581 I have come to discover recently that I am a “right-brained thinker.” This is understandable seeing as how I am mostly left-handed. (When I was younger, however, I was ambidextrous). Less than one fifth of the general population is left-handed, making left-handed children somewhat of a genetic minority of sorts. To be left-handed can mean your way of thinking is fundamentally different from the average person, perhaps making it harder for you to be able to relate as well to the majority of other people. Right-brained thinkers are said to think more visually and learn better with visual aids. Education, however, has traditionally been more auditory, reading/writing, and “word-oriented.” Obviously many photographers are more visual in their thinking. Because visual communication is the most globally and universally accessible form of communication, and because today’s postindustrial youth lives in a visually-rich and interactivity-saturated environment of media, it would make sense for education and journalism to become more visually oriented as well as interactive. Journalism in particular, however, has traditionally been more of a ‘left-brained’ profession as well as more oriented towards written-communication. Conversely, creative professions such as advertising seem to generally be more right-brained oriented as well as more creatively oriented. Journalism, communicational, and educational institutions stand to gain by reforming some of their approaches to better accommodate the new, emerging, and changing needs of global society. I have compiled a list of links below to various articles or resources covering this topic, which I think is a topic that deserves greater discussion and awareness. Please keep in mind that this kind of research and neurological theory is by no means an exact or absolute science just yet, but it is getting there. 1) Right Brain v Left Brain <a href="http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html">http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22556281-661,00.html</a> Excerpt: “LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses logic detail oriented facts rule words and language present and past math and science can comprehend knowing acknowledges order/pattern perception knows object name reality based forms strategies practical safe RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS uses feeling “big picture” oriented imagination rules symbols and images present and future philosophy & religion can “get it” (i.e. meaning) believes appreciates spatial perception knows object function fantasy based presents possibilities impetuous risk taking” End excerpt. 2) Are You Left-Brained or Right-Brained? <a href="http://www.testcafe.com/lbrb/">http://www.testcafe.com/lbrb/</a> Quiz. I scored about two-thirds right-brained and about one-third left-brained. 3) Right Brained Learner <a href="http://www.rightbrainedlearner.com/">http://www.rightbrainedlearner.com/</a> This site features a really good article by Hilary Craig entitled, “Brains and Learning.” Hilary Craig “BA, B.Ed, M.Ed is an educational consultant who specializes in providing help and support for individuals with learning difficulties. This includes diagnoses such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and Asperger’s syndrome.” 4) The Collision Between Left-Brained Schools and Right-Brained Kids Excerpt from the book, “Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World: Unlocking the Potential of Your ADD Child” by Jeffery Freed and Laurie Parsons <a href="http://user.cybrzn.com/~kenyonck/add/books/excerpt_right-brained.htm">http://user.cybrzn.com/~kenyonck/add/books/excerpt_right-brained.htm</a> The first paragraph reads: “Why are we facing such a crisis in education? I would argue that our left-brained American schools have rarely placed an emphasis on creative, critical thinking. Our schools have historically churned our graduates who- while strong on regurgitating information- lack problem-solving skills. American children are taught to conform rather than challenge authority; the result is they often lack the ability to make connections and think in fresh, inventive ways. The traditional American school, with its emphasis on order, drill, and repetition, probably did a respectable job educating children at a time when kids were also left-brained, less hyperactive, and not so overstimulated. The problem is that students today are fundamentally different: Our classrooms are being flooded by a new generation of right-brained, visual kids. While our school system plods along using the same teaching methods that were in vogue decades ago, students are finding it more and more difficult to learn that way. As our culture becomes more visual and brain dominance shifts to the right, the chasm widens between teacher and pupil. Our schools are no longer congruent with the way many children think.” 5) Am I right brained or left brained? <a href="http://kyky.essortment.com/amirightbrain_opr.htm">http://kyky.essortment.com/amirightbrain_opr.htm</a> 6) Multimedia Multiversity An old [but unrelated] Lightstalkers post I wrote on the topic of education can be read here as well: <a href="http://www.lightstalkers.org/multimedia_multiversity">http://www.lightstalkers.org/multimedia_multiversity</a> In summation, communication has changed and continues to change relatively quickly. We can no longer deny or ignore this. Journalism and educational professionals in particular can no longer deny this. It can be argued that human consciousness is also changing as well, particularly for the younger, ‘ultramodern’, ‘postindustrial’, or even ‘poststructural’ generations. In many developed nations, it is not uncommon or unusual for children to have hours of daily ample exposure to , and stimulation from, a plethora of media including (but not limited to) the Internet, video games, television, music, movies, and other interactive media. This modern phenomena has fundamentally altered the way that many people (but not all, of course) think, communicate, learn, interact, relate, and socialize. This acceleration of communication (and perhaps human consciousness) has the potential to better allow greater numbers of people to more fully live up to their unique individual potentials. With, perhaps, increasingly less regards to their geography or socioeconomic status. Moreover, it can be argued by many that ‘war’ is the opposite or in opposition to ‘language’, with war generally being action-oriented and language generally being more thought-oriented. By accelerating language and communications (as well as people’s capacity for language and communication), you may effectively reduce the prevalence, brutality, or ‘need’ for warfare. For journalism and education to effectively adapt to an ever-changing world and the ever-changing needs of people, they must more actively work in doing so. Highly traditional and authoritarian bureaucratic structures are inherently disadvantaged when it comes to being able to more quickly and dynamically adapt to change. As change accelerates, slow-moving organizations may find it increasingly difficult to sustain themselves as well as legitimately meet the changing needs of the people they serve. If they cannot adequately adapt, they cannot maintain their legitimacy or the respect of the people they serve. To affectively adapt, journalism and educational institutions must develop a greater tolerance and respect for different, new, and alternative ways of thinking. Thinking perhaps more typically associated with right-brained thinkers. That means rewarding creativity as well as rewarding debate and rewarding disagreement. It also means acknowledging and rewarding individuals on the proven and demonstrated strength and merit of their original contributions to others, as opposed to punishing these people on the basis of trivial, petty, or personal office politics. By arrogantly punishing or ignoring (rather than actively rewarding and acknowledging) these different types of thinking and perspectives, many of these institutions are only harming themselves as well as their perceived legitimacy. This holds to be even more true if these institutions are frequently being surpassed on various levels by the people who they refuse to adequately acknowledge or legitimize. A discussion somewhat demonstrating this reality can be read here: “Do you find that most reporting awards overlook serious investigative reporting done by alternative press and new media journalists and bloggers?” <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/answers/career-education/ethics/CAR_PET/92171-9017318?browseIdx=3&sik=1189635351728&goback=.ama">http://www.linkedin.com/answers/career-education/ethics/CAR_PET/92171-9017318?browseIdx=3&sik=1189635351728&goback=.ama</a> Because people generally have a tendency to hate what they do not understand, concepts and ways of thinking which are difficult for the majority of people to immediately understand are often met with fierce retaliation and opposition. To eliminate our hatred, it is imperative that we further our understanding. For many journalism professionals, this could mean better acquainting ourselves with the reality of alternative thought processes (ways of thinking) prevalent in some people, as well as actively working to develop a better tolerance, understanding, and appreciation for those with different thought processes, perspectives, and approaches. While the minority perspective is always subject to ridicule in any given society, a truly democratic society is supposed to be one of the few kinds of society which actively welcomes and encourages the free and open expression of minority perspectives, especially as a means to better facilitate a truly free marketplace of ideas. If you want people to be honest, you must reward honesty. If you want people to be transparent, you must reward transparency. If you want people to both acknowledge and solve problems, you must reward them for doing so. If you want people to be genuine and upfront, you must also reward these behaviors as well. Sadly, many journalism institutions and people have yet to understand the importance and value of encouraging such attributes in people. Often it appears as though many journalism professionals are instead rewarded for their capacities to do as they are told, to hide who they really are or what they really think, to never question authority, and to both live and think fatalistically or nihilistically. Any journalism institution that is opposed to or punishes the expression, communication, and exposition of different, new, and alternative perspectives is inherently undemocratic or less democratic. Just because many journalists supposedly offer exposition to different perspectives, that does not mean that the range of perspectives isn’t severely limited or that many important perspectives are not frequently marginalized, censored, or grossly under-reported. As time has consistently demonstrated to me, many minority perspectives which are initially marginalized or ridiculed have a very funny way of eventually becoming both normal and accepted over time. Or, as some may say, prophecies can have a way of fulfilling themselves. 29 2007-10-29T01:26:05Z 0 2008-08-20T18:38:23Z false 17933 false 4806 2009-02-22T15:32:06Z Bowling Green, KY true 2009-02-20T00:00:00Z false the-plight-of-right-brained-thinkers 1 2009-02-22T15:32:06Z 4806