tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post6898267526561058768..comments2024-03-27T19:53:53.708-06:00Comments on growing changing learning creating: Making up our mindsTom Haskinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12658791778134826289noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-47201871407398564732008-07-29T12:49:00.000-06:002008-07-29T12:49:00.000-06:00Hi ChrisYou're very welcome!1. No, the left/ri...Hi Chris<BR/>You're very welcome!<BR/><BR/>1. No, the left/right designation refers to locations in our skulls. There's no connection with dominant hand usage (or ambidextrous people would be in big trouble). I'm not aware of left handed people being more creative, compassionate, and non-judgmental than right handers, but people demonstrate those traits when functioning in their right hemispheres. That suggests that the control of motor functions by each hemisphere is separate from the cognitive differences between them. <BR/><BR/>2. Stimulating right brain activity with physical movement is very appealing-- but I suspect the disconnect between motor activities and cognitive functioning rules that out. I just did a Google search about right brain stimulation and found this at<BR/> http://ezinearticles.com/?Right-Brain,-Left-Brain&id=43531<BR/><BR/>--- "Activities that stimulate the right brain are emotional issues, the creative process, recalling memorized lists, any unfamiliar event or activity, and holding the attention span. Seeing or feeling different sizes, seeing different colors, attention exercises involving timing, seeing unfamiliar faces, and meeting someone new also stimulate the right brain." ---<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the questions, Chris!Tom Haskinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12658791778134826289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-82902195171737998172008-07-29T10:38:00.000-06:002008-07-29T10:38:00.000-06:00Hi Tom,Two questions for you:1) I am left handed s...Hi Tom,<BR/><BR/>Two questions for you:<BR/><BR/>1) I am left handed so does that mean my brain's sides are reversed? So when you refer to 'left' brain is this 'right' brain for me?<BR/>2) Is it possible to encourage use of certain sides of the brain by undertaking specific activities with one side of your body. This could be an interesting insight for designing learning interventions.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for you ongoing thought provoking material!<BR/><BR/>Chris<BR/>http://learn2develop.blogspot.comChris Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12415768801378147250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-66809070870415520892008-07-28T16:38:00.000-06:002008-07-28T16:38:00.000-06:00Thanks for the question Stephen. The start of this...Thanks for the question Stephen. The start of this theory for me was James G. March's "garbage can theory of decision making" (circa 1976). His research uncovered that most rationality was imposed after managerial decisions were made intuitively. The rational logic was used to justify the unexplainable process of reaching the decision. This was a departure from Herbert Simon's tribe in the early days of AI. They were hoping to model the decision making processes with heuristics and other flexible protocols that could be replicated by computers. March posed a greater threat to the many advocates of quantitative decision making and rational management procedures. <BR/><BR/>Since then, there have been countless studies of flawed decisions, business failures, flight cockpit errors, inept military strategies etc, -- which all point to a lack of: creativity, mental fluidity, big picture thinking, questioning of assumptions and intuitive hunches. There's a pattern of too much convergence, task focus, playing by the rules, thinking inside the box, jumping to conclusions, colluding with others out of fear of getting ostracized, etc. <BR/><BR/>The comparisons between linear/non-linear, focused/panoramic, dichotomous/paradoxical have been around for years in the left/right brain studies. As I read John Medina's Brain Rules this month, he brought all that back to my mind. Medina posits that our evolutionary survival and superiority comes from this ability to challenge the evidence with the right side and then take action without question with our left hemisphere. <BR/><BR/>The positive limbic reaction to right brain functioning (and anxiety eruption when misusing the left brain) is a pattern I've been seeing in Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence writings, Jill Bolte Taylor's insights following her left brain stroke, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's studies of the Flow state, and Carol Dweck's research on fixed vs. growth mindsets. <BR/><BR/>I've taught creative problem solving many times and contrasted fear-based thinking with creative thought processes. I've been irresponsibly demonizing the left brain for not being creative. What I realized today, as I continue to reflect on John Medina's book, was how the left brain thought processes need to be the way they are in order to take action, get the job done and do things in the right order. They're not flawed. The left brain is misused, misunderstood and missing out on a valuable collaboration with the right brain.Tom Haskinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12658791778134826289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5117005533318160902.post-87926504548241954702008-07-28T15:46:00.000-06:002008-07-28T15:46:00.000-06:00This is a very idiosyncratic theory. Do you have a...This is a very idiosyncratic theory. Do you have any reference for this, so we can see where you got it from?Stephen Downeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06140591903467372209noreply@blogger.com