Sunday, July 1, 2012

Right brain or left brain?

Dana posted this quiz and asked her readers to let her know which they are, so I played along -- generally speaking, I love this sort of thing.

I found it a hard test, though. There were a few questions that I could have answered either way, just depending on the circumstances -- the one about whether you prefer to work alone or in a group, for example. For me that depends on the nature of the work. So I answered all the questions and got this result:

Which Side of your Brain Do You Use?
Your Result: Right Side
 

The right brain however, processes from whole to parts. You see the big picture first, not the details. You are however not good at spelling, math, and science. Problem solves with hunches, looking for patterns. You are good at sports and writing. You have an imagination which is good because when you have imaginatin you tend to be more smart. You prefer working in a group than by yourself. You also like to read fantasy and mystery stories. You can also listen to music or TV while studying. You perfer having fun than work. You also think better when lying down! I am a right sided person many people are right sided so you are normal.

Left Side
 
Which Side of your Brain Do You Use?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Then I answered it again, changing those iffy ones, and got this result:

Which Side of your Brain Do You Use?
Your Result: Left Side
 

The left side of the brain processes information in a linear manner. It processes from part to whole. It takes pieces, lines them up, and arranges them in a logical order; then it draws conclusions. You look at the details not the big picture. You use logic not imagination. The left brained person is a list maker. You would enjoy making master schedules and and daily planning. Learning things in sequence is easy for you. You are probability a good speller. Left-brained people memorize vocabulary words or math formulas better. You also use logic. When you read and listen, you look for the pieces so that you can draw logical conclusions. The left side of the brain deals with things the way they are-with reality. When left brain students are affected by the environment, they usually adjust to it. Left brain people want to know the rules and follow them. So basicly you are smart! Congratulations!

Right Side
 
Which Side of your Brain Do You Use?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Neither one of them really describes me.

I am a whole-to-parts, big picture person (Right brain), but I'm good at spelling and I love science and was good at it in school (Left brain). I'm sure that the only reason I did so badly at math is because of the way it was taught -- thousands of details and formulae and operations, and no big picture at all, and I love math games and playing with numbers (Right brain).

I love drawing up master schedules and making plans (Left brain) but I loathe working with details (Right brain). I always loved vocabulary word lists and I'm horrible with figures of speech (Left brain), but I love fantasy stories, fairy tales, and mysteries (Right brain).

I absolutely cannot listen to music or watch TV while studying or reading, or doing anything at all for that matter (except maybe fold towels) (Left brain), but now that they mention it, I do think better while lying down and that's my preferred position for reading (Right brain).

Do I prefer fun to work? Hm. I don't think so, but I think some work really is fun, and I do prefer the work when there's some fun involved -- "fun" for me being having an interesting conversation while working -- but it seems like everyone is like that; it just depends on how you define fun. On the other hand, I can have fun (read books with my children, have interesting conversations, listen to beautiful music, watch movies) in the face of lots of neglected work without it bothering me too much (Right brain-ish).

Do I want to "know the rules and follow them"? Lots of times, yes, especially when it's an area where there's received wisdom and I see no reason to waste time re-inventing the wheel. I read the instructions, and I hate instructions that are only pictures (Left-brain).

Problem-solving is a joke. Early on I learned that only Stupid, Irrational, Bleeding-heart Liberals follow their hunches and Smart Sensible People use logic, so that's the method I use, but because I'm so bad at details I always overlook important data and come to wrong conclusions. I see things in terms of patterns and more often than not my hunches are correct, so I'm trying to learn to pay more attention to them. For some reason my head and my heart are not on speaking terms with one another.

My favorite line from Henry V is "I and my bosom must debate awhile."

So, how about you? Are you Left-brain, Right-brain, or somewhere in the middle?

4 comments :

  1. Very interesting, Kelly ~

    My right shoulder and my left have loooong conversations.

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  2. My results say I'm right-brained- big surprise there. I do remember taking similar tests years ago and getting a more balanced result, and I wonder if that is really still the case. The test-writer here had so many grammatical mistakes that I mistrust the results a bit!

    This reminds me of a book we read recently- Jonah Lehrer's Imagine: How Creativity Works. He writes about the roles of the left & right brain in creative and imaginative thinking. It was very interesting!

    Another book on the brain that we've been reading is Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. The author is a doctor, and tells about various neurological problems he's encountered over the years. The title story is of a man with some sort of neurological problem who takes up painting. As his illness progresses, his painting moves from a realistic style to an abstract one- at the end, he's basically painting nonsense. The poor man's wife said he was maturing in his style- the neurologist could see that he was getting sicker! That's a right brain/left brain problem, right there.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I would have thought you were a little more left-brained. On the Myers-Brigs thing I always turn out really close to the middle on the J/P scale (which is, as far as I can tell, a left-brain/right-brain distinction). The first time I took it was a little more J but the last few years I've been more P.

      Those books sound interesting -- thanks for mentioning them!

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    2. Yep, I really am more towards the middle (whole-brained, I think it's called, which is hilarious to a person who is so forgetful). However, Alexander laughed when I told him I'd taken the quiz. Evidently, it's obvious to him that I'm right-brain dominant!

      I think I'm a J... but I can't remember. INFJ, Alexander says. He usually remembers these things for me. :P

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