The Right Mind: Making Sense of the Hemispheres

Most of the popular literature instructing readers to draw on the right side of their brains in an attempt to improve creativity lacks sound scientific foundation, according to Ornstein (The Psychology of Consciousness) in this compact volume. While the brain's two hemispheres indeed have different strengths, the dichotomy that is usually depicted is a gross overstatement. Instead, contends Ornstein, the hemispheres complement one another, and well-adjusted people need to utilize both. In an extended metaphor, Ornstein argues that the left hemisphere helps us understand the text of our lives while the right provides the context. Both are crucial: ""`Bear right!' means something different in the woods than in the suburbs."" By relating snippets of case studies in an attempt to demonstrate how the brain functions, Ornstein's work resembles that of Oliver Sacks, especially when discussing how language is processed and misprocessed. Elsewhere, Ornstein investigates the relationship of handedness (left or right) to brain organization. Ironically, given his subject, Ornstein does not provide ample context for some of his thoughtful explorations. The book's brevity comes at the price of a paucity of explanation and an incomplete picture of the ""hemisphere debate"" to which it is a direct response. Patient readers, however, will find his first-person observations and researched material food for thought--on both sides of nature's most magnificent organ. (Oct.)