Posted by Don Miller on February 4, 2007 at 12:59 PM
Have you ever wondered how some people are capable of a great deal of verbal/written expression concerning the creative process? I'm sure not one of them. I'm the type of person who, when asked how I came up with something, answer with a blank gaze. (hellooo, anybody home?) Do you read Guy's articles, and the following discussions, and wonder what the HECK these guys are talking about?
Well, if you feel this way, you may want that we are not necessarily stupid.
I had a general idea about the right brain and creativity. But I didn't understand that the right brain doesn't want to talk or write. So for processes we undertake primarily in the right brain, it's natural that we understand what's going on but can't express the ideas to other.
I'm relieved to understand why I can't explain some of the processes I use to design and do photography. This has truly bothered me my whole adult life. But now after a few seconds of staring blankly, I'm hoping that my left brain will kick in and explain why I can't give a complete answer.
Do you read Guy's articles, and the following discussions, and wonder what the HECK these guys are talking about?
You know, when I sober up I sometimes wonder myself.
Guy
Posted by Richard Wong on February 4, 2007 at 3:13 PM
I am a professional writer, but I cannot speak verbally very well at all at times. I get tongue-tied and just not that articulate if I have to think too much. it's easier for me to use four letter words than speak with proper grammar in real life. haha. you wouldn't know it by hearing me, but I didn't speak english until grade school. now, i can only speak english.
Posted by Don Miller on February 4, 2007 at 4:10 PM
Don't know how valid it is. It similar to other tests I've seen. The interesting aspect is not the declarative "I am strongly left brain", but rather to think about styles of creativity and interaction.
I'm (mostly) joking when I say I don't know what Guy and gang are talking about. But I do know that what they are talking about is foreign to my process. It doesn't feel right to me. I don't disagree, I just know that disassembly doesn't work for me. "We murder to disect" - Wordsworth (I think)
I must be a wordsworthian.
Posted by Steve Foss on February 4, 2007 at 8:31 PM
Yeah, every time I take those tests they tell me I'm a mix of right-brain and left-brain, and then they say that's the best of both worlds, that I can be professional and creative at the same time. Sure. That's why I have a 50-hour-a-week professional job that involves both creativity and discipline, and why I'm trying like the devil to make enough money at my own photography to cast off the reins of the print world of newspaper journalism, where I've worked for 14 years, have published more than 2 million words, won a Pulitzer, and REALLY WANT A CHANGE! Uh-huh, after all that time and all that mileage, the bloom is definitely off that rose.
What being both left- and right-brain really means in career terms is that I'm never satisfied for long with whichever job I have. The newspaper gig is by far the longest, and it's only lasted this long because I've been able to change hats within it a number of times. Imagine being cursed with the neverending conundrum of always seeing both the forest AND the trees and not grasping which is the more important, or whether EITHER is more important than the other.
The bigger problem with being both is that the pragmatic side of my mind can't stop criticising the creative side.
Creative side: Ohhhh babe, the bokeh behind those sensually entwined ladyslippers is stunning. A vignette. A veritable Georgia O'Keeffe expression. Make love to me here, now, upon this gentle bed of caribou moss, beneath this graceful bower of ferns and fir.
Pragmatic side: Ahem. Other-brain-side. Perhaps you're being a bit short-sighted here. Please ensure that you get her addres so you can bill her for professional inspirational photographic services.
Sorry, not trying to make light of the topic, just adding a bit of spice to the dish.
Discussion
4 repliesWell, if you feel this way, you may want that we are not necessarily stupid.
I had a general idea about the right brain and creativity. But I didn't understand that the right brain doesn't want to talk or write. So for processes we undertake primarily in the right brain, it's natural that we understand what's going on but can't express the ideas to other.
I'm relieved to understand why I can't explain some of the processes I use to design and do photography. This has truly bothered me my whole adult life. But now after a few seconds of staring blankly, I'm hoping that my left brain will kick in and explain why I can't give a complete answer.
You know, when I sober up I sometimes wonder myself.
Guy
http://painting.about.com/library/quiz/blquiz-rightbrain1.htm
Don't know how valid it is. It similar to other tests I've seen. The interesting aspect is not the declarative "I am strongly left brain", but rather to think about styles of creativity and interaction.
I'm (mostly) joking when I say I don't know what Guy and gang are talking about. But I do know that what they are talking about is foreign to my process. It doesn't feel right to me. I don't disagree, I just know that disassembly doesn't work for me. "We murder to disect" - Wordsworth (I think)
I must be a wordsworthian.
What being both left- and right-brain really means in career terms is that I'm never satisfied for long with whichever job I have. The newspaper gig is by far the longest, and it's only lasted this long because I've been able to change hats within it a number of times. Imagine being cursed with the neverending conundrum of always seeing both the forest AND the trees and not grasping which is the more important, or whether EITHER is more important than the other.
The bigger problem with being both is that the pragmatic side of my mind can't stop criticising the creative side.
Creative side: Ohhhh babe, the bokeh behind those sensually entwined ladyslippers is stunning. A vignette. A veritable Georgia O'Keeffe expression. Make love to me here, now, upon this gentle bed of caribou moss, beneath this graceful bower of ferns and fir.
Pragmatic side: Ahem. Other-brain-side. Perhaps you're being a bit short-sighted here. Please ensure that you get her addres so you can bill her for professional inspirational photographic services.
Sorry, not trying to make light of the topic, just adding a bit of spice to the dish.