Right Brain Left Brain
The concept of "right brain left brain" refers to the two
hemispheres of your brain. Some amazing experiments involving
people who've had the corpus callosum cut taught us most of what
we know about the differences between the two sides. The surgery
is performed on epileptics to reduce the incidence of seizures,
and it isolates most of the right hemisphere from the left
hemisphere.
For a typical experiment, a divider allows a participant to see
two objects - say, a cup with the right eye and a lemon with the
left. When asked what they see, they'll say they see a cup, and
nothing more, because most people process both language and
information from the right eye with their left brain (left
hemisphere). However, when they write down what they see, using
their left hand, they'll write "a lemon," because both the left
hand and eye are controlled by the right side of the brain.
Of course, you have only one brain, and the two hemispheres work
together normally. These split-brain experiments show how
distinct the two sides really are, though. When the corpus
callosum is cut it's as if there really are two brains. What
have we learned from these experiments then?
Left Brain
For more than 90% of right-handed people and 70% of left-handed
people, the left hemisphere:
- Processes things more sequentially.
- It is more rational, logical, analytical, and objective.
- It looks at the parts.
- It handles normal speech.
If you want to stimulate and strengthen the thinking processes
of your "left brain," talk about things as logically as you can.
Also, picking apart an argument or something you read can
exercise this part of the brain too. While there is little hard
evidence as to the effects of specific exercises, talking or
working on your analytical skills are safe things to do, so
experiment freely.
Right Brain
Again, the following is true for most people. The right
hemisphere:
- Handles thing in more random and subjective manor.
- Is responsible for "hunches" and other intuitive processes.
- Looks more at wholes, and is best at pattern-recognition.
If you want to exercise your "right brain," sing. Stutterers
find that they don't stutter when they sing, because it is
handled differently than regular speech. writing or reciting
free-form poetry and studying maps may help as well. Again,
these are not proven by scientific studies yet, but there is no
danger in experimenting in these areas.
Right Brain Left Brain Dominance
Most of us seem to favor one style or another of thinking, and
this may be an indication of the dominance of one or the other
hemisphere. For exmple, it seems likely that the choice between
joining the debating team or the art class in school has
something to do with which side is dominant. You have probably
noticed that left-handed people, who presumably have a more
developed right hemisphere, are more often artists.
If you want to be more "whole brained" in your approach to
things, you can start by working on your weakest areas, using
some of the tips above. Also, you can bring both sides into
whatever you do. For example, metaphors, a right-hemisphere
process, can be used in logical (left hemisphere) debate.
Artistic work can include more analysis. Can this really help
balance your thinking? Probably. Time and more research will
tell. In the meantime, it can't hurt to more fully use your
right brain and left brain.