I am currently reading the book upon which this brief talk (one in the great “RSA Animate” series) is based. It is called “The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World” (by Iain McGilchrist) and it is utterly fascinating. It is a stretch read to be sure – for me at least – and yet it is utterly readable, completely compelling and, I believe, essential.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFs9WO2B8uI&w=560&h=315]It is essential for anyone who wants to escape the pervasiveness of pop-culture neuroscience and educate themselves at a deeper level about the radical realities – and implications – of how our brains really work. It is essential, too, for those of us whose work it is – through coaching, consulting, teaching – to help others solve problems, small or large in scope.
I first got interested in the “right brain movement” (if it can be called that) when I read Dan Pink’s “A Whole New Mind,” a terrific book in its own right, providing a very solid baseline of understanding and proving highly practical in its application. If you haven’t read anything else on the subject you might consider starting there. Or, you can check out this pdf about “The Master and His Emissary” which is a dialogue with the author and also includes critiques by others invited to read and comment on his work.
I hope you find this work as enthralling and useful as I have. The implications are massive.
