I’ve always thought of myself as an idea girl. Thinking in pictures, not words—despite my ditzy blonde moments—I never doubted my ability to visualize unique ideas and put them into action, though with a lot of delegating. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m at the extreme end of the right-brained yardstick.
In the last century, linear, analytical thinking has become more valued. Spreadsheet left-brainer types were sought after by businesses. I felt left out. Assembling the “Magic Kitchen” Christmas present for my young daughter left me completely baffled. Instruction manuals have always been beyond my mental capacity.
The Information Age has thrived in the left-brained hemisphere. Left-brainers brought us a better standard of living and kept the world in a neat, organized paint-by-numbers universe. They’ve made us rich and prosperous. But where has all this abundance left us? Freed by this prosperity, but not fulfilled, people are searching for meaning and purpose, especially the Baby Boomers, who have more of their lives behind them than ahead.
Yoga, meditation and interconnectedness have been embraced by mainstream society and the world is seeking a new way of thinking, yearning to be fed.
Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind, explores how right-brain thinkers are wired for 21st-century success. Pink, a chief speechwriter for former Vice President Al Gore, presents a convincing argument that the country is entering a new era, the so-called “Conceptual Age,” during which right-brained skills such as artistic design, intuition and empathy will become far more vital than traditionally left-brained skills like rationality and logic.
The latter skills are continually outsourced for routine tasks and work is done by technology with greater efficiency and speed, replacing our logical left brain. Furthermore, the right brain is evolving slightly ahead of the left brain, such that major shifts in artistic movements precede corresponding breakthroughs in science.
Most analysts agree that the growing "creative and innovative" economy represents America's redemption and essentially the whole human race.We need the next generation of whole-brained individuals to evolve into this new world. I have a lot of work to do to balance things out, but for now, I’m proud to right-brained, fruit loop or not.
