John Keats and Aristotle are arguing about deviled eggs. Because in this alternative reality you’re co-hosting a brunch with the romantic poet and the father of logic. Poet John is campaigning for a garnish of calendula petals and umami mushroom powder. Aristotle is debating the premise. Who’s the right brain thinker here? Who's the left? Remember we’ve been taught, left = logic and right = creativity.
With a basic grasp of science and a large dose of cultural conditioning we’ve simplified this nicely. Poet John is the right brain thinker. Because that’s all about creativity, imagination and expression. Logical Aristotle is the leftie, because it’s all about… logic. Now let’s imagine this brunch needs to reinvent deviled eggs, inspire a New York Times best selling cook-book and an ironic sweatshirt, who’s your guy? Yep, we’re all in on Poet John. Aristotle, with his structure, logic, and slippery toga, is firmly on the bench.
Right vs left brain thinking is a battle we pitch all the time.
What started as a neurological theory has taken on a cultural life of its own. Less two sides of our brain and more two types of people. Less two hemispheres of cells and more two philosophies on life. We think of Poet John and his right brain friends as free from the constraints of reality, rules and even time. They make leaps of insight, based on hunches or feelings. They exist in the liminal space of daydreams, chasing magic. Their brains part clouds, births ideas and definitely sprinkle umami.
Aristotle, on the other hand, has fallen in with the wrong crowd. Left brain thinking used to be just about analysis and structure but has now picked up the worst of capitalism too. Inviting lefties to this brunch will bring unnecessary process, tight budgets and aggressive timelines. In short, this group is never going to let Keats sprinkle calendula.
Firing Aristotle.
This binary approach is disastrous for our creative problem solving skills. Rather than being the enemy, left brain thinking creates the foundations on which right brain inventiveness can thrive. It opens up new avenues of exploration and provides a compass to travel through them. But rather than unleashing these powers, we’ve collectively decided that if you want to have an idea, you need to do two things.
Shut down half your brain.
Fire Aristotle.
Case closed.
Whole brain thinking.
What we have failed to understand is that an ability as complex as creativity needs both hemispheres. A fact also born out by recent scientific developments. Not only are both hemispheres engaged when you have an idea, but experienced creators draw heavily on well-learned left hemisphere routines while creating.* The father of logic can actually help John Keats reinvent deviled eggs.
He could ask the big questions that identify the real problem. “Hey John, before sprinkling that brown dust, let’s step back and think about the problem we’re trying to solve here? Perhaps the real issue is that not everyone loves deviled eggs, so whether it’s calendula petals or mushrooms, the contest is already lost? What if the only rule we followed is that it has to LOOK like a deviled egg? Deviled eggs made entirely out of marshmallows, anyone?”
Or even…
By helping Poet John to identify a big concept that unlocks many different ideas. “So John, before de-robing that flower, what makes a deviled egg “deviled” anyway? Spicy flavors reflecting the heat of hell, you say? Hell yes! Let’s make the inferno our inspiration. Less flowers and more flames please.”
Leveraging the left mode is not about killing whim, but producing more inventive whim. Clearly defined problems, new places to look for inspiration, and cross-fertilization with other disciplines such as the inferno itself.
So instead of left brain vs. right brain? What about whole?
Source: National Science Foundation