You Have Two Brains

My mother always told me I'd never make a living as an artist. I know she wasn't criticizing my talent, as much as my ability to live comfortably through selling art.  The creative itch is one I continuously try to scratch, even though I've moved from a career in the visual arts to one in technology product development.

Sketching is an activity we most typically associate with artists. Most of us believe artists have a more developed "right brain" that lets them visualize things better and improves their ability to illustrate those thoughts through better control of their hand-eye coordination.

"You have two brains: a left and a right. Modern brain scientists now know that your left brain is your verbal and rational brain; it thinks serially and reduces its thoughts to numbers, letters and words… Your right brain is your nonverbal and intuitive brain; it thinks in patterns, or pictures, composed of ‘whole things,’ and does not comprehend reductions, either numbers, letters, or words."

From The Fabric of Mind, by the eminent scientist and neurosurgeon, Richard Bergland. Viking Penguin, Inc., New York 1985

However, an enduring work by Dr. Betty Edwards, a professor at Cal State, has proven that it is possible to re-train your brain. Drawing On The Right Side Of Your Brain, which has been in print since 1979, aims to teach the average person how to see things differently, and visualize and process information you see.

Click here to see how a re-trained brain can help create deisgn thinkers of business leaders.