Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Right Side of the Brain

   Have you ever heard of the left-side, right-side brain theory? If so, I'm sure you know that the right side of the brain is our creative side as opposed to the left-side, which is our intellectual side. In this post I will not discuss the brain as a whole, but briefly talk about the right end of our brain.



   The right part of our brain, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the right cerebral hemisphere of the human brain especially when viewed in terms of its predominant thought processes (as creativity and intuitive thinking). When a person is right brain dominant, they are thought of as the dreamers, the artists, and the musicians of the world. Just because they are not as good with numbers and remembering facts does not mean that they are "dumber" than a left-brain person. These people just have their strength in different areas.



   During my research on the right side of the brain, I have come across Barbara Pytel's article called, "Right Brain Characteristics" and she goes into depth about the traits and characteristics of the creative half of our brains. Pytel talks about how right-brain people learn, deal with work, their careers, and additional interesting information.

How They Learn

   In Barbara Pytel's theory, a person who is right brain dominant learns through visualizing things. They don't memorize too well and need a visual thought to recall facts. She also mentions in this section that when one who is right brain dominant answers a question, they tend to look to their left. From what I've heard from many people, looking to your left while answering someone's question generally means that the person is lying. That creative person isn't looking to their left in terms of being dishonest.

Dealing with words

   In Barbara's post, she provides an interesting and comprehensive example of how some right-brain people with words, or work in general:
On a spelling test, a right brain hears the word "dog." Their mind wanders to the thought of the neighbor's dog which barked most of the night, that reminds them of the fact that the neighbors are in the Bahamas, which takes them to an island with palm trees and sandy beaches, which reminds them that they need a bathing suit for this weekend, which reminds them that they will need to take spending money... Teacher says, "Word #7 is house." Student raises hand and asks what word #6 was. They've checked out for a while.
   I personally love this example because this is exactly how I act when I am trying to get work done. I'm right brain dominant and I get easily distracted by almost anything. One thought leads to another and it goes on for so long to the point where I ask myself, "How did I even get to this topic? Back to work!"

Perfect Careers

Some perfect careers for the right brain people include:
  • Craftsmen
  • Sales
  • Athletes
  • Dancers
  • Artists
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Musician
In the study of the right brain in psychology (Kendra Cherry), some abilities that is associated with the right side of the brain include:
  • Recognizing faces
  • Colors
  • Expressing/Reading emotions
  • Music
  • Images
  • Creativity



Our creative side, I believe, is what started art.Without it, what would art, or even feelings and emotions, be in this world?


Works Cited
Pytel, Barbara. "Right Brain Characteristics." Suite101.com. Suite 101, 28 June 2006. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
Cherry, Kendra. "Left Brain vs Right Brain." About.com Psychology. About.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.

2 comments:

  1. This really brings back memories of my tenth grade art teacher constantly talking about the left and right sides of our brain. She said we should not be talking while working on our art because that uses the left side of our brains and we needed all our focus to be on the right side to make better art. At the time it was just extremely annoying to not be able to talk to my friends during class but it really does make sense. The idea was to only be using one side of our brain so its effects would be stronger.

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  2. Your content was really intriguing here; this is an example of how one can go off on a tangent in a really good way--talking about art through how one things and knows and how the brain really influences different skills in different people. I was also drawn into this by the sheer visual additions your provided here; they were artsy and a bit quirky, but they worked perfectly.

    My recommendations: definitely cite those images, each one, right in a hyperlink to the image and/or with a copyright image line beneath the image. Always give credit for borrowed content. Also, share with us: what are Barbara Pytel's credentials?

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