytical while I'm reading a fantasy novel), work over load (where I end up using the logical and rational abilities too long and not have time to play with colors and spaces), or work under-load ,if there is such a word, (when I end up blogging, designing or just day dreaming at work and miss the numbers and figures). So, most of the time, one side of the brain is fighting for attention over the other. In other words, most of the time, you're doing the opposite of what you want to do at that time. It's not as bad as it sounds though, at least you're doing something. What really is bad, is when both sides of the brain decide to take vacation at the same time, leaving me bored, lazy and reluctant to do anything at all.
So basically that's it,I just wanted to get back to blogging and reflect on the whole brain lateralization issue. Wishing you all good mental health :)
P.S.
If you're interested to find out more about that, there are millions of resources all over the internet. I personally don't trust the facebook quizzes, try the link below for a good through test along with a nice explanation from Vancouver Art Institute:
http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm
People tend to have preference to use either side more than the other, which obviously affects their education, growth, interests, hobbies and so forth. People who are 'left-brain-sided' (yes i made up that term) tend to be rational, analytic and objective. They prefer the maths and sciences and its easier for them to remember names rather than faces(or shapes). People who are 'right-brain-sided' tend to be more imaginative, creative and big-picture oriented. They prefer arts, philosophy & religion and for them, remembering a face or an object's function is much easier than remembering its name.
Naturally, each type finds themselves drawn to certain activities and topics which suits their brain side preference. And even in the same task, each does it their own way. I'll take learning as an example , since it's discussed alot in Mirqah's learn 2 learn course ( And Yes , this is advertising, but it's Kimo's company fa I might as well). Right-brain-sided people, prefer to learn by watching videos, illustrated instructions, or even better yet... by giving it a shot themselves. They may or may not give the "accurate" but it will sure be creative in some way or another. They can't stand lots of verbal instructions and , it's very unlikely that they follow the instructions fully, whereas, left-brain-sided people are more likely to benifit from textual descriptions, step by step instructions, theories and proofs. They will follow the instructions to the point and are more likely to give a very "accurate" output. (Now that I write that, I realize it has some resemblance to the Ku theory, not sure what exactly but I feel something there. Anyway, this one's sure more scientific and not made up :) )
Having said that, I think most people of one type, both; hold themselves higher in the qualities that they value , yet envy the other type for the qualities they're short on. Meaning, a right-brain-sided people hold themselves high on creativity, colorfulnes...etc but envy the left-brain-sided people on their organization and attention to details. They would keep wondering how the other's life works without the ability to make decisions quickly using their "hunch" and having to rely only on informed decisions, yet how their own lives would be so much better if they were more ratinal and objective in their choices.
Now comes the funny part, I have both sides of my brain almost equally influential, i.e. i don't have a prefrence towards one side or the other. You'd think, "Wow, that's amazing. It means you're able to balance, right?"Actually, no... it makes you bi-polar. Imagine that you like all sorts of things, on one hand, you're challenged by numbers, languges, logic, sequence .. and on the other hand, you enjoy colors, patterns, images, feeling.. When would you have time to stimulate both side? For example, on any given evening after work, you have enough time to do one or two things, from a list of at least 10 things that you'd like to do.
I try to do my own balance though, my job as an IT business analyst, depends highly on the left side of the brain , while I chose hobbies that tickle the right side, like writing, photography and card making. That , of course, is in a perfect world that does not account for mood swings (when I end up wanting to be artsy when I'm at my analytical job and be analytical while I'm reading a fantasy novel), work over load (where I end up using the logical and rational abilities too long and not have time to play with colors and spaces), or work under-load ,if there is such a word, (when I end up blogging, designing or just day dreaming at work and miss the numbers and figures). So, most of the time, one side of the brain is fighting for attention over the other. In other words, most of the time, you're doing the opposite of what you want to do at that time. It's not as bad as it sounds though, at least you're doing something. What really is bad, is when both sides of the brain decide to take vacation at the same time, leaving me bored, lazy and reluctant to do anything at all.
So basically that's it,I just wanted to get back to blogging and reflect on the whole brain lateralization issue. Wishing you all good mental health :)
P.S.
If you're interested to find out more about that, there are millions of resources all over the internet. I personally don't trust the facebook quizzes, try the link below for a good through test along with a nice explanation from Vancouver Art Institute:
http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm
Comments
The lowest cost place to complete the test is at www.mybrain.co.uk. It is a UK site so with the dollar being strong against the British pound now is a good time to buy. Also, if you subscribe for their newsletter before buying, you get a discount voucher.
btw, there is a term for it.. its called "left-brained" and "right-brained" but i admit i like yours better!
nicely written zao..
Squirrel