Are you left brained or right brained? Do you really care? Does it affect how you write? Are you one of those who can never really get the two terms straight, and usually drop the wrong one in conversation? "Oh, I know, I'm so left-brained!", you say, only to be chided and told that you've got it backwards. When that happens to me, I always say, "See, I told you… that's one of the characteristics: dyslexia." The popularization of the terms has become so rampant, that I thought it might be interesting to take a humorous and not-so-scientific foray into this fascinating topic.
When I joined a major biotech company several years ago, the head of the science program was a bald- headed, 5 foot, 3 inch gnome of a guy who was as affable as he was enigmatic. He had a hobby of taking psychological profiles on all of his friends, a habit which carried into the workplace. When I first started, a coworker warned me, "Look out for Stinson, he's going to psychoanalyze you!"
It was anything but psychoanalysis, but it was a complete Meyers-Briggs test, replete with post-analysis by Dr. Stinson. I "typed-out" something like an ENFP, and I never quite figured out exactly what it meant, even though I got a free 2 hour consultation by my Gestalt-trained boss. He did make one comment, however, that still sticks in my memory. Dr. Stinson allowed that I was the most extreme case he'd ever seen of a dominant right and a dominant left brain.
It took me awhile to get a mental picture of what that might mean. How could both be dominant? Were there warring factions in my grey matter? Wouldn't that cause physical pain, like headaches (which I'd never suffered from). Was he correct? It all made sense now. The id was at war with the superego, feelings of inadequacy and passion were battling with my cognitive brain center: imminent doom!
Okay, enough with that. If you think I'm getting too technical, think again. I'm far to right-brained for that to happen (or is it left-brained?). Getting back to Stinson. One afternoon, during a lab meeting, I presented some pretty controversial data that I'd been working on for several months. The gist of it sort of discounted a series of experiments that had been done by Dr. Stinson and his group before I had arrived in the company. I was very apprehensive during the presentation, knowing that it would meet with opposition, but also quietly confident that I was correct about the findings. At the end of the presentation, Dr. Stinson came up to the podium and the overhead (in those days we actually used overhead projectors). He pulled out some transparencies and launched into a sort of rebuttal of my work. Half way through, he totally melted down and was literally yelling at both me and the "powers that be" that would allow such an impudent young scientist to come in and cast aspersions on his work. This culminated in Stinson actually shoving his fist through the glass of the projector (he was not seriously injured). I was looking for the exit signs, when the CEO (who usually didn't sit in on our meetings, but happened to be present this day) came to my rescue and went up and calmed Dr. Stinson down, to the point of Stinson actually asking for forgiveness for what he termed, "a limbic storm." He went on to characterize the problem as a clash between his right and left brain.
I didn't sleep well for awhile after that event. I analyzed self. Okay, I'm a verbal guy, write scientific papers, am fairly confident with people, I'm very good with numbers, and can shine-it-on analytically, when called upon. Aha….. I'm left brained. Case closed. No war. But then, anxious thoughts molested my brief repose. I love music, that is certainly true. I play my guitar almost every day, collect rare books, write poetry. Yikes! I am at war…my brain's going to explode in a thermonuclear detonation.
Or not. Perhaps I'm just like you. Overly human, with a complete set of contradictions and broad spectrum of views, aspirations, goals and self-critiques. In any event, the next time I think to use 'that' term, I think I'll just say I'm 'ambidextrous-brained."
So what are you? Are you right-brained? Left-brained? Amibidextrous-brained? Or do you really care?
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Written by Edward Nudelman, who is also a Books Correspondent for Gather: POETRY CENTRAL
Keep up with Ed’s other posting and Gather activity by joining his Gather network-just click here and select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page. If you are interested in my background or qualifications, I invite you to read my profile which has information concerning my published writings.
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Comments: 73
Right brain, left brain? Me? Some of both.
Today? No brain!
Here's a good example. My husband was having some "issues" and went to see a psychologist. I went with him for his first appointment. They talked for a while. Then the psychologist said he wanted to test my husband for memory problems. He told my husband 3 items he wanted him to remember.
Well curious I decided to play along with this test also. I tried hard to keep in mind the 3 items. They talked about other things for five minutes then the Psychologist asked my husband to recall the 3 items, in order.
My husband almost forgot the 3rd item, but he did it! He got all three correct!
Me.... By time the 5 minutes had passed, I had no only forgotten the items, but completely forgotten that I was trying to remember something! LOL.
I never said anything to the Psychologist about it since my husband was the patient, not me, but I was very curious what he would have thought of that.
In most tests, I use my right and left sides equally.
I am not good at art or music.
However, when I take the tests I usually score equally high on both sides. I once even scored higher on the right. I'm going to go take the one Sandy posted when I get back from running errands.
I have more to discuss on this topic because I believe my children to be total opposites -- one left, one right. It's a pain to understand my right-brained child and I need ideas for here education.
MySpace Funny Comments
Actually, I think my brain is ambidextrous , shifting gears wildly, lurching from one part of life's path another other, depending on oncoming traffic, emergencies, daily routines.
I had the terrible misfortune to fall down the basement stairs and land on a concrete floor when I was two years-old. The fall also caused two of my lower vertebrae to fuse together. Yup, I'm brain damaged.
Edward said -
"Perhaps I'm just like you. Overly human, with a complete set of contradictions and broad spectrum of views, aspirations, goals and self-critiques."
This is a mantra of my very own.
Gerry Waas - Being right brain AND left brain dominate might give one balance, but as Edward has pointed out, it more often creates a war between the intuitive/feeling right side and the rational/logical left side. The two don't play well with each other.
If my addled memory serves me correctly, the medulla oblongata is the part of the brain that "negotiates" between the right and left halves. It's the moderate in the middle between the conservative and the liberal. The healthier your medula o. the better the two resolve their issues. (Medical professionals please correct me if I'm wrong). This is the part of MY brain that gets serious headaches.
coffee brain
Scottish accent
some of both
fried brain
glad to have one
hurt brain
damaged
right brain/left brain fence
not sure if have one
foggy brain
totally left-brained
an enigma
a little lame brained
addle-brained
more creative than strategic
educable brain-brained
the one women like the best
don't know
ambidextrous-brained
hare-brained
left-brained
damaged-brained
There are two of you in there.
Something I've thought for some time and would account for the volumes of wonderful poetry you produce.
According to the link Sandy gave, where I checked it out I got this result; " You responded as a right brained person to 11 questions, and you responded as a left brained person to 7questions. According to the Hemispheric Dominance test, you use your right brain the most."
Why men aren't listening
By the way, rather than the Medula Oblongata, I believe it might be the Corpus Callosum that connects the two brain halves into one whole ... when the full balance is actually realized, there is a SYNERGY that is CREATIVE in that the sum of the parts is then greater than appears to a strictly Left Brain individual. ... :-)
I wrote a whole book about my experiences in all of that. Free download available at Spirit Calls ... a voice from the wilderness.
Peace, j.
God gave me two brains. That means he wanted mr to use both...not so? I tried over the years to develop each half to its maximum.
So I am a dedicated and hard working engineer and I'm an art lover and I write romantic mystcal stuff.
What do they say? If you got it, why not use it?
human.
period.
coffee brain
Scottish accent
some of both
fried brain
glad to have one
hurt brain
damaged
right brain/left brain fence
not sure if have one
foggy brain
totally left-brained
an enigma
a little lame brained
addle-brained
more creative than strategic
educable brain-brained
the one women like the best
don't know
ambidextrous-brained
hare-brained
left-brained
damaged-brained
pea-brained
scatter-brained
pineal gland brained
two separate brains
Ambidextrous-brained
lots of right and left brainers
brain that hurts
human
Wide-eyed asked, "what ever happened to Dr. Stinson (a made-up name, but not made up person!). Well, he had a couple more limbic storms and was eventually canned. A brilliant scientist that couldn't sort out his brain. I actually liked him very much, and he had a good heart, brilliant mind(s) but just very quixotic and a wee bit scary.
(in joke)
As you probably know, the E is Extraverted; the N is Intuition; the F is Feeling; the P is perceptive. Extraverted people do well in places that offer distraction (as opposed to Introverts who dislike distraction) and Extraverts are energized rather than drained by high energy situations such as Gather.
Ha!
N for Intuition means that N types look beyond the surface. If a newspaper article is full of facts, the N will look beyond the facts where the S (sensing type) will look only at the facts.
The F is Feeling; the F believes that Feeling and NOT thoughts are the source of truth. A typical T (thinking type) is a software engineer, or most types of scientists.
The fact that you are a scientist AND a F type is revelatory and speaks well of you and also speaks directly to your ability to be a scientist AND a poet.
Ha
The P is for Perceptive as opposed to J for Judging. As all the MBTI terms have a meaning that is special for the MBTI and not a meaning known in the general definition, let me explain the P versus J or J versus P.
Perceptives are adaptable; J for Judging types need closure. They like to make decisions right away. The P will want to hold off on a decision until more information is available. J for Judging types are known to be more rigid and less flexible than P types. The downside for P types can be that they might not want to commit.
Ha
Does it take forever, Ed, for you to pick out a Christmas Tree? That fact is why I no longer accompany my husband on the annual trek for the perfect, perfect tree.
Once picked, he decides he wants a different one. This goes on until he brings one home. Then he decides it is not as pretty as he thought it was. This drives me crazy.
I am actually between a P and a J.
So I am really ENFP/J. I like to make decisions and git r done with. But I also like to be balanced (Libra/Scorpio).
I am extremely right brained, being extremely left handed.
Where some writers plan, I live purely in the gestalt, as far as writing goes.
What pops in gets typed.
I can definitely see you as a right brain/ left brain type of person AND as an ENFP.
Most psychologists like my husband are INFP - only 5 percent of the US population.
The INFP has an unusual capacity for empathy, making them very suitable candidates for the mental health field.
Ha
Poets are often INFJ - a bit mystical...
Software engineers are quiet types and usually INTP.
A lot of scientist/entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs in general are the Napoleons:
ESTJ.
The common teacher role is ISTJ - The trustee and keeper of the rules.
The best teachers are often ENFP - enthusiastic people who are creataive and hightly motivated and make great motivaters of people.
ENFP types are often teachers, journalists, writers, creative people, public relations and so on.
That is not a quick study of the 16 types, but, as you can see, I have looked into this topic closely for years.
I detest the ISTJ types and avoid them at work as much as possible.
I am good at typecasting those I work with and soon find out whom I am drawn toward and whom I should best avoid.
Great article, Eddie!
And also I am ambidextrous like you with cross hemisphere dominance, since I am a natural lefty (I still write lefthanded), but my parents thought this was somehow, you know,¨bent sinister¨, back in the early Sixties, and so they forced me to learn how to throw, catch, hit, kick, and even learn how to write as a right hander, though the latter never took. So I have this innate right brained dominance superimposed with a massive forced conditioning of the left brain side.
Or something. :-)
YES..........! I SCORED SAME AS JOHN WALTER. WE RULE, BABY!!
And Ed, I enjoyed your article: well written, interesting, humorous and thought-provoking.
My father whom I adored forgive the lack of punctuation for I am tired of typing but my father was an ESTJ.
Tom, I bet you do a mean impression of the ole Nappy Bon
the scientist is the left brain, the creativity is the right,
unfortunately my left brain is deficit.
It has been so long since I administered the myers briggs, that I can't remember the catagories
Portrait of an ENFP - Extraverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving
(Extraverted Intuition with Introverted Feeling)
The Inspirer
As an ENFP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things in primarily via your intuition. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit in with your personal value system.
ENFPs are warm, enthusiastic people, typically very bright and full of potential. They live in the world of possibilities, and can become very passionate and excited about things. Their enthusiasm lends them the ability to inspire and motivate others, more so than we see in other types. They can talk their way in or out of anything. They love life, seeing it as a special gift, and strive to make the most out of it.
ENFPs have an unusually broad range of skills and talents. They are good at most things which interest them. Project-oriented, they may go through several different careers during their lifetime. To onlookers, the ENFP may seem directionless and without purpose, but ENFPs are actually quite consistent, in that they have a strong sense of values which they live with throughout their lives. Everything that they do must be in line with their values. An ENFP needs to feel that they are living their lives as their true Self, walking in step with what they believe is right. They see meaning in everything, and are on a continuous quest to adapt their lives and values to achieve inner peace. They're constantly aware and somewhat fearful of losing touch with themselves. Since emotional excitement is usually an important part of the ENFP's life, and because they are focused on keeping "centered", the ENFP is usually an intense individual, with highly evolved values.
An ENFP needs to focus on following through with their projects. This can be a problem area for some of these individuals. Unlike other Extraverted types, ENFPs need time alone to center themselves, and make sure they are moving in a direction which is in sync with their values. ENFPs who remain centered will usually be quite successful at their endeavors. Others may fall into the habit of dropping a project when they become excited about a new possibility, and thus they never achieve the great accomplishments which they are capable of achieving.
Most ENFPs have great people skills. They are genuinely warm and interested in people, and place great importance on their inter-personal relationships. ENFPs almost always have a strong need to be liked. Sometimes, especially at a younger age, an ENFP will tend to be "gushy" and insincere, and generally "overdo" in an effort to win acceptance. However, once an ENFP has learned to balance their need to be true to themselves with their need for acceptance, they excel at bringing out the best in others, and are typically well-liked. They have an exceptional ability to intuitively understand a person after a very short period of time, and use their intuition and flexibility to relate to others on their own level.
Because ENFPs live in the world of exciting possibilities, the details of everyday life are seen as trivial drudgery. They place no importance on detailed, maintenance-type tasks, and will frequently remain oblivous to these types of concerns. When they do have to perform these tasks, they do not enjoy themselves. This is a challenging area of life for most ENFPs, and can be frustrating for ENFP's family members.
An ENFP who has "gone wrong" may be quite manipulative - and very good it. The gift of gab which they are blessed with makes it naturally easy for them to get what they want. Most ENFPs will not abuse their abilities, because that would not jive with their value systems.
ENFPs sometimes make serious errors in judgment. They have an amazing ability to intuitively perceive the truth about a person or situation, but when they apply judgment to their perception, they may jump to the wrong conclusions.
ENFPs who have not learned to follow through may have a difficult time remaining happy in marital relationships. Always seeing the possibilities of what could be, they may become bored with what actually is. The strong sense of values will keep many ENFPs dedicated to their relationships. However, ENFPs like a little excitement in their lives, and are best matched with individuals who are comfortable with change and new experiences.
Having an ENFP parent can be a fun-filled experience, but may be stressful at times for children with strong Sensing or Judging tendancies. Such children may see the ENFP parent as inconsistent and difficult to understand, as the children are pulled along in the whirlwind life of the ENFP. Sometimes the ENFP will want to be their child's best friend, and at other times they will play the parental authoritarian. But ENFPs are always consistent in their value systems, which they will impress on their children above all else, along with a basic joy of living.
ENFPs are basically happy people. They may become unhappy when they are confined to strict schedules or mundane tasks. Consequently, ENFPs work best in situations where they have a lot of flexibility, and where they can work with people and ideas. Many go into business for themselves. They have the ability to be quite productive with little supervision, as long as they are excited about what they're doing.
Because they are so alert and sensitive, constantly scanning their environments, ENFPs often suffer from muscle tension. They have a strong need to be independent, and resist being controlled or labelled. They need to maintain control over themselves, but they do not believe in controlling others. Their dislike of dependence and suppression extends to others as well as to themselves.
ENFPs are charming, ingenuous, risk-taking, sensitive, people-oriented individuals with capabilities ranging across a broad spectrum. They have many gifts which they will use to fulfill themselves and those near them, if they are able to remain centered and master the ability of following through.
Jungian functional preference ordering for ENFP:
Dominant: Extraverted Intuition
Auxiliary: Introverted Feeling
Tertiary: Extraverted Thinking
Inferior: Introverted Sensing
I always wondered what I am, now I think I know.
Thank you Edward for this fine article. I always enjoy reading you, but sometimes I enjoy you more, like today.
Great article, Edward!
Funny, wonderful article...