Well, what is all this sudden mania surrounding right and left brain? Isn't it enough consolation to know that we at least HAVE a brain? But then, nothing in life is as simple as it looks - you always need to dig deeper to know why certain things work in certain ways! So is it with our brains! Ever wondered why some people, given the same upbringing and educational background, turn out to be painters, poets and musicians while others opt for careers like management, accountancy and engineering? The 'left and right-brained people' concept springs from this and similar questions about why certain minds seem to follow a certain pattern when taking decisions and making choices! Let us understand a little about left and right brain characteristics to know what kind of people fall under which category. For those who are not aware, one of the most interesting facts about the nervous system is that the left part of the brain controls the right side and the right part of the brain controls the left side of our bodies. Whether a person is left or right-brained depends upon which half of that person's brain is dominant in everyday life-situations. Let us take a quick look at left and right brain functions in the thought process to arrive at the points of difference in this right brain vs left brain discussion.

Left Brain Function	Right Brain Function
Logical decision-making	Intuitive decision-making
Detail or part-by-part approach	Whole-istic or overall approach
Fact orientation	Imagination orientation
At ease with concrete figures and words	At ease with images and symbols
Tends to dwell upon present and past	Tends to dwell upon present and future
More inclined towards structured disciplines like maths and science	Inclination towards vague and flexible disciplines like philosophy, religion, art, etc.
Good at understanding a situation using deductions	Good at getting a "feel" of the situation
Order or pattern perception	Spatial perception
Good with object names	Good with object functions
Practical/predictable	Impulsive/ Random
Cautious	Adventurous
Good at forming strategies	Good at presenting possibilities
Good at analyzing and critical thinking	Good at expressing emotions through physical means and reading emotions by monitoring these physical cues or body language
Language, logic, numbers	Music, colors, images

How to Know if You Are Right-brained or Not? The following points enumerate some of the most prominent right-brained people characteristics. If your way of thinking and doing stuff matches up with more than 5 of the below pointers, you probably work the right side of your nervous system more than you do the left!

1. Right brain dominant people tend to base their actions upon impulse.
2. They do not follow any set pattern of doing their work; randomness is their middle name!
3. Right-brained individuals see the whole big picture rather than dwelling upon minute details of a task or situation.
4. Right-brained persons tend to think subjectively, rather than objectively.
5. They rely more on their intuition rather than logic; their decisions are often based on what they "feel" rather than what is rational.
6. Right-brained individuals are equally comfortable with subjects, situations, ideas and concepts that make no rational sense; they are at ease with the abstract.
7. They are apt to "believe" in certain things rather than "know" everything about it.
8. Perception capabilities of people with an active right brain are very acute! They can almost smell a situation without being consciously aware of it.

If you carefully look at a detailed diagram of the right brain and its functions, you would notice that the right hemisphere of the brain is entrusted with controlling gestures, creating and interpreting images and is regarded as the seat of intuition. The right half locks all our basic instincts and we get a glimpse of these in the form of "gut" feelings or premonitions! Nowadays, in order to enhance creativity and encourage imagination, in line with creative problem solving concepts, various right brain exercises such as reverse drawing, blind contouring, negative space drawing and perspective imagery are recommended in schools, colleges and as part of employee induction and training curricula. If you happen to have been jeered at for not having a thing for organization and order or if you feel low at not being the math genius that your parents/relatives wished you were, here is a list of some world-famous right-brained people who got it "right" despite all odds:-

• Albert Einstein
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Thomas Alva Edison
• Pablo Picasso
• Walt Disney
• Sir Winston Churchill
• Benjamin Franklin
• John Lennon
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Mark Twain
• Agatha Christie
• Ernest Hemingway
• Socrates
• Galileo
• Abraham Lincoln
• Steven Spielberg
• Thomas Jefferson
• John F. Kennedy
• Louis Pasteur
• Alexander Graham Bell
• Hans Christian Andersen
• Jonas Salk

After going through that list of visionaries and maverick personalities, all you creative 'right-brainies' out there should feel honored to share this quirk in your way of thinking with some of the most famous, respected, powerful and influential people that ever walked the earth! I know, I do! My own thought process leans heavily towards the right and I am proud to be among the right-brained human populace. We are able to perceive the world differently from the majority, hence, (with due respect to my left-brained counterparts) we are capable of making it a different, better, more beautiful place to live in. What do you say?