Left Brain, Right Brain

Jim McKelvey is an engineer, entrepreneur, artist, environmentalist, co-founder of Square and Third Degree Glass Factory and general partner of Cultivation Capital.
So reads an online article by CNN. Quite a combination right? Rather different to the usual pigeonholing that is foisted on people and their skills and inclinations.

There is an extremely prevalent notion that is currently circulating. It goes something like this: You are born either creative or rational, left brained or right brained. There is no point attempting to be the one if you are the other. Acceptance of this thesis appears to be widespread; evidenced in comments asserting that creative people can't be good at maths and the incredulity pervading this article on Jim. A frequent ice-breaker in conversation is the question: what do you do? Or, its' cousin: what are you? The expected mono-syllabic answer to the question of your employment is used to categorise you and allow for easy mental filing. Jim the engineer. Period.

Not only is this idea rather one dimensional, it is also not supported by science. Humans need both sides of the brain, even for the simplest of tasks. Jill Bolte Taylor's book, My Stroke of Insight, provides a gripping account of what happens when a stroke strikes. Half of her brain shuts down and she can't even pick up the phone to call for help.

So, now maybe you agree with me that we use both parts of our brain. But what about people who seem naturally better at certain tasks; either creative or logical? The answer: Practice?

Dr George Bartzokis researches Myelin. This is a substance that is a neurological insulator. When a mental circuit fires, this substance reacts by wrapping your synapses with myelin. Repeated use of these circuits allows the electrical impulses in your brain to travel approximately 300 percent faster, and with less noise being introduced to the signal. An expert of any kind is simply someoen with more myelin insulation in that area of their brain than someone else. The relevant feature of this substance for our discussion is that myelin exists everywhere in the brain. Myelin does not know the difference between "creative" mental circuits and synapses used for more rational pursuits. Myelin does not differentiate.

I find this to be rather liberating. If you want to sing, myelin will help you. If you want to be good at math, myelin will be your study partner. In short, don't limit your aspirations.

Wrestling the beast

Let me set the scene: You have been assigned a large research essay by one of your professors. The assignment will contribute a significant amount towards your grade and will demonstrate your understanding of the course's central concepts. Like the diligent student that you are, you have been researching and typing out your response to the assignments well in advance. A few days before the due date, you finish the essay. All that is left is one task you have been putting off the whole time because you hate it. The dreaded formatting of your essay. You procrastinate until the night before your due date. Many cups of coffee and a long, phychologically painful night later; you emerge bleary eyed with a formatted essay.

I want to share with you a peace of advice I heard recently. "If its painful, do it more often." The phrase applies most accurately to situations which cause mental pain; such as formatting essays, learning a difficult skill or doing something which scares you. Although, advice such as this could also serve well with goals such as getting fit or breaking a bad habit.  In short, dont ignore problems or issues, solve them right away.

This is sage advice for a few reasons that I will outline for you.

First, a large job that you do not enjoy or find difficult, if left unattended, becomes a mammoth task that assumes epic proportions in your mind. This is incredibly distracting and draining on your mental resources.

Second, the task is the equivalent of a black box until you make a start on it. You don't have much idea of what completing the work will require. What resources may be required, whose advice you may need. More or less time than you expected may be needed. As a result, your ability to plan effectively is seriously hampered.

For most endeavours it is helpful to unearth problems early in the game; rather than later on. Realising that the format you chose for your essay is unworkable for the topic is worth discovering early on; before many hours have been committed to the task of generating that format.

Practice makes perfect. An action which starts off as difficult and unpleasant may become easier and even enjoyable if the required skills are utilised on a more regular basis. Small, short periods of intense practice are better at developing skill than long, drawn out marathons of struggle.

Finally, there arises the spectre of fatigue. There is a limit to how long one focus. As a result, after a certain point the quality of your work begins to drop. A higher standard of work is likely to be maintained if you only focus for shorter periods.

In conclusion, let me finish with a metaphor that Aaron Swartz mentions in his blog. If you were to place your hand on a hot stove for an hour, it would be very painful and you probably won't last the full hour. However, if you touch the hot stove in short, quick jabs; much like quickly moving your finger through a candle flame, you could achieve a total time of an hour fairly easily.

Relish the challenge, don't hide from it.