When I began reading the book ‘Opening the Mind’s Eye,’
by Ian Robertson, I was in search of different methods of creativity. However this
book introduced to me the process of the use of language and images. These
functions are located in different places in your brain. Alternative means of creative
thought whether visualization or speech prompted me to reflect on the
stereotype of left and right brained people. What I found from this research is
that creativity functions through both sides of the brain where logical demands
connect with empathetic reasoning.
Left brained people have the stereotype of being technical and
calculated. Right brained individuals are stereotyped to be artistic and
subjective. The dominance of left or right is essentially a development of
skills. The meaning of art comes from the latin word ‘artem’. Artem is defined as a skill resulting from
practice. The meaning of technical comes from the Greek word ‘tekhinos’.
Tekhinos means skilled in a particular art or subject. Architecture is a
combination of the Greek words, ‘archon’, chief and ‘tekton’, builder.
Architecture has evolved significantly since Ancient Greece and is now known
for being a visually oriented practice.
As someone who considers myself as being visually oriented I see the
process of creation as initiating regardless of the means. I was curious where
in the brain creativity occurred. As I learned in ‘Opening the Mind’s Eye’ by
Ian Robertson, object and face visualization fires the temporal lobes on either
side of your brain. The movement of triggered neurons travels along both sides
of the brain. The ‘where’ of spatial imagery is conducted in the parietal
lobes. The messages communicated by active neurons travel over the top of the
brain. The theory that one portion of the brain dominates the creative process
is a myth. The interaction between left and right must occur concurrently to
accomplish creativity.
In a study by researcher, Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, looked at brain scans of
architecture students using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The
participants looked at the shape of a circle, the shape of a C and the shape of
an 8 while undergoing the brain scans. Then, the participants visualized what
new images could be created if they rearranged the circle, C and 8. This was
considered a creative task.
The architecture students also imagined
arranging the three shapes together to make a square or rectangle. This was not
considered as a creative task but rather a spatial processing task. The
researchers found that during the creative task, the participants' brains lit
up in the left hemisphere more than the right. This showed that the left brain
was working to support the right brain's creativity. As
foun in this study both sides of the brain work together to formulate
creativity.
As an architecture student, creativity
means to me learning and applying my education. Reading about the cooperation
of both sides of the brain has encouraged me to consider creativity
in architecture as a means of innovation. Innovation means responding to a
challenge with more answers to foster a solution.
Universally, this is true for creation. As I see it, the logistics of being an
architect is to search for the intangible in a created form. By learning and
applying a multiplicity of tools the solutions that we create will be able to
be more varied. Creativity is discovered in the practice of
architecture.
References:
Rogers, M. (2013). Researchers debunk myth of "right
brain" and "left-brain" personality traits. University of Utah,
Office of Public Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0071275
Mansaray, David. Sept. 2011. Accessed Jan. 15 2014 <http://www.davidmansaray.com/the-left-brain-right-brain-misconception>
University of Southern
California (2012, March 5). Scientists search for source of creativity.ScienceDaily. Retrieved
January 15, 2014, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120305132438.htm
Robertson, Ian. ‘Opening the Mind’s Eye: Opening the Mind's Eye: How
Images and Language Teach Us How To See’. St. Martin's Press; 1st edition,
2003.
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