Apr

Learning on the Right Side of the Brain

Anna

brained, creative learning, creativity, holistic, how the right brain works, intuitive, jill bolte taylor, Learning, left brain, right brain, right hemisphere, right side of the brain, spatial, thinking, visual, visual spatial, what the right brain does

We live in a predominantly left-brained culture. Everyday things like language, numbers and the symbols we use to identify the world around us are understood by our left brain. Many jobs require us to be detail oriented. That’s left brain thinking, too.

The arts are commonly associated with right brain thinking. Certain traits, like left-handedness, are considered right brained. However, right brained thinking is more than just the arts. It’s about creativity.

A Side-By-Side Comparison

Our two brains are complete opposites, and we need both of them to understand the world the way we do. Let’s compare the two.

Left Brain:

- Logical: Draws conclusions according to rational information.
- Analytic: Figures things out step-by-step and part-by-part.
- Detail Oriented: Focuses on small bits of information.
- Symbolic: Turns information into symbols.
- Linear: Understands information in a linear one-thing-follows-another way. Is time oriented.

Right Brain:

- Intuitive: Bases itself on feelings, patterns, hunches, and visual information. Makes leaps in insight.
- Spatial: Understands relationships and how parts form a whole.
- Big Picture Oriented: Sees how things are structured into a whole. Recognizes patterns. Jumps to conclusions.
- Realistic: Sees things as they are, without symbols or short cuts. Lives in the present, without recognition of time.

What the Right Brain Does

We all use our right brain in some way or another, no matter what type of thinking we prefer (visual, kinesthetic, auditory, etc). The way we see the world relies just as much on the right brain as on the left. The right brain does a lot:

- It processes our emotions. Our emotional responses are primarily in the right brain. This affects our hunches or “gut feelings”, and lets us draw conclusions in an intuitive way. It just feels right.
- It connects new information with what we already know. New information we receive is almost always related to things we already know. Making a logical list of all the connections would be close to impossible, and that’s where the right brain comes in. It helps us see relationships between different concepts.
- It processes information indirectly. Your right brain is always working in the background, looking for patterns and searching for the big picture. This allows us to make connections without intending to (like the left brain would).
- It stores and processes visual information. Complex visual information, like facial recognition, is done by our right brain. Without our right brain, we wouldn’t be able to make sense of the huge amount of information we see every day.

Put Creativity to Use in Your Learning

A lot of creative professionals will talk about the same basic process: create first, analyze later. That same process can be used in learning. You could say you’re creating new connections in your brain. Learning creatively involves a number of things, and varies from person to person. Here’s how it works for me:

I gorge myself on a lot information, all at once. Like in the create first, analyze later process, I learn a lot before I bother analyzing much of it. By the time I get to analyzing information, my right brain has done a lot of the work for me.

I hop around in books, websites, documentaries, etc. I don’t limit myself to a linear process. Each snippet of information adds to a complete understanding of what I’m learning, and it gives me the freedom to ignore something I’m not necessarily interested in right now. By doing this I can get a general understanding of something before I focus on the details.

I visualize new information and take advantage of images available. Sometimes I focus entirely on the images in books and magazines, paying attention to only a portion of the text. Which is more effective: seeing a picture of an elephant, or reading a description? Some information is best presented with pictures.

My process won’t work for everyone, but it can give you some insight on how right brained learning works. It’s the ideas that matter: create first and process later, seek a complete understanding, and use visual stimuli.

Exercising Your Right Brain

Our brains are all unique, with unique connections. The types of information we process with each half of our brain differs a little from person to person. Generally, though, we can use our right brain by focusing on its specialities: rhythm, visual processing and holistic understanding. Here are a few exercises you can try:

- Make up a song. Since the right brain deals with pattern recognition and rhyming, listening to and creating music is a good exercise.
- Try something completely new to you. The left brain deals with a lot of routine tasks, but the right brain loves novelty.
- Play a video game. I discussed the benefits of video games in a previous post, and visual processing is on the list.
- Make a mind map. Mind mapping has been called a tool for “whole brain thinking” because it uses both the right and left brain. It utilizes language (L), intuition (R), logic (L) and spatial thinking (R). (L = predominantly left-brained; R = predominantly right-brained)

More About Your Right Brain

Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist, suffered a severe stroke in her left brain. She shares how it felt to experience the world through only her right brain. It’s a powerful and enlightening talk.