The Left Brain vs. Right Brain Myth
The left brain vs. right brain myth arises from the common idea that your dominant personality characteristics are related to which side of your brain has more control.
Pursuant to conventional wisdom, people tend to have a personality, thinking style, or way of doing things that is either right-brained or left-brained. Assumedly, left-brained people are more logical, while right-brained people are more creative.
Mixing Fact With Fiction
It is true that the brain has a right and a left side, and each hemisphere of the brain controls different body functions, but this fact does not relate to personality.
The left and the right sides of the brain manage disparate body tasks, such as movement and sight. For example, the brain’s left side controls the motion of the right arm and leg, and vice versa.
The misleading idea of left-brained vs. right-brained people originates from science and has become fictionalized over time, and the problem arises when we over-extend that idea to logic and creativity.
When and How Did This Misconception Begin?
This misconception began in the mid-1800s when two neurologists, Broca and Wernicke, examined patients who had problems communicating due to injuries. The researchers found damage to the patients’ left temporal lobes, so they suggested that language is controlled by the left side of the brain.
The left side of the brain is more active in speech production than the right side of it. In most people, the two main language areas, known as Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, are found in the left hemisphere.
Does One Side of the Brain Dominate?
Recent research showed that each side of the brain does more work for certain functions. Language is more localized to the left hemisphere and attention to the right hemisphere, so one side of the brain may do more work, but this does not vary by person.
There is not any evidence to suggest that individuals have dominant sides of the brain, or to support the idea of a left-right split between logic and creativity. A person uses both hemispheres of their brain equally, and that does not seem to be a dominant side.
All of the study participants, whether they were engineers or musicians, used their entire brains equally, debunking the left brain vs. right brain myth. Some people are especially logical or creative, but that does not mean one side of their brain is more dominant than the other.
Many logical tasks like solving complex math problems require inspired creativity, and many vibrant works of art are often rooted in logic and have intricate logical frameworks. So whether you are working out a complicated algebraic equation or painting an abstract work of art, both sides of your brain are actively participating and providing input.
You Are Whole-Brained
In essence, almost every feat of logic and creativity carries the mark of the whole brain functioning as one. You are not truly left-brained or right-brained. In a word, you are whole-brained. Embrace what you are good at, and let all parts of your brain do the work.
