I must begin this post by giving kudos to Inga, Miss Manhattan, for turning me on to this interview between Oprah and Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind (2006. Riverhead Books: New York) about the burgeoning evidence suggesting that development of our right brains (the 1/2 of the brain responsible for the creative stuff) will be especially important in the future. Until very recently, there's been a large emphasis on the left-brain (responsible for logic and the like), and it's associated careers- accounting, computer programming... It's becoming apparent, however, that, "in the same way that machines have replaced our bodies in certain kinds of jobs, software is replacing our left brains by doing sequential, logical work," (Pink). Pink argues that, to be successful professionally, our posterity MUST begin to develop their right-brain, and the creative skills that machines cannot replicate and outsource.
This information is of monumental importance to arts advocates, like myself, who struggle to promote education in the arts as an integral, vital, relevant and scientifically backed necessity for the young people in our country. I picked up A Whole New Mind this morning- I can't wait to read it!
Read the full interview here.
Are you right-brained or left-brained? For a fun test, try the Art Institute of Vancouver's Right Brain vs. Left Brain Creativity Test. ( I can't speak for the scientific validity of this test, but it's fun, and gives some pretty in depth analysis).
