"I wonder if 'handed-ness' is any clue to the brains strengths," Geology Joe asks. "I'm a lefty." That question primed the pump of my curiosity, too. So I did some research and found answers in the August/September issue of Scientific American Mind...People highly gifted in music, art and math make extensive use of the right brain over the left. Back in the 1980's Harvard neurologists Norman Geschwind and Albert Galaburda were fascinated that so many musicians, artists and mathematicians are also more likely to have left brain deficits, such as dyslexia or stuttering.
As a possible answer to this they suggest that this right brain preeminence could result from higher-than-normal testosterone levels in the womb. In fact some research findings show that testosterone can impede the development of the brain's left hemisphere. To compensate for this, the right brain becomes more highly developed.
Since male fetuses are typically exposed to more testosterone than females, this increased exposure provides a possible explanation for higher number of male math prodigies and of males with language disorders, according to psychologists, Christian Hoppe and Jelena Stojanovic at the University Clinic for Epileptology in Bonn, Germany. They add that the hormonal account of origins of genius and pathology remain controversial.
Tom Davenport of Harvard Publishing asks, "Is the Right Hemisphere the Next Big Thing?" He concludes...
Emphasizing only one half of the brain is both individual career suicide, and a sure route to economic decline for a society.Geology Joe, I think you'd agree that we desperately need the brillance of both sides of our brain, no matter which hand we use.
Thoughts?
