Brain Test

Tickle: John, you are Left-brained, which means that the left hemisphere of your brain is dominant over your right.

JG: Are you sure? I thought left-handers were right-brained?

Tickle: Typically, left-brained individuals like you feel most at ease and in control in situations requiring verbal ability, attention to detail, and in-depth, linear, analytical ability. Writing ability and sequential processes of thought are also traits associated with left-brained individuals. We know this because researchers notice increased activity in the left hemisphere of the brain in people hooked up to monitors when they ask them to perform activities that require sharp focus on detail and organization.

JG: Uh-hmm.

Tickle: In addition to isolating the ways in which your brain processes information, your left brain also controls the right side of your body. If you are strongly left-brained, you will find that your natural tendency is to be right-handed — though with some skills, you may find that you are left-handed if a left-handed person taught you how to complete a certain task.

JG: Ohmigosh! So that's why...

Tickle: You are probably methodical and efficient at many things that you do. You could also be good at math which is based on very strict rules that don't vary terribly much. Numbers are sequential and formulas don't change which is something your left brain can identify with. Because of this, you probably tend to break things down into their constituent parts instead of looking at the whole of a picture. Left-brained people also are likely to rely more on objective observations than subjective feelings. For this reason, you might find that for pleasure reading, you're more interested in the facts of nonfiction instead of the free-flow of fiction.

JG: Math? I don't think so. I enjoy the occasional fact but I think I prefer fiction more.

Tickle: You probably think about things that are more straightforward and practical instead of things that are more symbolic and abstract. The one rule you're certain about in life is that there is always an answer if you approach a problem with your systematic and organized thoughts.

JG: Are you sure? You're describing me like a science type of person.

Tickle: That's how your brain processes information. And while your dominant brain hemisphere certainly contributes to the way you process information, there is also a style of learning, unrelated to your dominant hemisphere, that determines the ways in which you are best able to pick up information. When you're learning something new, your dominant brain hemisphere will want to take over. But there are times when the information being presented is not well suited to your dominant hemisphere's abilities.

JG: And what style of learning might that be?

Tickle: Your test results show that you are a visual learner.

JG: Ok.

Tickle: Other left-brained people who are also visual learners are Leonardo da Vinci, Sigmund Freud, and the astronomer Galileo.

JG: The who now?