Right hemispheric brain function

I listened to a long podcast today. Jordon Peterson interviewing author Iain Geschrist about his latest book.

This was one I had to pay attention to. They were ping ponging from subject to subject, all with the theme of the two hemispheres of our brains having very different functions.

Concepts and theories were tossed out with lightning speed. Sometimes this kind of intellectual banter is just what my brain wants and responds to. Iain and Jordon are two very smart individuals with some very interesting thoughts to ponder.

Here’s what Iain had to say about the right and left parts of our brains. Left brain function stays within the parameters of what it knows. It’s where our memory is. It sorts and sifts and categorizes everything. It doesn’t respond well to new information outside of how it can fit into the known subsets. It might even ignore or edit or reinvent to have new information fit with the old. The right brain is associated with unconscious, with the big picture, with experience and feeling. It’s our emotional center. It’s how we are able to take in what is truly new and different. It’s where flow and balance can emerge. We need both these parts of our brains to balance out how we process information and to keep us alive.

Our right hemisphere controls the left side of our bodies and visaversa, including our right and left eyes. This is true for most animals, so much so that a bird will turn its head to look out of the opposite eye depending on what it’s looking for.

I’m surprised that we don’t pay more attention to this when it comes to learning. Each side of our brain has specific functions which are all about how we learn, remember, pay attention etc

When I used to teach art, I told the kids we would be exercising the right sides of our brains and give the left a break. I had several lessons that shut down the verbal left side almost completely. Kids stopped talking. The teachers would marvel at that because it happened organically to even the bounciest classes.

One thing Jordan and Iain agreed on was the need for our two hemispheres to work in harmony with each other. It’s not just about balance, these two sides give us a well rounded relationship with taking in knowledge and using it.

Why wouldn’t schools spend some time and energy on brain balance? New information can be tricky at first. Old information can get lost or forgotten. We live in an Information Age now. I think its cool to know some things about how our brains learn and assess the world.