Many of you may have seen the Ted video by Jill Bolte Taylor, the neuroanatomist and spokesperson for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center who survived a stroke in 1996, …
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Bolte-Taylor has demonized the left brain, glorified the right. I certainly like the things the right brain can do. A fan of “drawing with the right side of the brain” and a casual reader of brain studies for many years, I get it. But the list above … things are a bit more complex than this, no?
To the article author: This statement is not explained:
“Where this gets interesting for a person such as myself, living with bipolar disorder, is that there are significant differences in the brain of people with serious mental illness and those without”
That’s so intriguing, but then you launch into something pretty unrelated. Stroke shares something with mental illness to be sure, but they are hardly interchangeable. I would love to hear more details on that statement. It is worthy of discussion.
Bolte-Taylor has done a lot to bring thinking about the brain into the common dialog, and I commend her for that. But this is an oversimplification of her oversimplification. Brains are different, brains do different things in different hemispheres, abilities are reallocated when parts of brains are damaged, “left brain” tasks are interrelated with right brain tasks. Both take place together all the time to make us the cool human thinker-feelers we are. To overstate connections, ramification, makes an argument weak. The excellent things brain science knows about the left-right brain interaction can be made common knowledge without dumbing down, right?
This message is for James – you might want to read the book before you let your left brain become critical of Taylor. She is clearly an advocate for a ‘balanced brain’. You would know that if you listened a little closer before making judgment.
Dear readthebook,
James, like me, was given an article, not a book.
To demand that he read a book somewhere before giving us the benefit of his critical thinking abilities about the article is demanding too much.
I appreciated many things about Ms. Borchard’s article, including Dr. Taylor’s too-simple explanation of right brain/left brain differences–and calling them “Buddha” and “Corporation!” (That adds fun, too, and some insight about corporations, too, I believe.) I’ve been listening to people saying there’s nothing to it or the differences have been highly exaggerated, etc. So, I’m glad to know Ms. Taylor thinks the basic differences are real and valid. And I appreciate James’ nuanced corrections, also.
I appreciated the personal insight Ms. Borchard brought that Ms. Taylor at least had her right brain to work with after the stroke and thereby gathered an intimate, most personal and scientific knowledge of its capabilities and benefits over time.
I, too, felt as James, that a reference to mental illness’ brains being different was interjected without comment, examples, explanation, or follow-up. I suspect that is an exaggeration also, that it probably depends on which mental illnesses, etc.
You suggested to James: “Read the book before you let your left brain become critical of Taylor. She is clearly an advocate for a ‘balanced brain’. You would know that if you listened a little closer before making judgment.”
I heard James being critical of Bolte-Taylor for over-simplifying and telling Borchard he would like to know more about the thesis she injected into the reporting. I thought he was most charitable there,
I appreciate Ms. Borchard for giving us a delightful short summary, while warning us that she could not begin to get it all of the seminar for us. And I very much appreciated James’ knowledgeable, insightful, and balancing commentary.
Sincere THANKS to both!