(I think this is about done!)

So in my never-ending quest to find scientific reasons for why I am such a nerd, I started looking into the right and left sides of the brain and how they differ. It’s relatively common knowledge that the right side of the brain is the “creative” side, while the left side of the brain is the “analytical” side. There’s obviously more to it than that - “left-brained people” tend to think sequentially, and assemble parts into a whole, turning patterns into symbols. Right brainers are visual learners, use intuition, look at the “big picture” first, and generally break things down from the whole.

There’s a well-known book called “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” that suggests that beginners try copying a picture upside down. The idea is to get left-brained people, who are used to drawing what they think things look like, to draw what they actually see. To think spatially instead of symbolically. E.g. don’t just draw a nose (a triangular shaped wedge with two holes), draw the nose in front of you. There’s also an implication behind that exercise that you can strengthen both sides of the brain, even if you are naturally weak on one side.

This dichotomy between the left and right sides of the brain helps answer a question I’ve had about why some people are drawn to fantasy, sci-fi, comics, video games, etc. (i.e. things of the imagination), and why some people aren’t. A right-brained person would naturally be excited by this kind of media, since they could easily visualize themselves in the imaginative worlds they employ. For lefties, who are more logical, analytical, and grounded in reality, there is perhaps little value in “fantasy.”

It’s interesting, though, that, in Western culture particularly, childhood is so focused on the right-brain type activities - stories, drawing, development of creative and imaginative faculties - and yet, as we get older, life becomes so predominantly left-brained. Rules, schedules, lists, homework, etc., etc. - we go from free thought associations to linear thought processes. Consequently, we relegate cartoons, comics, and video games to the past and denigrate them somewhat by referring to them as “childish.” No wonder the nostalgia for 80’s media is so strong among the internet crowd… they’re like old friends the right sides of our brains had to leave behind.

In reality, I believe the theoretical “ubermensch” is someone who has both strong creative and analytical skills. A fully-developed brain, all the way around. In the West, we worship the rule-breakers, the rule-definers, the mavericks… the men and women who can think outside of the box. We look up to the people who can wield the right side of their brains. At the same time, we admire the left-brain savvy folks who can focus, who can finish, who can communicate their thoughts effectively and eloquently. Someone who are confident with both sides is equipped to excel in this world.

Commenting on American education in particular (which is what I have experience with), I feel it’s a big let down for a right-brained student, for whom linear thinking is inordinately more difficult, and does not play to their inherent strengths. It’s also a letdown for the left-brained student, who will not have the benefit from having their creative sides stretched. How many A-students do we have slogging away at jobs where they are technically very proficient but unable to think (or rather, unused to thinking) beyond the rules set out for them by bosses who may or may not be competent?

The idea that learning and having fun are mutually exclusive is so totally damaging and counter-intuitive. In fact, it’s generally accepted that children learn through play - I think it’s very possible that “fun” is an evolutionary trait designed for learning and I’m not sure there’s much evidence to support the idea that this becomes untrue for adults. Is there? The line our society draws for these types of things seems so distressingly arbitrary.

How else can you explain why I can find every secret cave in The Legend of Zelda but I probably can’t remember anything else I learned in school the year I was playing that game? The incorrect assumption would be that I spent more time playing games than studying. NOT TRUE. I got mostly A’s, man! Kinda.

But yeah, you knew I was going to get to video games eventually! In the future, I think games will play an increasingly important role in education, since they are preeminently engaging and can “bring to life” a lot of interesting topics that… are honestly really interesting in real life but boring to learn about through a textbook. And not even playing them but making them. It’s often said that if you can teach someone something, then you understand it yourself - if you could make a game about something, I think that would be doubly true. It’s also a great way to exercise BOTH sides of the brain, learn teamwork, and all that good stuff.

And when you’re done you have something that other people can play and learn from! And parents, an educational video game looks great in a college application. No joke, it worked for me! Win-win-win!

Note: here’s a site that sums up the left-brain-right-brain dichotomy pretty succinctly.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Artwork, Games, Miscellaneous Bullshit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.