If neuroscientist Jill Bolte and Noah Charney, author of the online article entitled "This is your brain on art" were to sit down and have a dinner filled with conversation about their surrounding world, the topic of discussion and the level of insight both scholars would bring to the table would make for a very interesting night of deep thought and conversation- the two have more in common than you may think. Charney specializes in "art crime," therefore he treats artworks like crime scenes. In doing so, he gains perspective and can see the painting or abstract art in his own interpretation of the series of events depicted. This example of thinking outside of the box can also be exemplified in Jill Botle's TED talk, as she describes the euphoric, "out of this world," way of thinking she experienced during a stroke. Bolte describes, quite literally, losing function of the left hemisphere of her brain- the hemisphere tied to thought, intuition, reason and rationality; she recalls the deep peace and serenity of the blissful abyss that is the right hemisphere of the brain. I believe that if these two individuals were to have a conversation over dinner, they would most definitely agree that looking at the abstract (the right hemisphere's domain) is integral to thinking progressively and outside of the "normal" realm of thoughts. Charney depicts his reverence to right-hemispherical thinking by stating "the reason abstract art poses such an enormous challenge to the beholder is that it teaches us to look at art- and, in a sense,at the world- in a new way". Bolte presses her listeners to focus on the impeccable power of the right hemisphere of the brain. In their conversation, I would imagine that this obsession with focusing on the abstract and sharing the peaceful energy we store within ourselves would control the evening's mode of discussion. Charney and Bolte would most likely come to an agreement on many topics of discussion like whether it's cold outside or what color the sky is, but what i believe they would agree most upon is the power of the abstract, free-flowing cognitive mind encased in the right hemisphere of the brain. They would confide in the idea that thinking "outside of the box" dares us to interpret something different and more complicated than our human brains can understand.
It does seem that even though both authors don’t share the same thinking process, they do share a sense of understanding. The conversation would not only be insightful but also thought provoking as well as belief challenging. If I were in attendance for this event I imagine that my perspective and opinion would be greatly valued whether they agreed exactly or not. Bolte would likely fill me with thoughts of right brain thinking as a tool for being more content with my life, while Charney challenge my current thought process and encourages me to be more open to new and more ideas. At the end of the conversation all idea and ways of thinking would be understood and appreciated better.
ReplyDeleteIn my blog I said that they would disagree completely because of their two completely different looks at the brain and points of view. However I think you make a very good point saying that they would disagree because of the experience Jill Taylor had with just the right hemisphere of her brain and how people look at abstract art. Noah Charney talks about abstract art and how everyone is going to look at it and perceive it in their own way. Being in the state that Jill Taylor was in and looking at abstract art would allow for that to happen. You’d be able to look at the abstract art with an open mind and just see whatever comes to mind because at that time you are just thinking in that moment and about nothing else.
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