Creativity is not a right brain phenomenon

Scott Barry Kaufman vs Iain McGilchrist

The idea that the left brain is logical and the right brain is creative has permeated through mainstream culture. But there’s a problem. It’s not true. Writes Scott Barry Kaufman. Find the main proponent of the split-brain theory, Iain McGilchrist's response to Kaufman here.

 

So yea, you know how the left brain is really realistic, analytical, practical, organized, and logical, and the right brain is so darn creative, passionate, sensual, tasteful, colourful, vivid, and poetic?

No. Just no. Stop it. Please.

Thoughtful cognitive neuroscientists such as Anna Abraham, Mark Beeman, Adam Bristol, Kalina Christoff, Andreas Fink, Jeremy Gray, Adam Green, Rex Jung, John Kounios, Hikaru Takeuchi, Oshin Vartanian, Darya Zabelina and others are on the forefront of investigating what actually happens in the brain during the creative process. And their findings are overturning conventional and overly simplistic notions surrounding the neuroscience of creativity.

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Creativity does not involve a single brain region or single side of the brain.

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