The left brain vs. right brain myth - Elizabeth Waters
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2017
- View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/the-left-b...
The human brain is visibly split into a left and right side. This structure has inspired one of the most pervasive ideas about the brain: that the left side controls logic and the right side controls creativity. And yet, this is a myth, unsupported by scientific evidence. So how did this idea come about, and what does it get wrong? Elizabeth Waters looks into this long held misconception.
Lesson by Elizabeth Waters, directed by Daniel Gray.
I spent an entire year in a high school psychology class learning completely false things... great. Thanks public education
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This is why I never listened or did much of anything assigned while in school. I had as much fun as possible then got my ged when I was too old for high school. Now I'm just a few legal documents away from opening my own independent pc repair store. Everything else is all set. By next Christmas I'll have a storefront.
Me too!
@@sethreign8103 awesome! i'm currently in highschool, and your comment is super relatable to me. i do what i absolutely must to succeed, and that's it.
Maybe you should have thought about that decision a little bit more conscious 🤦
Okay choise choice whatever, now it's decision xD
I'm an artist and every single one of my drawings has a very logic design, each line and color has/needs a "why". I also work as a senior tester that needs to know about different languages of programming to be able to automatize different platforms, its not about brain sides. It is about how much interest do you give to get the knowledge you want..
DinoIAmNoHoster can you help me automate my life so I can escape the mundane tasks of every day life and living. If all my bills were paid and I had a lovely base to live at and take off from for great adventures that would be wonderful.
Then congratulation robots can do the same art as yours. Calling yourself don't make you artist.
@@postmodernshaman5929 bro chill.
@@postmodernshaman5929 your name already says a lot about your narcissism
@@postmodernshaman5929 it's just a tool. learn and use it.
I got a right vs left Twix ad
XD that's really funny.
Tomatofries LAN 😂
ads have been curated for at least a decade based on context and user, so that's not really surprising
Tomatofries LAN td8furudvug
Tomatofries LAN I got a Maltezers.
I love the way the yellow man walks at 1:48.
He must take three steps at a time in staircases. Geez...
He's thinking before walking.
There's a delay to process information
That's how drunk people walk when they have to get somewhere quick
I really don't like the idea of separating logic and creativity, good thing this video tapped on that.
I get annoyed when people dichotomize it. And since we are living in a time when romanticism is much more appreciated, people tend to look down on "logical" people. But really, I think logical people aren't really different from creative people.
And I'd be honest, I really get annoyed when there are people who post "I am a creative person." And say things that pretend to be "deep". I'm no psychologist, but I think that's actually a sign of non-creativity since they are conforming to the generalized notion of creativity.
Yeah I totally agree, I use logic and creativity as one form.
Albert Einstein says the same
Dude you deserve so many more likes.
You can be both logical and creative. For example, scientists.
Its about how mind pursue things
And it can be both creative and logic maybe brain uses both at different times it cannot be catorigized
Well said, friend.
I wish I knew this before. I would of roasted my science teacher.
And your science teacher would've corrected your spelling.
@@kevinbreyley-smith581 your grammar lol
Would have*
Wonder how your English teacher failed to teach you that…
@@swapnil3990 nerds like you are always into small details
That sounds about RIGHT
I'm sorry I LEFT you on that pun.
I'm not taking SIDES.
Obscurity Enough. Time to go back to your cage
Obscurity I
Don't be sorry, I don't MIND
Pixcel this is too hilarious.
Ninja Gaming Aw thanks!
There is a great book touching this subject "Drawing on the right side of the brain" by Betty Edwards. As the title suggests, it is mostly about the development of drawing skills, but aside from that it dwells on the idea of right-brain-centralized perception vs. left-brain-centralized verbal functions. She presents various exercises which objective is to activate the right hemisphere and to calm down the dominant left hemisphere in order to develop the proper type of perception needed for artists (spatial relation between objects instead of recognizing objects by their names, which activates the left hemisphere, responsible for verbal functions). Betty Edwards describes with details what processes occur during those exercises, which I have never seen in any how-to-draw book, or any other book to be honest. I can highly recommend this book to anyone, not only aspiring (or professional) artists, but virtually any person interested in the way our brain works and copes with different tasks.
I glanced through the book decades ago, meaning to read it more thoroughly one of those days. Now, during lockdown times, I was reminded of it.
I am not sure, but Betty Edwards mentioned somewhere you need both parts of the brain to draw. The right, to make the overall rough sketch, and the left to fill in the details.
The reality of the brain's location of its functioning is much more complex than previously thought. Anger, for example, is much more a left brain issue.
Regardless of precise location, we might nevertheless distinguish two different modes of processing the world which are complementary.
@@micaelat3734 That's correct, both parts of the brain are necessary to draw and both participate in this process, but the idea is to encourage the right hemisphere, so we could consciously switch between the two at will :)
The most interesting experiment the author mentioned and described was the one involving patients after brain surgery, who had their hemispheres disconnected (before the surgery they suffered extreme seizures and, in order to cure that, the "bridge" between the hemispheres was disconnected - which absolutely did not impact their brain function or anything, but stopped the seizures) - after disconnecting the two hemispheres, even though the brain function remainded exactly the same, it was possible to observe the differences in the way the two sides operated.
@@SyrisDarkness its like you didnt even watch the video you commented this on...
@@reda84. Of course I watched it. The points shown in the video reminded me of this book that I read, which - even though it technically was about drawing - also described in great detail various experiments made by the researchers who wanted to finally get the answer if the division of hemispheres into a logical and creative one was real or just a myth. One of such experiments was similar to the one mentioned in the video. The video mentioned research done on people who had their hemispheres separated (2:40 in the vid) - by the way, it was done as a treatment to very aggressive seizures they had. And the book I mentioned explained more how some of these research went on, which - in my opinion - was connected with the topic of the video and I wanted to recommend it to others who might have found this particular video interesting.
So to conclude - yes, I watched the video and in connection to the video's topic I made a book recommendation that also was on this topic.
@@reda84. Exactly what I was thinking.
why is it always about right and left brain? why isnt it ever about right and left testicles?
My hypothesis is that the left contains x chromosomes (girls), and the other y (boys)
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
No really joking aside, why is the left testie always more saggy and sometimes bigger?
Lol 69 likes xD
Because both left and right testicles have the exact same functionality. We have two just in case one fails. The same for kidneys, it's a warranty.
can you shut the f*ck up and not advertise your channel everywhere?
Bo Burnham taught me about the left and right brain
have you covered this topic?
Same
Bo Burnham is very great at telling people about reality. :D Although he is a bit too sad though.
ScienceAIR Wow I wasn't aware of this until now. Maybe you should advertise your channel more; I think we'd all appreciate it.
ScienceAIR
Earn your subscribers. Don't beg for them on every comment.
Thank you for taking both sides of my brain out of ignorance. I thought this was true.
I had to take a mandatory class recently where the curriculum required us to take personality tests, aptitude tests and a left brain/right brain test in order to help us decide our career path. Our teacher kept reciting how all these tests were "proven right by scientists". Luckily, it was only a half credit, but it was still a waste of time.
Let's be objective here and choose the right side
Yea the left one is right
lets not takes sides boys
ik im a comedian
Life Starter Pack why not for being left handed :P
WOW! I don't know that for years now. I read that misconception in so many books and saw that in so many educational videos on YT. And I agree with the last idea: When I do math and have to prove something, it is the creativity to get good ideas and move things and stack them together or so.
i am tHE RIGHT BRAIN
I HAVE FEEEEELINGSS
You got a job to do you better do it right and the right way is with the left brain
I've waited for this comment 😂
get married to the left brain so you two could make a better picture and motions(or) actions
im a little all over the place,
and I'm lustful, trustful and im looking for somebody to love
Really good one. Try it.
While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles. Now, while doing this, draw the number six in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction and there is nothing you can do about it.
You can beat it. Try it for a few minutes.
What? I think I'm doing it wrong then, cuz I changed directions once, realized it, corrected immediately, and could keep going. I had no issue with it, I could resist the urge and easily do it in seconds.
You're just drawing the "6" wrong then. To beat this, draw the 6 starting of the spiral moving right instead of at the top moving left. >:D
Nick Johnson That actually makes it easier, since they are both going clockwise now
Zero Band Gaming I tried.
It's interesting what the brain can do.
You inspired me to start CZcams and I'm only at 2,800 subs but I'm loving making videos so much. Thank you TedTalks for being so inspirational!
Now 2.42million subs congrats
Amazing how far you’ve come :) Great work
I actually did my science fair project on this exact topic. I found that there was a slight correlation to right handlers being more logical and left handers being more creative, but it varied person to person
That's interesting bc it says that the left hand is controlled by the right brain and the right hand controlled by the left brain! So obv right hand=logic is true lmao
I suffered a large amount of damage to my left hemisphere and was expected to lose the ability to speak or understand speech - in fact my speech is fine, and I'm far more verbose than I was before the damage. My ability to maintain attention has suffered badly, suggesting to me that the split is more to do with dominant vs non-dominant rather than left vs right. I'm very much left-handed so this seems to make sense in my case. I also suffered complete loss of right visual field in both eyes, but my remaining vision seems to work fine, apart from occasional hallucinations just to the right of my central vision.
Interesting
I goodness. I loved the way that was animated and put together. Diggin the background music too
Who's thinking about Bo?
me
Always
Get out of my head
Meeee
body odor?
SPEAKING OF CREATIVITY... give the TED-ed animators a prize already!
As a psychology major 10+ years ago, I've long known and believed this. However, after coming into an understanding of oneness, I wonder that if, in fact, their original hypothesis that each side is greatly individualized is correct.
The problem with understanding this accurately arose from using external application when measuring brain activity. Yes, doing mathematics requires both hemispheres, but the right hemisphere is used in creativity and estimation while the left hemisphere is used in calculation. Very different.
Same with language. Both sides of the brain is used in language. The Left brain is used in diction and syntax while the right brain is used in body language and subtext. Very different.
I'm not even saying that there is a strict division in both sides of the brain. I'm saying scientists need to come up with better experiments to test for hemisphere specialization. This starts with a better understanding of intuition versus analysis. It's easy to see why scientists might have a misunderstanding of which testing states require more or pure intuition.
You're right I think. This articulated better. The old theory isn't all wrong it just needs to be updated.
Thank you! I always try to bust this myth with my students, now I have a video to show them.
I never really thought that two halves would be so completely opposite to each other, but that theory was so prevalent I didn't know WHAT to think. Thank you TED-ED!
This just proofs that I learn more online than at school
I really like how this was out together! The visuals were awesome, too.
my school makes us take tests in one class to show what aspects we are involved in and which side of the brain we use more depended on if we answer creatively or analytically. I got both the left and right in my results.
I once met someone who kept two notebooks on them. They said it was for keeping separate notes for each side of their brain.
Omg I'm so glad this was posted. Ppl would say that I'm not creative because of my hand dominance. But I knew that was wrong. But I also knew that I had logistic strengths as well.
Having hemispheres controlling the opposite side of the body is helpful for defense. If an attacker strikes a person on the left side of the head, the right limbs might be paralyzed, but the limbs on the same side of the attack can be used to fight off the attacker.
Thanks for clearing things up.
You just gave yourself a new sub!! I highly appreciate your works!!!
When a patient is missing a part of the brain or the other half is in some way significantly damaged, the other healthy side tries to recover those damaged areas of the other. The other half takes over, you could say.
"left brain.. left brain, i love you"
"...i know."
CGP Grey said I am two tho
Both can be right though: The hemispheres are interconnected so that each one has its main tasks but still interacts closely with the other. If you know sever the connection, the two act independently from one another and none has a real idea what the other is doing. Therefore we get the phenomena seen in split-brain-patients.
Yeah, but he showcased it through the case study of the separation of the two lobes. But I agree this should've been discussed in the video.
Grey's doesn't contradict this video one at all. This video only asserts that the left and right lobes aren't 'creative' or 'logical' and Grey's video didn't even talk about that topic. It simply said that the left and right brain are two individual 'sentient things' working together when connected.
the problem with that theory is, that after the seperation both sides would be able to speak, one better than the other, but still.
He may be smart but he's wrong on this one. There is no you, not one nor two, only a bundle of experiences (cfr. Kant).
Would be nice if this discussion also addressed Betty Edwards book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. In it she addresses work in the 50's regarding the brain to justify her argument that art is created by a dominant right side.
Loved the presentation in the video so much 👍
The brain was so simple we could understand it, we would be so simple we couldn't.
Iain McGilchrist has studied hemispheric differences for 30 years and is recognized by world class neuroscientists as having a deep - and correct - understanding of hemispheric differences.
He ALWAYS begins his talks by saying "the left hemisphere is NOT logical and the right hemisphere is NOT creative. Logic involves BOTH hemispheres and creativity involves BOTH hemispheres.
So if he is now considered perhaps the world's expert on hemispheric differences, and has explained that there is a dramatic difference in the way each hemisphere attends to experience, how is it that Ms. Waters failed to even be aware of this?
Can you make a video one watching horror? Does it make you feel less empathy
AB H I don't think it does. But don't trust me I'm not a youtuber
Who else thought of Bo Burnham's comedy skit?
Hi Ted Ed. I'm not sure if this is how I contact you but here goes. Both my children suffer from a metabolic disorder called MCADD Medium-Chain Acyl-coenzyme A Dehydrogenase Deficiency. I would love a Ted Ed explanation as the Doctors we have understand the condition but have trouble putting it in layman's terms.
Umm... Hi
It's been 5yrs
Do you get any further info about the conditions
And how are your childrens
That’s odd at my school we have this activity called “right brain” (cause you know, supposedly, that’s the creative side) were they hire a actor or dance artist or something to come to our school and teach us something creative.
I have only 1 Hemisphere, the left one. My right Hemisphere was removed when I was 19 months old to eliminate my severe Epilepsy (100+ seizures a day) caused by an in-utero stroke. There is nothing about how i think, create or respond to stimuli (besides a Blindness on the left side) that indicates any significantly different conscious function or thought process
Maaaan we're complex. Give glory to God for His awesomeness.
For giving complexity.
For giving suffering really
I'm an artist by trade and was told I have a very right brained "feminine" energy, right up until I disagreed. Then I was told I had a close minded left brain "masculine" energy.
Ive always thought of it as a metaphor like "you are very left-brained" meant you are very creative.
just as logic and creativity are not mutually exclusive, neither are emotion and logic
Actually, I read a book about how to draw with the right side of the brain, but the author of the book mentions that is only like a concept and not something literally. And that book explains why as well explain the video.
So where does stuttering come from? Although it is still shrouded in mystery, one of the most popular theories is that stuttering occurs when one side of the brain interacts with the other, leaving the individual incapable of performing the said word. Any thoughts on this?
WAAAITTTT!! @TED-Ed, in your video uploaded June 23, 2015 titled "The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain", at 2:05, that video says "It's well known that the brain's left hemisphere is more dominant in analytical and logical processes, while the right is more active in emotional and social ones..." O_O !
I always thought this myth sounded absolutely ridiculous
Thank you for clarifying and debunking this! This myth is actually wrecking havoc on autism research. :(
I think the graphic at 1:16 isn't entirely right.
It is true that that e.g. information stemming from the medial (in the case left) side of the visual spectrum of the right eye will be carried by the right optic nerve. But before the light can hit the retina it criss-crosses to the other side. So just as the picture projected on the retina is upside down, it is mirrored vertically too. That means light that hits the _eye_ from its left side will actually hit the right part of the retina.
Incrivel e de alto nivel parabens!!! :)
I study medicine, and the doctors still say that, now I'm confused.
The books I've read don't talk about this...
Who's Elizabeth Waters? Is she a doctor or something?
And how can they prove this right if this unsupported by scientific evidence?
They teach about the 2 sides of the brain in high school psychology. But after watching this video I am realizing that half the stuff they thought us was wrong 😂😂
I am the Left Brain, I am the Left Brain. I work really hard 'till my inevitable death brain. You gotta job to do, you better do it right, because the right way is with the left brains might.
I LIKE OREOS AND 🐈 (yes- in that order!!) AND I cried for at least an hour after watching Toy Story 3 (WOODY! 😥) I am the right brainnn (♪shalalalala♪) I have feeeelings~ (♪shalalalala♪) I'm a little all over the place- but I'm lustful, trustful, and i'm looking for somebody to love!!!!! (or put my 🍆 in)
I love Teded
the background music is bangin 😂😂
without the brain, I can't smell what the rock is cooking
Do a vid about how someone with a split brain is sometimes unable to control the other half of his/her body
Do you know anyone who smirks? Is it to the left?
Research has shown that the right cerebral hemisphere of the brain is better at perceiving emotional stimuli, which makes it better at expressing that emotion. The right side of the brain controls the emotional output of the left side of one’s face, which results in smiles typically being bigger on the left side of the face.
This is scientificly for figuring out that people don't know...I like it.I subcribe
Nice lesson and fantastic music ! :D
goodness this artstyle is lovely
Nice confirmation ty paps.
Looking at any EEG you can't conclude differently I would argue.
How we use our brain is largely dictated by environment of early development. We all have the same brain generally speaking but environment and circumstance is largely different.
I am the right brain, I am the right brain,
I will work until my inevitable death brain...
I loved the Disco colors in contrast to the other ordinary colors.
I AM THE LEFT BRAIN I AM THE LEFT BRAIN, I WORK REALLY HARD-
You are surrounding all my surroundings sounding down the mountain range of my left side brain
"There isn't any evidence to suggest that individuals have dominant sides of the brain"
And yet I have left hand dominance, left leg dominance, and left eye dominance, and was trained to write with my right hand, despite being more dexterous with my left... So, on a personal level I refute this claim.
Did you watch CGP Grey explain the two hemispheres?
MINDBLOWING!
The diagram at 1:14, isnt the pathway misrepresented. Both left part (which looks at the right side) are sent to the left side and both right parts (which looks at the left side) are sent to the right side of the brain. When the video represents in a different way then what is normally taught
What happens to people who are mostly inverted left to right such that their heart is on the right? Do these functions also change places?
I see a very frequent and popular pattern within modern science`s framework of common knowledge mechanics of dynamics. First, there is something stated and then when it`s accepted by society, it`s declared invalid.
Exceptional animation!
*sees title*
I AM THE LEFT BRAIN I AM THE LEFT BRAIN--
Could you make a video on the female vs male brain please?
both this /and/ a Tom Scott video on the brain? What a lovely coincidence!
My neurologist told me the reason why i cant speak after an epileptische seasure is because my language ia left and that us where the shortcircuit always is in my case also if you look at dyslectisch and how that works really has to do with reading partly with another brain hemisphere. Also in this film they dont use the theory correctly. It isnt about creativiteit versus ratio but about lineair thought left and conceptual thinking right. There are some well known neurologisch really writing phd"s about it and from group tests it really seems to show how it works in reality .
There are tests beyond eeg imaging while doing tasks so they can see things luighting up in one place with certain tasks. The cortex is different for 3ach person but you can say that in general the lineair part works step by step and the right more often holistic. But some people like lefthanded might have everything the other way. But the theory isnt complete nonsense part of it is actually true
Go to the RIGHT where nothing is LEFT
or
go to the LEFT where nothing is RIGHT?
There are important differences, though. Right hemisphere sees the whole of things and the left sees parts of things.
This is out of this world. I stumbled upon something with a similar message, and it was absolutely astonishing. "Rising From Within: Unlocking Your Innate Power to Conquer Adversity" by Vincent Starling
The brain does NOT always compensate as demonstrated in this video. _Sometimes_ the brain will compensate for damage, but that's not always the case. If you get hit hard enough on the left side of your head, you may _permanently_ damage your hippocampus. That will effect your memories, and that's not necessarily going to repair itself. It can, but if the damage is severe that person's brain may never store short term memories again.
If you get hit on the right side, you can lose creativity. You can become more logical as the left part of the brain still functions. I've seen people with this type of injury suddenly turn from artistic pursuits to mathematics, accounting, and more logic-oriented fields of study. They no longer enjoy or necessarily even understand art that isn't made for diagrams or logistics, for example.
While I enjoy this video because it talks about the brain and has some very optimistic views on best case scenarios, it can't replace a really well-made motorcycle helmet.
Me: *watches ted ed video at school and immediately starts laughing*
Teacher: *what happened*
Me: n o t h i n g
My Brain: I aM thE rIGHT BRAIiiin (s h a n a n a n a) I haVe FeeeLInGS
This video is satisfyingly aesthetic.
at 3:40 = the golden ratio equation is: 1 + square root of 5, all divided by 2. please correct me if im wrong
Wow Robert Lewis Stevenson/Stephenson back in the mid 1800s was inspired by the idea of the left and right brain! That is so cool. Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde
Do a video on if we use 100% of our brain or not. (if you haven't already)
always thought it was a myth, thanks for the video x
Plot twist: the right side has logic.
Great information debunking the myth. I show it to my students after having them take a "left brain / right brain" on line test. Ironically, however, the strobing in this video is enough to cause seizures... or at the very least a headache. Could you remake it to be easier on the eyes/brain please.
You tell me that.... but, my Brain won't agree!!!
There appears to be something wrong with me, my left brain always rapes my right brain. Help.
I can still be metaphorical, can't I?
Shoutout to my brain for being so cool
Question: what about split personality after corpus callosum has been split. Myth or true?