You’ve probably heard that the difference between the left side of the brain and the right side of the brain is that the left side of the brain controls your ability to process language and to think logically and the right side of the brain controls your ability to process visual images and non-linguistic information.
That’s true, but it’s a little more complex than that.
The left side of the brain is not simply the linguistic side of the brain. It also controls your ability to understand fine details, while the right side of the brain is not simply the non-verbal side of the brain. It also controls your ability to understand the bigger picture and abstract concepts.
As you may have heard, the left side of the brain is dominant in most people in the Western world. Creatives like me who are right-brain dominant seem to be the odd one out!
In this lesson, we’ll talk about the main functions of the left side of the brain and the main functions of the right side of the brain and how you can identify these aspects of people’s personality in your everyday life.
Left
The left side of your brain is called the logical side. It’s where most people’s language skills are centered. The left side of your brain is also where you analyze information and solve problems. This is where you come to conclusions based on your experiences and your thoughts.
Right
The right side of the brain is less literal and logical, and more abstract and adept at connecting unrelated concepts. It’s not as connected to verbal skills however. It’s responsible for your ability to see the big picture, in that it helps you to see how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Read that last sentence again. What picture? What puzzle pieces? It’s a metaphorical statement, not a literal one: you used your right brain to understand it!
Often, the right brain deals with concepts that don’t relate directly to the five senses. For example, if you speak English, you have to use your right side of your brain to understand the word “love“. The word “love” doesn’t relate directly to an object or an action (like “dog” does) so you have to use your right side of your brain to understand what it means. But when you want to talk about it, you need to hand over to the left (the verbal) side of your brain.
Left brain weaknesses
The left brain is great at solving problems based on what it already knows, but it’s not very good at solving problems based on new or novel information.
Here’s an example. Let’s say you’re entering a brand new ice cream shop. You’ve never been in this ice cream shop before. As you walk in, you see a menu with 40 different flavors of ice cream. You walk up to the counter to order and the person behind the counter tells you that you can get a medium cup of ice cream with two flavors. You can choose any two flavors from the entire menu. Your left side of the brain kicks in and says, “How am I going to narrow this down to two flavors? There are so many flavors to choose from.” You start to choose based on the price and previous flavors that you have tried before and liked. With 40 flavors, you’re unlikely to have tried them all previously: it’s a struggle for your left brain.
Now let’s give you the same scenario except this time you’re walking into the same shop and you see a menu with only 3 flavors of ice cream. The person behind the counter tells you that you can get a medium cup of ice cream with two flavors. You can (again) choose any two flavors from the entire menu. Your left side of the brain kicks in and says, “Which two flavors am I going to choose? I am choosing the two that I like the most, out of the three.” It’s a much more tractable problem for your left brain.
In the first scenario, the left side of your brain is very overwhelmed with the amount of information it’s being given. There are 40 different flavors to choose from. It doesn’t have enough data to solve the problem.
In the second scenario, the left side of your brain is calm because it has enough data to solve the problem. One of the three options is going to be eliminated immediately. You only have one choice to make, really.
Right brain strengths
The right side of the brain is great at coming up with creative solutions to problems.
The right side of the brain is also great at understanding big picture concepts. This is where you can see how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together. You can see the big picture. You might think that this is purely useful for creative endeavors, such as writing poetry, writing essays, painting, designing a new style of clothing, and so on. However, it’s absolutely instrumental to have a strong right-brain dominant person. Some of the best marketing companies in the world rely heavily on a right-brain dominant leadership or creative team.
Right brain weaknesses
The right side of the brain has trouble with details and facts. It has trouble with analyzing problems.
The right side of the brain is good at solving big picture problems, but it has trouble understanding the little details of the problem. It’s good at coming up with creative solutions to big picture problems, but it has trouble coming up with practical solutions to little details.
Observing others
You can tell which side of the brain people prefer to use, by talking to people and listening to the way they describe the world. If they’re very literal and factual, they’re likely to be left-brain dominant. If they see things in a more metaphorical way and they’re very creative, they’re likely right brain dominant.
Keep an eye out for it! Soon, we’ll write about how to get more in touch with the right side of your brain, and perhaps even invite a left-brain dominant guest blogger in!