Perhaps I should have expanded more on what I had in mind by the designations "left brained" versus "right brained" if it just came across as "pop psychology stuff".
As I'm sure you're aware, there is plenty of evidence for brain lateralization. But of course it has been exaggerated and expanded upon into a cottage industry in pop culture.
At any rate, even if we set aside to what degree different tasks are localized in left or right hemispheres (I tend to think mine are strongly localized and that I have lots of issues trying to get things across the corpus collosum, but that's a whole different topic.) there's still an important difference in types of thinking that I'm trying to get at.
Perhaps the best way to get it across to you is to think about the following spectrum of writing style. First, consider how mathematicians write (deductive proofs). Then, consider how analytic philosphers write (strongly based on analysis and clear reasoning, still often with assumption followed by logical implications). Then consider how continental philosophers write, where the logical structure falls apart and in its place you have a bit more metaphor and poetry. Then consider how a literary professor would write, where it is entirely metaphors and symbols. Finally, consider how someone who studies or produces non-literary art "writes"... ie, no words at all, just all pictures and symbolism.
Its that spectrum I have in mind when I'm talking about "left brained" versus "right brained", regardless of where this functionality is localized, or if it is localized at all. Linear thinking involving grammar and assumption followed by implication presumably makes use of a chain of neurons in series with a small number of inputs feeding into each successive neuron. More metaphorical "holistic" thinking involves neurons with a much larger number of inputs feeding into each one, and a larger fan-out. It's association based rather than based on sequential relations.
Again, while pop culture may have read all sorts of other things into this that aren't there, I think there are some extremely important things to be learned from this difference.
no subject
As I'm sure you're aware, there is plenty of evidence for brain lateralization. But of course it has been exaggerated and expanded upon into a cottage industry in pop culture.
At any rate, even if we set aside to what degree different tasks are localized in left or right hemispheres (I tend to think mine are strongly localized and that I have lots of issues trying to get things across the corpus collosum, but that's a whole different topic.) there's still an important difference in types of thinking that I'm trying to get at.
Perhaps the best way to get it across to you is to think about the following spectrum of writing style. First, consider how mathematicians write (deductive proofs). Then, consider how analytic philosphers write (strongly based on analysis and clear reasoning, still often with assumption followed by logical implications). Then consider how continental philosophers write, where the logical structure falls apart and in its place you have a bit more metaphor and poetry. Then consider how a literary professor would write, where it is entirely metaphors and symbols. Finally, consider how someone who studies or produces non-literary art "writes"... ie, no words at all, just all pictures and symbolism.
Its that spectrum I have in mind when I'm talking about "left brained" versus "right brained", regardless of where this functionality is localized, or if it is localized at all. Linear thinking involving grammar and assumption followed by implication presumably makes use of a chain of neurons in series with a small number of inputs feeding into each successive neuron. More metaphorical "holistic" thinking involves neurons with a much larger number of inputs feeding into each one, and a larger fan-out. It's association based rather than based on sequential relations.
Again, while pop culture may have read all sorts of other things into this that aren't there, I think there are some extremely important things to be learned from this difference.