page 10
Note: the contents of this page as well as those which precede and follow, must be read as a continuation and/or overlap in order that the continuity about a relationship to/with the dichotomous arrangement of the idea that one could possibly talk seriously about peace from a different perspective as well as the typical dichotomous assignment of Artificial Intelligence (such as the usage of zeros and ones used in computer programming) ... will not be lost (such as war being frequently used to describe an absence of peace and vice-versa). However, if your mind is prone to being distracted by timed or untimed commercialization (such as that seen in various types of American-based television, radio, news media and magazine publishing... not to mention the average classroom which carries over into the everyday workplace), you may be unable to sustain prolonged exposures to divergent ideas about a singular topic without becoming confused, unless the information is provided in a very simplistic manner.
Let's face it, humanity has a lousy definition, accompanying practice, and analysis of peace.
Regardless if the concept of Peace is viewed from the vantage point of a theologian, mathematician, musician, diary farmer, diplomat or whomever is asked to provide a definition of peace within the conventions of their typically used vernacular; their vocabulary can not conceal that it is placed into a frame of thinking in terms of contrasts. In other words, patterns-of-two. Whereas one may not readily detect whether a particular definition is made from the vantage point of passion or a dispassionate appraisal of need, necessity, or natural human right; a comprehension of such a difference in definition and perhaps application thereof can help to distinguish whether the definition is primarily a right brain hemisphere (emotional) attribute, or an analytical left brain hemisphere attribute. In either and both cases, we can witness a limitation in the concept even if an amalgamation between the two hemispheres is suggested to produce a third option.
Let us provide some examples of contrasted ideas set into the context of being aligned with the hemispherical differentiations of the brain, while also admitting a more definitive analysis of specific brain area for a given topic could be better scrutinized if our brain scanning techniques were more advanced. Hence, the following lists should be viewed as generalized associations. Let us begin with a short poem (which was presented on the previous page as well):
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Twos Why are lots of things in twos? Hands on clocks, and gloves and shoes, Scissor-blades, and water-taps, Collar studs, and luggage straps, Walnut shells, and pigeons? eggs, Arms and eyes and ears and legs-- Will you kindly tell me who?s So fond of making things in twos? John Drinkwater - 1882-1937 |
- Perhaps when the poem was written most clocks were being designed with only an hour and minute hand. With the advent of the second hand, we have three.
- While having a pair of gloves is customary, gloves can be fully-fingered, partially-fingered, or of the mitten type, though multiple specialized gloves are designed as well.
- As for shoes, we could mention the two tongues and our own tongue, not to mention that some people "run" at the mouth.
- While scissor-blades remain two, shaving blades have progressed from a single to a four-blade variety at this Jan. 15th 2012 writing. However, cooling fan blades remain predominantly three-bladed, lawn mower blades can have one or more, but ice skates still spout a single blade.
- Water-taps still come in the hot/cold designations although we now frequently see faucets designed with a single handle and in some stores, public restrooms have automatic dispensing water spouts.
- In terms of changing fashions, we don't see too many people wearing either collar studs or cuff links very often.
- With respect to luggage straps, most now have one or more zippers, with a few suitcases still sporting the old fold-down metal clasps.
- Walnut shells still come in two halves and most of us generally think in terms of opening a shell by divisionary terms, even if the "two" is not specific.
- At this moment, I'm not familiar with the quantity of eggs that pigeons may or may not have at any one time. It should be mentioned however, that pigeons very nearly went by way of the Dodo bird, but have made somewhat of a comeback. I can remember as a child they seemed to be everywhere.
- Most people are still born with two arms, eyes, ears and legs, though some people have attempted to carry a quantity of items suggesting three arms. Others say they have a third (mind's) eye and third (intuitive) ear. And I have had the occasion of witnessing some people using their mouth as if it were a third hand and still others using a cane as if it were a third leg.
But so much for the playful musing. Let step forward with the promised lists though there is some validity to inserting the following comments into the discussion:
Let us add the reference that polarized molecules can provide us with left and right versions due to polarized light. This mirror-image symmetry has an additional (third) possibility with an asymmetrical center. While some might want to argue for the existence of a "dominant" propensity to put things in twos (or multiples thereof), the co-existence of a third form suggests a pattern containing both "two" and "three", as well as the "one" when thinking in terms of a single molecule. In other words, there can be no "two or three" without a "one".
With respect to the right and left symmetry caused by polarized light (light that undergoes transformation of its waves, such as by being filtered... for example, by plant material), and that in the distant past when life was being irradiated from its earliest beginnings, it has been considered that the mirror-image symmetry we see in our bodies got its cue from these early beginnings. In other words, if we were to draw a straight line from the top of our head to the bottom of our crotch, thus separating ourselves into two; one side is a mirror-like image of the other side, though in reality there are slight differences. Nonetheless, with respect to the brain and thinking, there is a primitively-occurring inclination to see reality in terms of ambivalences that one might call opposites or dichotomies. Yet, a third-order functioning appears also to be present which acts as a type of mixture or referee, though we might use the terms counselor, psychologist, diplomat, parental figure, etc... Part of this difference is seen in brain hemisphere attributes that exhibits a similarity of proportion in our heart and lung. Specifically, the attributes of the left hemisphere are particularly organized with a "three" designation, and the right side is organized with a "two" organization. With respect to a stroke occurring in either the right or left side of the brain that will affect the opposite side of the body, the lung on the right side has three lobes and the heart has a tricuspid valve. The lung on the left has two lobes and the heart has a bicuspid (or mitral) valve....
Triune Brain Structure (Paul D. Maclean: R-System [Reptilian] ~ Limbic System ~ Neocortex) is commonly divided into two hemispheres denoted simply as Left and Right. Although it is commonly believed that the R-system is the most primitive, it is not well known that the right hemisphere's development precedes the Left Hemisphere, thus making the right hemisphere next in line in terms of primivity. However, in our present day and age, in terms of brain development, the developmental sequencing (related to duration/time) are close, thereby the attributes of the right hemisphere are considered equal to and very often superior to those of the left hemisphere. Hence, some people view them as diametrically opposed opposites, while others think they mutually beneficial partners that require a balance, and still others mix and match the hemispheres to the proportions which best fit their inclinations/predispositions.
Nonetheless, a "two" division of the brain suggests a primitive perspective though it appears that the arrangement is more easily understood by most than is a triune brain structure. Yet, let me not fail to include the perspective of those attempting to engage in a "one-up-man-ship" by suggesting the Three and Two ideas fit into a single brain. Such a "One" or holistic view is commonly used by those who have difficulty with either/or both, whereby they develop their own "Three" orientation that is masquerading as a "One". And most of all of them overlook the One - Two - Three differences as a "three" not only in terms of a maturational development, but also as a 3 in 1 ration.
Let me now direct your attention towards examples of our brain's so-called two-hemispheres, noting that the sources seem to customarily dispense with a recognition of the reptilian brain.
Take a look at the following examples which concern the old view that the attributes of the Brain can be placed into a two-patterned formula that generally reflect a dichotomy of one extreme or another. The newest perception is to view the right hemisphere attributes as being generally "two"-focused while the left hemisphere attributes are seen exhibiting a preference for three-patterned oriented.
Ehrenwald (1984) has classified important differences between the hemispheres as follows:
| Left Hemisphere | Aspect | Right Hemisphere |
| Abstract, linear, analytic | Thinking | Concrete, holistic |
| Rational, logical | Cognitive style | Intuitive, artistic |
| Rich vocabulary, good grammar and syntax; pose | Language | No grammar, syntax; prosody, poor vocabulary metaphoric, verse |
| Introspection, will, initiative, sense of self, focus on trees | Executive capacity | Low sense of self, low initiative, focus on forest |
| Reading, writing, arithmetic, sensory-motor skills; inhibits psi | Specialized functions | Three i's, music, rich dream imagery, good face and gestalt recognition, open to psi |
| Sequentially ordered, measured | Time experience | "Lived" time, primitive time sense |
| Relatively poor | Spatial orientation | Superior, also for shapes, wire figures |
| Secondary process, ego functions, consciousness; superego? | Psychoanalytic aspects | Primary process, dream-work, free assoc. hallucinations? |
| Aristotle, Appollonian mode, Marx, Freud, Koestler's Commissar | Ideal prototype | Plato, Dionysian mode, Nietzsche, Jung Koestler's Yogi |
(J. E. Bogen)
| Left Hemisphere | Right Hemisphere |
| Intellect | Intuition |
| Convergent | Divergent |
| Digital | Analogic |
| Secondary | Primary |
| Abstract | Concrete |
| Directed | Free |
| Propositional | Imaginative |
| Analytic | Relational |
| Lineal | Non-lineal |
| Rational | Intuitive |
| Sequential | Multiple |
| Analytic | Holistic |
| Objective | Subjective |
| Successive | Simultaneous |
| L-mode | R-mode |
| L-mode is the "right-handed," left-hemisphere mode. The L is foursquare, upright, sensible, direct, true, hard-edged, unfanciful, forceful. | R-mode is the "left-handed," "right-hemisphere mode. The R is curvy, flexible, more playful in its unexpected twists and turns, more complex, diagonal, fanciful. |
| Left Brain | Right Brain |
|---|---|
| Step-by-step reasoning | Mystical |
| Logical | Musical |
| Mathematical | "Creative" |
| Speaking | Visual-pictorial |
| Dominates right brain | Submissive to the left brain |
| Pattern user | Pattern seeker |
| Left | Right |
| Parsing Successive or Sequential Logical Expression Focal Perception (naming objects) Analytical Sense of Time Aggressive Discrete Representation Literal Linguistic/Symbolic Intellectual Verbal Intelligence Abstract Reasoning Quantifiable Knowledge Mathematical Calculation |
Holistic Simultaneous Gestalt Expression Orientational Awareness Synthetic Present Centeredness Passive Diffuse Representation Metaphoric Visio-Spatial (Configurational) Sensuous Performance Intelligence Concrete Perceptual Insight Existential or Experiential Knowledge Apprehension and Transformation of Patterns and Relations (Visual Thinking) |
Gestalt Thinking: Learning to see and record the world in terms of wholes, whose properties are so unified that they cannot be derived from their parts. Gesture drawing exercises attempt to record the gestalt without the analytical details.
Analytical (Visual) Thinking: The mental act of separating a visual whole into its elemental parts so that one or more of them can be studied in depth. In visual analytical thinking, mental skill must be expressed in an observable activity that communicates clearly the degree of learning; verbalization about the nature of the learning must never replace appropriate visual expression.
Related Concepts:Observation: The act of seeing, noticing and recording. In artistic terms, seeing implies that the individual takes full responsibility for the visual information that the eyes take in and the brain processes. If focused and critical attention is not paid to the information presented to the eyes and then recorded, however quickly and sketchy, observation becomes a fleeing mental activity which cannot serve as the basis for sound, extended visual thinking.
ETC:An acronym is created by Robert Mckin to describe the "feedback loop" necessary for graphic development of visual ideas. The letters stand for the three phases in the creative thinking cycle:
Expression, Testing, and Cycling ...back to expression.
Metaphoric thinking is a substitutional mental process in which implicit comparisons are made between qualities of objects which are usually considered in separate classifications. By poetically sensing and analogically developing the hidden connections between these normally separated qualities, the student is able to synthesize new mental constructs as forms that may be called creative. With the great over emphasis in education on making clear, linear, and literal connections, the synthesis of new evocative forms is an important productive thinking skill for all students who hope to do more than memorize information.
Related Concepts:
Quickness: The ability to grasp the essence of a configuration, whether in the imagination or exterior environment, with a quick thumbnail sketch.
Thumbnail Sketches: Small, quickly drawn configuration studies done more for the study of a visual thought than as a finished work of art.
Scaffold Thinking: A scaffold, in building construction terms, is a raised framework that can support the many things needed for the job. A visual scaffold is the structural basis of an artistic configuration (the main structural lines and forces) upon which any number of elements and details can be supported to accomplish the job of visual communication (an artwork's underlying composition or visual structure). "Grasping the Glimpse" of a gestalt and not concentrating on the many pieces of visual identifying information is the use of scaffold thinking in artistic thought.
Visual Thinking Definition:
Visual thinking refers to a group of generative skills that, when practiced with rigorous discipline, results in the production of novel and original graphic ideas. By seeking to discover visual forms that fit his/her underlying human experience, the student of visual thinking comes to know the world. This practice of thinking with images alone is stressed in NAB in order to balance the over-emphasis on verbal reasoning in other areas of education. Visual thinking is high order critical thinking conducted by imaginistic means alone. (Visual Thinking is that which relates to the arrangement and manipulation of configurational elements.)
Date of Origination: Monday, 19-Dec-2016... 02:56 AM
Date of initial posting: Monday, 19-Dec-2016... 09:32 AM
Updated posting: Saturday, 31-March-2018... 11:36 AM