Drawing on The Right Side of The Conclusions What Neuroscience Really Says About The Notion of Left & Right-Brained Humans by Brett Blatchley [Brettany Renée Blatchley] December 9, 1998 Abstract Popular culture has become fond of the idea that people and their native abilities may be described as either right or left-brained. Unfortunately, the nature of problem, and the truth of the research support a different (but equally exciting) conclusion based on many of the same facts. The related topics of cerebral dominance, brain lateralization, and handedness are briefly discussed and united into an integrated view of human brain function. Finally, the author shares a bit of his personal background, and how it relates to the topics discussed. Introduction The "notion" of people being divided into right-brain and left-brain thinkers is rampant in popular psychology and Western culture as a whole. Those people who are very logical and exhibit verbal fluency are thought to be left-brained, while those creative, intuitive souls, with an eye for visual relationships, are termed right-brained. Now the creative ones, feel their brethren are underrepresented, therefore, an educational and self-help crusade was launched to "balance" excesses of the left-brainers, with the under appreciated virtues of the right. Not surprisingly, handedness is thought to indicate the cerebral hemisphere that predominately runs things in a particular person. That is, the right-hander is said to be left-brain dominant, while the leftie is said to be right- brained. (1) Furthermore, when a person performs a function that is associated with a particular hemisphere, that hemisphere is thought to be the focus of conscious control and action, while the other side waits idly. One could easily conclude that people frequently waste large parts of their brain. Yes, our logical/verbal friends are wasting their visiospatial right hemispheres even now; if only they could be educated to tap into that unused brain power: hence the crusade (Coren 1992; Levy 1985). The "notion" can be summarized in two assumptions (based on neuroscientific research), and a single logical leap: One, our single brain is actually two independent "brains." Two, these brains each have their own specialized function. Leap: Depending on the task, only one "brain," or rather, side of the whole brain, is actively engaged at once (Levy 1985). The "reality," both lends kernels of truth to the "notion," while at the same time contradicting its assumptions and conclusion in a way that is just as fascinating, and more profound. Let us glance at three areas of study to illustrate: Cerebral Dominance, Brain Lateralization, and Handedness. 1