Our brain is divided into two halves, or hemispheres. The two sides look very similar, but there is a big difference in how they process information. The theory is that people are either left-brained or right-brained, meaning that one side of their brain is dominant. If you are mostly analytical and methodical in your thinking, you are said to be left-brained. If you tend to be more creative or artistic, you are thought to be right-brained. The creative process is rarely thought of as rational. According to the author Lindell “Philosophers from Plato to Popper similarly believed creativity was mystical and therefore irrational. As the right brain was viewed as the “irrational” hemisphere, it is little wonder it was proposed to control creativity too.”
With that said, is it correct to say that new ideas come from the right hemisphere? The creative side? And if that is so, is being creative something we are borned with, or something we develop in life? Is creativity something we just have or something we can train our brain to do? All kinds of thought processes occur in our mind, all the time. How can we teach our mind to be more creative and come up with new ideas? Creative people usually like to daydream and imagine the possibilities and wonders of the world. They can immerse themselves in imagination and fantasy, yet remain grounded enough to turn their daydreams into reality. They are often described as dreamers and not taken seriously by left-brained people that can’t understand the world in the same way. On the other hand, there is no way to start any idea without a foundation, which is grounded on the factual (left) side of the brain.
A study published in the journal NeuroImage, shows that creativity is, in fact, driven primarily by the right hemisphere in musicians who are comparatively inexperienced at improvisation. However, musicians who are highly experienced at improvisation rely primarily on their left hemisphere. This suggests that creativity is a “right-brain ability” when a person deals with an unfamiliar situation but that creativity draws on well-learned, left-hemisphere routines when a person is experienced at the task. “If creativity is defined in terms of the quality of a product, such as a song, invention, poem or painting, then the left hemisphere plays a key role,” said Drexel’s John Kounios, who led the study along with David Rosen. “However, if creativity is understood as a person’s ability to deal with novel, unfamiliar situations, as is the case for novice improvisers, then the right hemisphere plays the leading role.” In the image below we can see the difference of brain activity between experienced musicians and inexperienced musicians.
Figure 1: Brain activity maps showing areas associated with high-creativity performances compared with lower-creativity performances. Each map shows a top view of the head.
Well, that answers our first question, creativity is definitely something we can learn and teach our brain how to do. As anything we can learn, first we need a recipe, a step by step method to how to create new ideas, and that is what James Young published in his book A Technique for Producing Ideas. With his experience working with marketing for years, creating advertising, he was able to develop a guide to how to create new ideas. According to him, the first step is gathering raw materials. There are two kinds of materials we can gather in our brain, specific and general. The specific is what is related to the subject or problem we want to solve, and general is just day to day life knowledge that sometimes we do not give too much importance, but it is crucial for the creative process. Second step: masticating these materials seeking for relationships. “Idea is a new combination, and the principle that the ability to make new combinations is heightened by an ability to see relationships” (Young, p.13). In that step, it is mostly likely that some ideas will surge, so take notes, it could be useful in the future. The third step is to put the problem out of our mind. As much as it sounds crazy, this step is very important because it is here that our unconscious mind starts working. By dropping the problem completely and turning to something that stimulates our emotions and imagination we open an universe of opportunities in our brain. The fourth step is usually achieved without much effort, but at this point we did everything we could, and the idea will most likely appear out of nowhere. “It will come to you when you are least expecting it” (Young, p.21). The fifth and final step of producing an idea is to submit it to criticism. Many people are afraid of this step, but it is essential. In the final step is where the idea takes shape, it stimulates who sees it to add to it, and develops the idea to practical usefulness. See in the image below the entire cycle of the creative process:
Figure 2: Creative process
It is clear that in the creative process it is necessary that we use both sides of our brain. For them to be sharp and ready whenever we need, there are many ways we can stimulate both sides to encourage a smooth creative process. According to Pirtrangelo some recommendations include reading and listening about the creative ideas of others; trying something new, such as playing an instrument, drawing, or storytelling; looking within, to help gain a deeper understanding of yourself; and keeping your life and mind fresh, which means breaking the patterns and going outside of your comfort zone. Maintaining our brain stimulated, no matter which side, is very important.
The two hemispheres of our brain are tied together by bundles of nerve fibers, creating an information highway. Although the two sides function differently, they work together and complement each other. You do not use only one side of your brain at a time. Whether we are performing a logical or creative function, we are receiving input from both sides of your brain. For example, the left brain is credited with language, but the right brain helps you understand context and tone. The left brain handles mathematical equations, but the right brain helps out with comparisons and rough estimates. Despite their contrasts, the two sides do not work independently of each other, they in fact complement one another. So we can conclude that improving communication between the two sides of your brain is key to increasing creativity. The knowledge accumulated on the left analytical side gives base to the right creative side to explore different connections and generate a new idea. “Knowledge is basic to good creative thinking but that it is not enough, this knowledge must be digested and eventually emerge in the form of fresh, new combinations and relationships. Einstein refers to this as intuition, which he considers the only path to new insights” (Young, p.vii).
Work cited
Cherry, Kendra. 10 Signs of a Creative Mind. April 25, 2021. Link accessed on December 21st https://www.verywellmind.com/characteristics-of-creative-people-2795488
Drexel Now. Where in the Brain Does Creativity Come from? March 31, 2020. Link accessed on december 2nd: https://drexel.edu/now/archive/2020/March/Jazz-Musicians-Brain-Creativity/
Lindell, Annukka. Monday’s medical myth: the right side of your brain controls creativity. October 30, 2011. Link accessed on november 20th https://theconversation.com/mondays-medical-myth-the-right-side-of-your-brain-controls-creativity-3951
Pietrangelo, Ann. Left Brain vs. Right Brain: What Does This Mean for Me? March 7, 2019. Link accessed on November 27th https://www.healthline.com/health/left-brain-vs-right-brain#left-brainright-brain-theory