It’s often fun to consider, Am I Left-Brain or Right-Brain?
So let’s think about this for a moment. In your day-to-day life, at school, home or work, how do you tend to understand things: analytically and logically, or creatively and intuitively?
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a popular tool in organizations, as some of you may know, and it measures personality.
- One dimension has to do with what you usually focus on when faced with situations: facts and information (Sensing) or implications and possibilities (iNtuiting).
- Another dimension has to do with what you tend to take into account, when making decisions: more logic and objectivity (Thinking) or more emotion and values (Feeling).
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“Simple and practical” was the mantra of one of my previous managers, and after a while it made me crazy.
“Keep it simple, Stupid!” (KISS) is another exhortation we Americans sometimes hear.
Moreover, we are often schooled to take a stand on an issue. Focus your career on a field of endeavor. Take a side on a debate: pro or con.
One time my daughter and her classmates participated in a debate at school. She described both sides of the argument, and I asked her “Well, what did you think?” In her thoughtful way, she explained that she could see both sides, and was actually more in the ‘middle’ of the issue.
My wife and I are blessed to have a very bright kid, who has seeds of wisdom already budding in her thinking. She already has the semblance of a Cross-Brain, which rises above the Split-Brain level, so to speak.
Yes, we can simplify the things we face in the world we live in as an either-or. As black-or-white. As Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain.
But in actuality we ourselves and our very surroundings are often more complicated and multi-sided than we would like to believe. Many things in life reside in the so-called gray zone.
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We may be inclined to think more analytically than creatively. Conversely we may be more inclined to think intuitively than logically. Either way, the two hemispheres of our brain actually work in conjunction with each other more than we may know.
Iain McGilchrist, for one, emphasizes that we need both hemispheres for reasoning, imagination, language and emotion. He therefore debunks the common notion of the Left Brain as the seat only of language and logic, and the Right Brain as the seat of only creativity and intuition.
So I ask, What if we can promote greater ‘porousness’ between the two hemispheres? At any given moment, in any given situation, can we not have the best of both brains at our disposal? If so, then, we can cross from one hemisphere to another, consciously or deliberately, and face issues with a better integrated, more fully functioning brain.
So I suggest that we dispense with the either-or notion, and draw on the best of our analytic and intuitive sides, regardless of our preferences, especially when we’re faced with more unusual, complex problems.
Artistic sorts, for example, may read up on neutrinos and the Higgs boson, and grasp why they are important developments in physics. Conversely, scientific sorts may visit a Picasso exhibit or attend a Mozart opera, if they’re stuck in solving a research problem.
Michael Merzenich speaks about our brain’s lifelong plasticity, that is, ability to adapt, learn, change, and evolve, for greater functionality. So it’s well-within our abilities to cross between both sides.
The Meta-Brain
What is The Meta-Brain? It’s what I call the ability of our brain to examine itself, essentially to function as a mirror for itself.
When I meditate, for example, I reflect on myself meditating, and ‘watch’ calmly as thoughts pass my mind and gradually slow and settle down.
It’s the ability to step back, and take a ‘helicopter’ perspective, so things can be considered more holistically and completely. Beyond the divisions of the brain hemispheres, beyond the simplicity and dichotomy of more conventional view of things.
This is like lifting ourselves from walking on the forest floor, and looking at its entirety above the treetops.
This is the essence of emotional intelligence, which Daniel Goleman expounded on and popularized. It’s a specific aspect of EI, which is self awareness. Psychological mindedness or mindfulness are other related terms.
The Meta-Brain is also able to reflect deeply on things. To see what lies below the surface, to see things that are not so visible or discernible. To my point in Part 1 - A Beautiful Matter, John Nash is able to peer through things and extract the algorithms.
Why is this important?
There will be people who prefer to stick with either Left-Brain or Right-Brain, whichever may be their preferred style. But to grasp, analyze and solve problems more effectively and fully, whether simple or complex, we have to develop our Cross-Brain and Meta-Brain.
Later on, I will offer ways to strengthen our abilities in these respects, and extend our thinking however far we can. At the present, though, how well can you navigate this transition?
- Go from Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain
- To Cross-Brain, i.e., crossing back-and-forth
- To Meta-Brain, i.e., rising above, reflecting on itself
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