Using the Web in a right brain way

Pivot is a bit like how the right brain sorts and compares data, looking for patterns, anomalies and relationships. Like the right hemisphere, Pivot relies on global processing and dealing with generalities. I suspect as it becomes more used, Pivot will also specialize in finding patterns that can be described visually, but are difficult to describe in words. And like the right brain, Pivot arranges visual stimuli by appearance, using stored data to arrange parts.

Our right brains take simultaneous streams of information and created a master collage of that moment, using images, sounds, tastes, smells and feelings (both tactile and emotional). It manipulates those streams of information in ways not unlike Pivot's algorithms. What is amazing is that the right hemisphere is better at catching errors than the left. It is easier to prime, benefiting from even the weakest association. It is also easier to update with new information.

The "Dawn of Reason" gave humanity the opportunity to hone many left-brain dependent processes. I foresee this as the "Dawn of Global Analysis", which will hone many right-brain dependent functions in the decades and maybe centuries to come. I look forward to the other data analysis tools that will be spawned by this.

Visual Processing

I am a very visual person. I was raised by an artist and a computer programmer. This gave me access to artistic and flow-charting techniques. My dad used give my siblings and I flow chart templates to make art when we were young. When I became older, he explained what some of the shapes meant and then made a game for me. He'd give me a simple task and I would diagram the steps to do it, using those shapes properly.

As a family, we made almost weekly trips to the public library, bringing home art and music in addition to a multitude of books. Our home library sometimes had better references than my school's library. Arguments between myself and the sister just younger than me were usually solved by encyclopedias at ten paces. My mother made sure we had art classes. My dad made sure we had science lab kits. As a family, we made candles, leather and other crafts. Dad would also print out wall-size mazes which we kids and my mother would solved together. When I learned how to process information, it was not only through the verbal and mathematical means, but also visual and kinetic means.

I'm right handed, left eyed, and I have no dominant foot preference. I have taken math courses up to and including partial differential equations and I have about the same amount of credit hours in studio art as I do math. It probably follows without saying that my favorite math class was analytical geometry. I feel that this makes me qualified to make the follow statement:

Calculations can be done visually as well as mathematically.

Anecdotal evidence: When I was in high school, my mother took one of my classmates and I to an UIL science competition. Between the tests, the contestant schools could work on brain teasers. One of them was a word problem about how much material a sculptor would need if they made a bust twice as large in every dimension. While my extremely intelligent classmate began to do the mathematical calculations, my mother read the problem and immediately gave the correct answer. After verifying it with math, my shocked classmate asked my mother how she did the calculation. She used pictures and hand gestures to explain her thought process. He was totally lost by her explanation, so I gave him an interpretation he could understand. For the rest of the problems, my classmate and mother answered them with their own methods, while I translated between the two of them. In every case, both methods gave the same answers.

Historical evidence: All those wonderful geometry and trignometry relationships started out as a function of the relationships between visual elements such as lines, points, angles, planes and solids. M. C. Escher discovered several crystallography relationships years before the mathematical models, through purely graphical means. While many mathematicians hold Escher in the highest regard and consider him to have had an exceptional mathematical mind, he actually did very poorly with math in school and struggled to understand the mathematical treatises sent to him when he was older.

So, having made put that pet peeve to rest, I will share with you a diagram I made a few months ago showing visual processing as part of the problem solving process. While I do not detail how to do math visually (perhaps I will do that in another post), the diagram does show some of the ways visual processing has brought about solutions -> http://cosmicsiren.blogspot.com/p/diagram-of-visual-processing.html



O’Connor, J. J. & Robertson, E. F. (2000). Maurits Cornelius Escher. MacTutor History of Mathematicians. Retrieved February 28, 2010, from http://www.gap-system.org/~history/Printonly/Escher.html

Research on Learning Styles

There have been a major paper on learning styles in the months since I finished my capstone paper. Neurologically, the empirical research is not good for those who ascribe to them. I refer you to the following sources that pretty much shred the idea that learning styles have an actual brain structure foundation:

Springer, S. P. & Deutsch, G. (1998). Left brain, right brain: perspectives from cognitive neuroscience. 5th ed. New York : W. H. Freeman and Company.
Smeets, G., & Merckelbach, H. (1997, November). Panic disorder and right-hemisphere reliance. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 10(3), 245. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.
Zalewski, L., Sink, C., & Yachimowicz, D. (1992, January). Using cerebral dominance for education programs. The Journal Of General Psychology, 119(1), 45-57. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from MEDLINE database.


The paper referenced in the article, "Matching Teaching Style to Learning Style May Not Help Students", has caused quite a stir with many educators. However, from what I've read of it (being that I am too poor to go around and subscribing to all these journals to see the full paper), it is quite correct about the lack of solid research and validity on the matter. Based on my own research into the subject, the styles don't really map onto the cognitive functions in a clear and concise manner.

The crux of the matter is that the theory of learning styles does have some usefulness in practical application, just not necessarily to the degree many people want it to have. The main author of the paper is quite right to compare it to the Myer-Briggs stuff - the two theories are very similiar in many ways. They work well in clear cut and dry situations, but most humans are not like that. If you try applying them religiously, you will start having to make exceptions to the point that you have something that resembles the rules for spelling English words.

For me, I see the Myer-Briggs Temperment Indicator (and to some extent learning styles) the same way I see the Lewis Dot]Electron Dot diagrams in chemistry. They can only describe things on the simplest level. Get into more complex personalities (which doesn't mean "unhealthy" ones, many healthy personalities can actually be quite complex and some of the simplest personalities can be very unhealthy) and everything starts falling apart, like working with transition metals. Which makes complete sense to me, because healthy individuals actually change in personality traits over time, due to maturation, mental and emotional stresses, illness/health and other developmental process affecting agents. Some MBTI experts do take this into consideration and adjust for it. It is also possible for chemists using metals to use electron dot diagrams with metals, by keeping a reference of possible electron charges near them. However, there is a great danger on relying on any of these methods for more than a cursory beginning. They only briefly describe the surface situtation. Their premises for the deeper levels have no validity on the scientific level.

It's sort of like knowing that tornados in the middle of the United States usually come from the southwest and go to the northeast. You know that is what normally happens by looking at the destruction afterwards, however, that never stops a tornado from going the opposite direction for a little while, before going back to the normal track. Nor can you really know what path it will travel. And when it comes to personality, learning and cognition, there is no such thing as a straight line between points A and B.

My Capstone Files

The function of hemispheric asymmetry in regards to perceptions, cognition, and emotions.

Introduction
The intent of this capstone project is to study the hemispheric-specific traits of the brain to identify how these traits affect perception, cognition, and emotion. It is hypothesized that a counselor could theoretically increase rapport with their client by having a greater understanding of how the brain affects the mind. To determine whether this idea has any possible scientific basis, a literary review of professional books and journal articles dealing with brain hemispheres and mental functions was conducted. Research was focused on perception, cognition, emotion, concept of self and ways to identity hemispheric dominance. Personality was also an aspect originally considered, but none of the literature reviewed made any reference to it.

Main Paper
Tables

Conclusions
The hemispheres take on many hats as they work together, outside of the commonly repeated visuospatial and verbal ones. In regards to perception, the left hemisphere acts as a reporter, keeping an ear out for language patterns and detailed information. It looks for past occurrences and hints to future events. The right hemisphere acts as a sentry, constantly scanning the surroundings and looking for anomalies that may signal a threat to the body. Aware of the present moment, it notes distances and forms. When it comes to cognition, the left hemisphere is a bricklayer, breaking down information into smaller parts and arranging it into analytical series. Where gaps appear, the left will cover them with its own version of mental mortar. The right hemisphere acts as a project manager, on alert for mistakes and incongruities, while calculating the relationships of the elements involved. In memory, the right hemisphere cues the left hemisphere with generalities, so it can retrieve memories and link them in sequential order. Emotionally, the left hemisphere relies on the past to guide it, using the models and scripts it has created. While the right hemisphere focuses more on current physical and emotional sensations.

In regards to helping counselors relate to their clients better, this data won’t necessarily lead to a better therapeutic alliance. However, there are other ideas that counselors can take from this information to help their clients. Dr. Taylor’s recovery from her stroke shows how controlling one’s emotional environment can help their psychological well-being. Another lesson from her experience that has not been mentioned here yet, is the fact that when her left brain began to recover some of its scripts, she made a conscious effort not to let the negative ones reassert themselves. Her gestalt therapist probably deserves some credit for this, but it is obvious that the ability to say, “this is just my brain trying to do its thing,” did her a lot of good. When Dr. Taylor finds herself in a mental loop that is harshly critical, counter-productive, or out of control, she gives herself 90 seconds to let the emotional/physical response dissipate before re-evaluating the situation and acting. (Taylor, 2007) Being able to give some clients this self-knowledge might enable them to work with their mental processes, instead of fighting them in unproductive ways.

There is obviously a need for further study in this area. For instance, it is possible that learning styles may positively impact the therapeutic alliance, but the field needs more valid tests and research. The idea that false memories can be detected needs to be tracked longitudinally to check for the effects of memory fading. In the areas of depression, anxiety, and BDD, researchers are only scratching the surface. It would be very interesting to see if training techniques that help stroke victims would also help people with these disabilities.


References

Education

© Universal Press Syndicate

In his TED talk, Sir Ken Robinson talks about how current education "stripmines" the minds of our youth. While I wholeheartedly agree with him about the need to change this, I also think we need to find ways to reclaim those older minds who have gone through this system and are now stuck in a changing world, in dire need of those skills that were not developed earlier. For both scenarios, I recommend the following:


Teaching for the Two-sided Mind by Linda Verlee Williams

It's an excellent book for the teacher and the adult learner. Instead of trying to divide people into left and right brain thinkers (which really doesn't have much validity according to neurological studies), Williams comes from the angle that we are ALL left and right brain thinkers. Not only can this book help you refine how you learn information and analyze problems, it also invites you to try other ways of learning. You will be surprised at how much you actually do use both sides of your brain.

Left Brain/Right Brain Components of Art

Cutting and pasting part of the capstone paper again. ;)

Perception in the left hemisphere.
If there are two words that describe how the left hemisphere perceives the world, those words are "details" and "boundaries". This might be explained by the fact that, while the ears and eyes send data to both hemispheres, the left brain hears the higher frequencies of sound and sees the shorter wavelengths of light. The higher frequencies of sounds helps the left hemisphere to distinguish vocalizations and language sounds, the sounds that the speech areas of the brain need to interpret. The shorter wavelengths of light helps to show lines, edges, and boundaries. (Taylor, 2006) Dr. Howard Sachs, a retired neurologist, decided to continue doing art after he suffered a stroke to his right hemisphere. The following image of his art shows some of the typical traits of artwork done by the left hemisphere: many details, but poor proportions, spatial relationships and overall coherence. (Springer & Deutsch, 1998)

Painting by Dr. Howard Sachs, MD. PhD. Used with permission.

In a very real sense, the left hemisphere cannot see the forest for the trees. While it focuses on details, it does not keep track of the relationships between those details. Relational data is often fuzzy, something that it is not well equipped to deal with. The left hemisphere tells us the boundaries of our environment and the boundaries of our own bodies. (Taylor, 2006). Ironically, it pays the most attention to the right side of the body, sometimes causing a degree of attention neglect to parts (and even the environment) on the left. (Springer & Deutsch, 1998)


Perception in the right hemisphere.
The two words that describe how the right hemisphere perceives the world are "novelty" and "global". The right brain hears the lower frequencies of sound and sees the longer wavelengths of light. The lower frequencies of sounds helps the right hemisphere to distinguish bodily and nature sounds, such as intestinal gurgling and thunder. The longer wavelengths of light blurs lines and edges, making areas and the relationships between them more obvious. (Taylor, 2006) An example of this is Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream, which shows some of the typical traits of artwork done by the right hemisphere. If we ignore the deliberate distortion of the main subject, we can tell that the perspective and spatial relationships are accurate, with sparse details. (Springer & Deutsch, 1998)

The Scream by Edvard Munch (1893).

An interesting side-note: when Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor (2006) was recovering from her left hemisphere stroke, she didn’t give any consideration to colors until her mother pointed them out to her. This could be considered just a case study anomaly, except for the fact that anthropologists and linguists studying color have noted that the more primitive the culture, the less colors they will have names for among the general populace. Berlin and Kay's (as cited in Gates, 1999) evolution of linguistic development, in regards to color, states that there are seven stages of color recognition: from black and white to black, white, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange and grey. More recent studies show that Western civilization has around twelve colors in common usage, in addition to various colors that come and go as fashion dictates. In every culture, artisans will recognize and name more colors than the normal populace because the distinctions are useful to them. (Gage, 1999) It would appear that while the right hemisphere can see colors, it takes the left hemisphere to find a use for them and give them consideration.

Cooperation between the hemispheres.
Most of the tasks done by the brain require input from both hemispheres. The ears, eyes, and sense of touch send signals to both sides, though the signals are stronger for the hemisphere opposite of them. To help the brain adjust to possible injury, each hemisphere can do many of the same tasks, but in their own way. One of the problems that researchers face is the fact that hemispheres are so adept at covering for the other that it can make narrowing in on significant differences difficult. Both Dr. Taylor (2006) and Dr. Sachs (2008) were able to recover some of their damaged hemisphere’s functions through the training of the other hemisphere. Five years after Dr. Taylor’s stroke, she was able to do division and other simple mathematical problems. Two years after that, she was teaching Gross Anatomy again. As of 2006, she was a consulting neuroanatomist at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute, helping stroke survivors neurologically rehabilitate themselves. (Taylor, 2006) Dr. Sachs, in his 80s, is retired and living in an assisted living center. Even though it takes lots of concentration on his part, he still paints on occasion. He is fascinated by the lines and furrows of his fellow resident’s faces, though they will not sit for him. Here is another painting by Dr. Sachs in which the defects of his right hemisphere injury are not as apparent:


Painting by Dr. Howard Sachs. Used with permission.

When there isn’t an injury, there are many times symmetrical responses in the hemispheres while doing tasks, even if one side initiates the task first. It is through the process of "cross-cuing" that the hemispheres share information with each other. However, not every task gets originally sent to the hemisphere best suited to perform it, though the hemisphere always performs the task consistent with its own style. Some studies suggest that the mental task to be performed is usually more important than the nature of the stimulus when it comes to hemisphere selection. (Springer & Deutsch, 1998)

Resources
Gage, J. (1999). Color and meaning: art, science, and symbolism. Berkeley : University of California Press.
Sachs, H. (2008, August). Drawing from the left side of your brain. Howard's Weblog. Retrieved May 21, 2009, from http://hmsachs.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/drawing-from-the-left-side-of-your-brain/
Springer, S. P. & Deutsch, G. (1998). Left brain, right brain: perspectives from cognitive neuroscience. 5th ed. New York : W. H. Freeman and Company.
Taylor, J. B. (2006). My stroke of insight: a brain scientist’s personal journal. New York : Viking.