Left vs. Right

### Cold Open

Jason Silva: Whether you're a left-handed artist or a right-handed accountant, we all use both the left and right sides of our brains. But the conventional wisdom about your brain's division of labor may not be as straightforward as you think. On this show, we usually talk about your brain as a whole, but today we're singling out the two halves that make up your whole brain. On your left side is what's thought to be your logical, detail-oriented left brain. And on your right side, you have what's thought to be the more creative right brain.

### Questions

The question is, how can you tell which brain you are?

But, how true is it?

Can both sides work together to make something Illogical, seem logical?

What happens when one side overrules the other?

What happens when both hemispheres face a conflict of interest? In cases like this, does your "right" side, get "left" behind?

## Games

### Game #1: What's Off?

The two towers look different, but they're the same.

Result: You see them differently.

Why: Your brain can put three-dimensional objects and make them from two-dimensional images. Your perspective plays a big part, and the two towers put together gives them two vanishing points.

### Game #2: Half of Jason

Which half of Jason Silva are you seeing?

Result: When you focus only on his nose, he looks different.

Why: Because your brain's right hemisphere looks at the big picture. The left hemisphere pick apart the pieces, so you see a different perspective.

### Game #3: A or B

Pick between A or B.

Result: If you picked A, you're more likely left brained and vice versa. However, this concept seems to be pretty flawed.

So: The two brains aren't as indecent as we once thought.

### Game #4: Word Wheels & Animal Cruelty

Try and spell words from spinning wheels and make rhyming words.

Result: You could have done well at both challenges, and each challenges a different part of the brain.

So: Even though one side might dominate, neither side can't dominate the other. Both hemispheres have to complete each other. And when you move in one direction, the opposite side of your brain controls the movement.

### Game #5: It's Impossible!

You'll make circles with one hand and squares with the other, playing along with volunteers.

Result: When you try to do both at the same time, you can't and almost no one can.

Why: The motor messages from one hemisphere get confused with the other, and when your brain tries to resolve it, it doesn't work. Your hemispheres are supposed to work together in harmony, and they do that using the corpus callosum.

### Game #6: Say It Faster!

You'll say random junk and then try to make a phrase.

Result: Your brain is able to solve the word puzzles.

Why; While your left hemisphere remembers what you've seen and processes words, the right hemisphere tries to interpret the new phrase. And as the hemispheres work together, the answer comes out.

### Game #7: Faces

You'll try to identify the gender based off of faces.

Result: You likely saw a male in the left image and female in the right image.

Why: Since the right hemisphere, which likely determines gender, is linked to the left eye, and focused on the left side, you decide it looks like a male. It can make your head spin.

#### Brain Booster

Scientists have noticed that human brains have \_\_\_ over the past 5,000 years?

A. Grown by 10%

B. Shrunk By 10%

C. Remained the same size

### Game #8: Just a Little Bit Harder

You name 20 animals in 15 seconds.

Result: It was pretty easy.

Time to shake it up. The words are shaken up, and you must identify the animal in the image.

Result: The game gets much harder. Even with food, it's tougher.

A 5-year old comes in and smokes the volunteers.

Why: She can't read yet. This fact makes it so unlike the volunteers, the two sides don't fight. The left side decodes the word, while the right side focuses on the image. The two centers clash, and it makes it causes delays in response time.