We all have had the experience of being in "two minds". We just don't know which way to turn or what to decide. It is as if we are divided in two. Two minds! Two brains! Right or left brain? Which one is it?

The closest people have literaly come to having 'two minds' is in split-brain sugery where the the bundle of fibres that connect the right and left hemispheres of the brain is cut so that the two halves are no longer directly connected. The results have been extraordinary! We can see the right and left brains at work, independently.

Split-brain surgery clearly demonstrated that the right and left hemispheres have their own specialised forms of intellect and talent! For instance it is shown that the right hemisphere is better at picking colours, recognising faces and judging distances. But more importantly the splt-brain studies revealed that subjects showed signs of having two minds in one brain.

One patient reported that if he shifted a book from his right hand to his left, that hand would put it down even though he was totally absorbed in it. Apparently his 'right brain' just wasn't interested in reading.

Another patient reported that when he angrily reached for his wife with his left hand, his right hand darted out to stop the left.

A third patient found her right and left brains competing to dress her, as they chose different clothes to wear.

Thus, to some extent split-brain patients experienced two independent 'streams of consciousness'. Less radical research has demonstrated that the left brain deals more easily with language while the right brain has a better sense of the visual.

Could it really be that the writer and poet lives in the left brain and the artist, musician and sculptor lives in the right brain?

A great deal of theorizing and speculation has come from this right brain, left brain research. Does each 'brain' have its own way of thinking? Are some of us left brain people and others right brain? Is my ability in writing or painting, logic or music appreciation decide by which brain is more dominant? Do scientists and mathematicians lean to the left (brain) while musicians and artists lean to the right? Does this explain why some of us have better dress sense while others have no difficulty with computer programming?

Look at these diagramatic presentations of the right and left brain hemispheric specialisation to gain a better appreciation of the separate and yet related functions of each hemisphere.
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Some years ago I decided to take up oil painting. I have only ever painted portraits and scenes of people. Those who know my work say I have an outstanding ability. Whatever, it seems uncanny that I can paint without ever having being taught. A close friend of mine is brilliant at computer tasks. Where does that innate ability reside? When it comes to right and left brain activities my friend John and I certainly operate out of different hemispheres.

To be 'in two minds' may make us to appear to be confused and indecisive as we don't know which way to turn. It seems that we really do favour one mind - right or left brain over the other, and this could help explain our different talents activities and 'personalities'. It may be at some point we find, as I did, that when we move from one dominant 'brain' to the other some untapped abilities and resources are discovered.

To be 'in two minds' although a bit of a balancing act might in the end produce a greater equilibrium than we ever imagined. Just out of interest, which way does your brain lean, to the right or to the left?

Check out this anonymous quiz