I have always believed that I am RIGHT-BRAINED, which means that the right side of my brain is more functional. A right-brained person tends to be more creative, artistic, and emotional than a left-brained who is more practical, methodical, and analytical. Popular research in the 1960s discovered that one side of the human brain is more dominant than the other. This made many of us believe that either we are LEFT-BRAINED or RIGHT-BRAINED.
Is this belief a reality or just a myth? Before we dive into that, let us try to understand the human brain a bit better and debunk some myths attached to it. The human brain is far more complex than one could imagine. The brain controls almost every activity that our body performs. The brain is divided into two halves- the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. Each hemisphere has four lobes, which are responsible for different functions, some voluntary such as running, eating, touching, etc., and some involuntary functions such as breathing, blinking, etc. Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body (left hemisphere- right side and right hemisphere- left side). However, each part of the brain works together as a command center and controls how our body works.
The left hemisphere controls speech, language, and comprehension. It does calculations and analysis, that’s why people who are more analytical are believed to be left-brained. On the other hand, the right hemisphere controls creativity, perception, and empathy which implies that creative and emotional people are right-brained. The human brain, being divided into two halves, indicates that the two sides work differently but one side being better than the other is more myth than reality. A relatively newer study conducted in 2013 has debunked the left brain vs right brain dominance. To understand why one is good at one task compared to another depends on the fact that certain areas of our brain have stronger neural connections than others. This is what makes each of us better at certain skills. However, most of these skills can be acquired with practice.
Then, why such labels? Such labels have more to do with social connections than with how our brain functions; it has helped us navigate the complex world around us and get along with people who are more like-minded and possess the same skills. However, such ‘social categorization’ has more damage to do than good. It restricts us, over-simplifies our identities, and hinders our growth. So, next time when you categorize yourself into a left or right-brained personality, think again!