Balance Logic and Imagination (Arte/Scienza) – Whole-brain thinking
There is a theory that people are left-brained or right-brained. Much research over the past decades has been done in this field with the finding that one side or hemisphere of the brain is dominant in all humans. People who are analytical and methodical in their thinking, are said to be left-brained. If you’re more creative and artistic, you're said to be right-brained.
This thinking can limit people when we decide that we are left-brained so we cannot be artistic or even creative; or if society has told us we are right-brained so give up on understanding science, math or even logic. In general, society favours the so-called left-brained thinkers. Careers involving numbers and analytics tend to be higher prestige and more lucrative than those in the arts, for example.
When you are able to balance the hemispheres or tap into both types of skills, you are able to think more creatively and become an expert problem solver.
Whole-brain thinking uses our four intelligences:
- Analytical – evaluate problems ideas using critical thinking
- Artistic – envision possibilities using your imagination and visual thinking
- Relational – how you connect and work with other people
- Operational – planning, organising and activating ideas
Da Vinci believed in engaging the whole brain. In fact, he was so obsessed with the idea of right and left-hemisphere balance, that he taught himself to be ambidexterous! While we are not suggesting that you spend years relearning to write, the idea is that you reach into all your knowledge and learning when approaching problems. The artistic skills and the scientific skills should not be mutually exclusive. The development of this whole-brain thinking is called ARTE/SCIENZA. Da Vinci put t this way, “Study the science of art and the art of science.”