On Fri, 16 Feb 2018 22:43:39 +0000, Fredxx wrote:

snip

It is Tim who has the fetish with left/right sided brain.

It's not a fetish, I find the general theory around brain
lateralization to be a handy tool to help understand why some think
and do as they do and therefore why some say and do such strange (to
someone opposite to them) things.

Like, most of the fanatic Brexiteers don't just think us leaving the
EU could or might be 'a good idea', they are absolutely /
unconditionally convinced that we *will* and they seem to be
completely oblivious of the other ~50% of the electorate who actively
voted against them and the 2/3rs of the electorate who didn't vote
with them?

I was always told the left side had the logic, and right side didn't.

Yes, that's the (very( general idea but it's not as black and white as
that (left brainer g). We are talking 'dominance', the concept that
whilst both brain hemispheres can and do duplicate each other on many
many things, just like most people have a preferred 'hand' and would
have a lead or dominant eye, they would also have a dominant brain
hemisphere.

That's why if you have a stroke in one side or another you can loose
your speech or motor functions on one side of your body but much of
the loss can be recovered with 'therapy to help the non-dominant
hemisphere better pick up the pieces etc.

Tim must therefore be right sided.

It would be 'right brain dominant' and I think you could be right.

A mate who has looked into this in some depth has a general scale
where 0 would be whatever is considered 'neutral', where both brain
hemispheres are fairly balanced (re the tasks that aren't hemisphere
specific).

He rates anyone right brain dominant as being on a scale of +1 to +5,
where a +1 is a typical woman and a +5 would be a quivering mass of
emotion. A 'left brainer' would be on the scale of -1 to -5 where a -1
is a typical man and a -5, a(n emotional) robot.

He has been with his wife for many years and he has been unhappy for
much of the time. Most of the time the issues were masked by 'life',
getting engage, getting married, buying a house, having children etc.

Now the kids have left home, from his POV it's as if he's just
co-habiting with someone, he wants more and she seem completely
unaware of his (emotional) needs.

So, he has concluded she (unusually for a woman) is a left brainer and
he (again, unusually for a man) is a right brainer. Even though she
seem unaware of his needs, he is too caring to just abandon her
because of he left-brainedness, she's unlikely to find anyone else to
look after her as he does.

So, being unable to pick up on the little nuisances, focusing on the
detail whilst missing the bigger picture, ignoring people's feeling
and opinions when they don't agree with yours are all signs of
particular brain 'handedness'.

I have never used the concept as a slur or to denigrate anyone (we are
what we are etc), and I've certainly never suggested that one was
better or preferable to the other, all I've even done is used it to
try to understand how and why people say and do the things they do.
And we do need all people right across the board ...

Cheers, T i m