Fixed versus Growth Mindset – Missing Something?

by Walter Oden

How work ethic improves all psychology

Background:

One of my favorite movies of all time is Forrest Gump  The first time I saw this movie, I was so drawn into “rooting” for Forrest.  It seemed that with every turn, good fortune followed Forrest.  The movie implies that a “feather” touched Forrest when he was young and that provided him with the “luck” he needed to overcome his cognitive challenges.

I have a completely different take on the movie.  I have seen the movie over 10 times.  I now see Forrest as a very talented human being.  Forrest has a higher “work ethic” than all people around him.  In fact, he was physically and mentally more capable of sticking to a process than other more cognitively capable peers.  The ongoing “joke” in the movie was that Forrest just kept working and trying “not know any better”.  His hard work and determination ALONE resulted in success in spite of what he knew or believed!

What is this all about?

During the fall of 2013, I attended a presentation at Laurel School of Shaker Heights, Ohio by Dr. Lisa Damour.  She is a high profile school psychologist and specializes in learning styles.  She is a colleague of Stanford psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck.

In the last year, the theory of Fixed versus Growth Mindsets has been published and touted as a positive approach to teaching students to be their best.  Dr. Damour’s presentation was nice enough to summarize the theory as follows:

Fixed Mindset:  How you are born is what you believe is your final place in the world.  You are threatened by feedback.  You are also threatened by others that are doing better than you.

Growth Mindset:  Wherever you are born is the starting point of your journey.  Your end game is after all the work has been done.  You see feedback as a positive piece in the puzzle.  You also look to others doing better than you as a model for your work pathway.

The link below goes directly to a site that summarizes the theory:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/

A theory leap that “feels good”

The Growth Mindset Theory makes a Utopian leap in that it implies that by changing psychology from Fixed to Growth, a person will naturally be willing to work hard.  I think for some of the population this is potentially true.  Yet, that population was likely on the “bubble” as a hard worker.  I wish everyone was willing to work hard once they felt good about their prospects.  As we explore below, that situation may not fit the whole population.

The unpopular truth:

No one feels comfortable having the “Nurture versus Nature” discussion.  Yet, there are certain realities to genetics and traits.  Although no one has successfully isolated the “work gene”, I would argue it exists.  It doesn’t take a scientist to observe society and notice the difference between WORKERS and NON-WORKERS.  This trait is generally unrelated to socioeconomic conditions.  In fact, human resource studies have consistently shown that what a person is paid is unrelated to how good or bad an employee they are.  Yes, a good environment and solid upbringing helps.  Yet, we can all cite examples of people that are just darn “lazy” even if they are from solid families.  Therefore, we have to realistically rate people by their inclination to DO WORK.  This could be called a WORK INCLINATION CONTINUUM or WORK ETHIC INDEX.

I challenge you as a reader to rank your co-workers based on WORK ETHIC only.  How about the students we teach?

How to score WORK ETHIC

There are two ways of looking at this continuum.  First, how do you rate yourself?  Clearly, few people will rate themselves as LAZY.  On the other hand, you might rate yourself as a procrastinator.  Procrastination does not always equate with LOW WORK ETHIC.  It simply implies TIMING of WORK.  Yet, perpetual procrastinators will be addressed in our analysis later.

The most important observations would be how am I perceived by others?  Perception of others is an important aspect of reality.

The Work Ethic Index

A real work ethic index would be some combination a SELF rating and PERCEPTION of the PUBLIC rating.  The highest index would be someone with a LOW SELF RATING and HIGH RATING from OTHERS.  This person is always looking to work HARDER because they don’t believe they are working hard enough.

The worst rating would be where I rate myself as a HARD WORKER and others see me as a LAZY BUM!

Impact on Fixed versus Growth Mindset Theory

The “Mindset Theory” is a good one, but it may need to account for a WORK ETHIC INDEX to address certain realities.  In an effort to include it, I have created a matrix that may attempt to merge the theories.  The reason this matters is that addressing WORK ETHIC may be more important than addressing mindset!

You will note in my matrix below, you are much better off having a FIXED MINDSET and HIGH WORK ETHIC INDEX than both of the LOW WORK ETHIC INDEX quadrants.  Since I am a full time tennis professional, I make some professional tennis player references.

The Oden Mindset Matrix

Fixed Mindset/High Work Ethic Index (Upper Left Quadrant – RED)

These people just work hard.  They overcome any limitations created by their lack of belief.  Often, this person is very error averse and hates mistakes.  Yet, because of their HIGH WORK ETHIC marker, they address their belief limitations by simply “going to work every day”.  The results simply come as a result of work.

Tennis Athletes:  Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.  Steffi was well known for her love practice much more than competition!

Fixed Mindset/Low Work Ethic Index (Lower Left Quadrant – BLUE)

This person says “I can’t because of” a lot.  This person also claims to “try hard” with very little evidence of this reality.  It is generally “someone else’s fault” for their plight.

This person simply sees their situation as stuck and there is no use in trying.  Improvement is futile.  Pushing this person into the GROWTH mindset might help.  On the other hand, this plan will likely fail due to a lack of WORK ETHIC.

Growth Mindset/High Work Ethic Index (Upper Right Quadrant – GREEN)

This person is very END GAME oriented.  They see the “what if” and are willing to “get to work” to achieve this vision.  These people take mistakes in stride and see them as all a part of the “bigger picture”.  They will likely take losses and immediately get back to work!

Tennis Athletes:  Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.  Listen to their post match interviews.  You will immediately hear their approach.  They are “learning” from their losses and have BIGGER goals to achieve!

Growth Mindset/Low Work Ethic Index (Lower Right Quadrant – YELLOW)

I like to call this quadrant the DREAMER.  They like to talk about all their big plans, with little evidence of action.  This person can have some great ideas and may appear to have a GOOD ATTITUDE.  On the other hand, without an injection of good old fashioned WORK, there will never be any movement.  This person is commonly called a PROCRASTINATOR!

Conclusions:

The Growth Mindset Theory is a really POSITIVE theory for learning.  I am very drawn and committed to positive coaching as a philosophy.  On the other hand, I have strong opinions on utilizing certain realities to improve results.  Sometimes the “truth” is more powerful than a “theory”.  As a final note, writing this article is an attempt to move myself out of the GROWTH MINDSET/LOW WORK ETHIC INDEX quadrant!  At least, that is how I rate myself. Thank your so much for your time and energy reading this!

Copyright Walter Oden and “I Have and Idea”, August 2013, All Rights Reserved.  Please see global copyright information on sidebar of this blog.

 

 

 

Autism, Spectrum Disorders, ADHD and Brain Theory – Part III

A condition or change in humanity?

 

By Walter Oden

Introduction:

In Part I and Part II of this series, we explored a hypothesis.  The premise was that ALL human beings fall on a BRAIN DOMINANCE SPECTRUM.  If you have been diagnosed ADD/ADHD or ASD, you might also be on this spectrum as a more severe Right Brainer.

Society both hails and discriminates against Right Brainers.  This final piece in the series will explore another hypothesis.  We will attempt to answer the “why”.  The most recent data says that 1 in 60 children born today will be on the Autism Spectrum.  I would suspect the data is more extreme for ADD/ADHD.  So what is happening?  Is it a result of long term environmental poisons?  Or could something else be in play?

Evolution of Man

I must disclose that my step father was a Cultural Anthropologist.  This career got me some great baby pictures in Kenya.  I spent one full year in Kenya.  I never met Simba the Lion.  Yet, being a toddler in Kenya changes you.  Evolution of man as a topic was bred into me.

I watched my dad make the argument for the evolution of man many times.  He was always struggling trying to get people to “perceive” long period changes in human beings.

The earth is estimated to be 4.5 Billion Years Old.  The earliest known fossils of modern man are from about 200,000 years ago.  Yet, Homo sapiens have decedents that may have stood up nearly 1,000,000 years ago.

Why do we care?

I would claim that modern man went through multiple evolutions since we became Homo Sapiens.  I am referring to evolution of our brain.  Early man needed a brain that was predator aware.  This same brain was focused on ONLY holistic things like FOOD, SHELTER and SURVIVAL.  Later man formed society.  This led to the creation of towns and cities.  This allowed man to start to focus on the details because his “holistic needs” were met.  Our brain evolved from holistic to detail oriented.  We started as RIGHT BRAINERS.  We evolved into LEFT BRAINERS.

2001 – A Space Odyssey

Arthur C Clarke changed the world with his books.  His books predicted a lot of world technology.  His most famous book was 2001 – A Space Odyssey.  Watching it today is a little difficult because we are all “special effect snobs”.

The thing that comes to mind is his metaphors for evolution.  Early in the movie, the apes were gathered and a Monolith appeared.  We later learn what it meant.  The Monolith was a marker for a change in evolution.

The Dawn of Man

The famous scene where the apes were fighting and one ape was able to use a bone as a weapon was a “tipping point”.

Famous Ape Fight Scene

Use of tools is always considered as a marker for man’s evolution from other animals.  Then, all at once he threw the bone up into the air in a celebratory rage.  As it rotated, it turned into a spaceship in a blink of an eye.  What was that scene trying to tell us?

Perception of Time

How we perceive time is relative to the observers of time.  We perceive time in batches of about 100 years.  That is because we tend to live no more than 100 years.  Our ability to perceive time periods longer than that is difficult.  In other words, we can read about events that occurred 1,000 years ago.  On the other hand, we can’t perceive that time period.

This perception of time is a paradox.  It is even more pronounced when talking about 1,000,000 years.  We know how to count to 1,000,000, but we still don’t get what 1,000,000 years ago really means.  That is what Arthur C. Clarke was saying.  One second we were apes banging on bones.  The next second, we are traversing space.

My Hypothesis

Is it possible that we are witnessing a change in the evolution of mankind?  What would that look like to us in the present day?  My contention is that a moment in time wouldn’t be observable except for one factor; the error rate.

I am fascinated with Linear Regression Models.  Those are the graphs where you plot a lot of data points.  Then, you draw a line to closely match all the data.

Imagine a linear regression graph with data points representing tendencies/traits of the human brain over time.  Then, add the line that most closely represents the scattering of all the data points.

Immediately, we would notice what we always notice on these types of graphs.  There are some data points that are WAY OFF the line.  In addition, at some point the data would have to start filling in points that ARE NOT WHERE THEY ARE PRESENTLY.  That means that some of the early data moving the linear regression would appear DIFFERENT from what is the current NORM.

What if humankind was going through a reemergence of RIGHT BRAIN dominance for its next role in the universe?  What if ASD’s and severe ADD’s were simply early data points on a longer period linear regression?

A possible explanation

One of my tennis students is named Justin Prindle.  He is a brilliant 8th grader that attends Solon Middle School.  Solon is a wonderful suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.  He and I have quite a few deep conversations.  He is a young theoretical physicist.  I am actually not kidding.  He has the sophistication of a college student majoring in Physics.  Justin is also a very talented tennis player.

I run a bus trip each year to the Western & Southern Financial Open in Mason, Ohio.  The trip from Cleveland is about 4.5 hours.  There is plenty of time to solve many of the world’s problems in the 9 hour round trip.  On the ride home I shared with Justin my theory connecting ASD’s and ADD’s to the Extreme Right Brain Spectrum.

His response to me was nothing short of miraculous.  He very simply put that if we wanted to start to solve BIGGER UNIVERSAL problems, we would need to stop worrying about each other.  In other words, our obsession with socializing and worrying about what other people think stalls our ability to create novel and new ideas.  He then went on to say that a typical person with ASD has a trait that is commonly described as anti-social.  If we all became anti-social, could we spend more time “thinking” and “solving” scientific unknowns?

By the way, Justin’s dream is to OWN a particle accelerator.  I also like to call him Sheldon.

Conclusion:

In my three part series, I have posed some theories.  They can be summarized as follows:

1) Traits common to Right Brain tendencies may intersect with traits common to ADD/ADHD and ASD individuals.

2) All human beings are on a brain hemisphere spectrum.  Some of those on the severe end of the spectrums may be diagnosed with “conditions” and or “disabilities”.

3) If there was an evolution in the human brain, we might only recognize the “error rate” or “new data” points.   That means that long period evolution can not be seen by the population that is evolving without a “monolith”.

4) As a species, we may need to have our entire population engage more right brain tendencies.  The human race has some gigantic planet scale problems.  These include hunger, disease, energy and climate.  We may need millions of right brain minds to creatively solve these problems.

5) Can we help those with extreme brain spectrum disorders today?  Perhaps with enough feedback from my readers, I will post a PART IV to this series and pose some ideas.

Thank you as always for your time!

Copyright Walter Oden & “I Have an Idea”

Original Copyright – September 2004

Publically presented on multiple occasions (Videotape record available)

Article prepared for “I Have an Idea” – April 17, 2014

Global Copyright Information on Sidebar

Autism, Spectrum Disorders, ADHD and Brain Theory – PART II

A possible connection with Brain Hemisphere Theory

by Walter Oden

Introduction:

In Part II of this series, I will pose a slow developing hypothesis.  I first want to talk about Attention Deficit Disorder.  You have no idea how hard it is for me to finish these kinds of articles!  In Cleveland, Ohio there is freeway know as 480.  That freeway travels over a large valley and town known as “Valley View”.  The bridge they built is hundreds of feet high over the valley.  I was driving on the bridge one day and looked up to see a billboard.  The billboard was an advertisement for a ADD/ADHD clinic!  Can you imagine the irony of all the people reading the billboard with ADD and then driving their car off the edge of the bridge?

The Set Up

In Part I of the series, I laid out a foundation for describing some brain science.  We learned specifically about Right Brain tendencies and traits.  I have struggled with ADD/ADHD my whole life.  On the other hand, things that have been a disadvantage as a child have become an ADVANTAGE as an adult.

Some Traits Considered Common to ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) & ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder) People

 Childhood ADD Traits

• Fidgeting & Squirming when seated
• Getting up frequently to walk or run around
• Running or climbing excessively when it’s inappropriate
• Difficulty in playing quietly or engaging in quiet time
• Always “on the go”
• Talking excessively
• Not paying attention or responding to details
• Sometimes poor grades in school

Adult ADD Traits

• Perpetually late
• Trouble with Deadlines
• Risky Driving
• Distraction
• Can’t Prioritize
• Trouble starting and completing tasks
• Emotional Outbursts
• Impulsive Behavior
• Blurting out
• Hyper-focus on things found interesting
• Brain Chemicals (Neurotransmitters) less active in parts of the brain that contribute to focus
• Relationship difficulties
• Financial Management Difficulties

The first connection

Notice the messaging in these traits?  Do you see the implication of negativity?  Yet, take a closer look.  You will see that each trait implies a lack or ORDER and PROCESS.  In fact, the implication is that the ADD/ADHD individual is either unable or unwilling to apply steps to complete a task.  Based on Part I, can you see that each trait could easily be explained by Right Brain versus Left Brain dominance?

Possible Discrimination

Who do you think created the lists above?  I would argue a LEFT BRAINED team of scientists.  Left Brainers are PROUD of their ability to organize steps in a process.  In fact, some of them tend to look those that can’t as “damaged” or “limited”.

We will now enter our biggest mystery; Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Common Traits in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)

ASD Traits as described by Autism Speaks

ASD Traits as described by CDC

• Insistence on sameness
• Resistance to change
• Difficulty in expressing needs
• Uses gestures or pointing
• Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
• Preference to being alone
• Aloof manner
• Difficulty in mixing with others
• Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled
• Little or no eye contact
• Less responsive to traditional teaching methods
• Sustained odd play
• Spinning objects
• Obsessive attachment to objects
• Apparent OVER or UNDER sensitivity to pain
• No real fears of danger
• Noticeable physical over activity or under activity
• Uneven fine & gross motor skills
• Non responsive to verbal cues
• Acts as if deaf, although has normal hearing
• Laughing and/or crying for no apparent reason
• Showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
• Tantrums

The Second Connection

It would be very difficult to make the jump from Right Brain traits to ASD traits without the intermediate step.  That step is the ADHD link.  Your prototypical Right Brainer has tendencies, but is capable of accessing and using their Left Brain.  ADHD individuals have a little less control and allow their Right Brain to “run more wild”.  Could ASD diagnosed people simply be a more extreme state of Right Brainism?  What would that look like in terms of brain lateralization theory?

My thought is that the Right Brain has completely taken over.  Now, access to the Left Brain is much more limited.  The highly emotional and disorganized Right Brain has free reign.  Imagine all the RIGHT BRAIN traits above at their most extreme!  In fact, imagine a person without the ability to do the opposite.  Could this be the answer?

A Metaphor

Remember the Angel and Devil in the movie Animal House?  Without listing dialogue, an Angel and Devil appeared and started a fight about a characters next move.  Could we replace the Angel and Devil with a Right Brain and Left Brain?

Angel & Devil Scene (Warning! For mature audiences only!)

I claim we fight that battle every day.  In a more common brain, there is regular consensus between the two hemispheres.  Decisions get filtered by other parts of the brain.  One such part of the brain in called the Prefrontal Cortex.  This is the part of the brain that helps with decisions.

Imagine a society without any law and order.  Now imagine a brain without any process or step oriented processing.  Could that be what happens when the Right Brain completely takes over?

The Blue Flag (Red Flags don’t apply here)

Based on my argument, I would like us to consider the following spectrum:

|——————|Left Brain |Right Brain|—-|ADD/ADHD Traits|—————| ASD Traits|

Could someone with an ASD diagnosis simply be the culmination of a RIGHT BRAIN and LEFT BRAIN not working together?  If the two hemispheres of the brain stop working together, who wins?  My opinion is the more primitive and emotional Right Brain takes over.  The “inmates taking over the prison”, without a plan, might be another metaphor.

Any Other Evidence – Bazinga!

Sheldon Cooper is the loveable theoretical physicist in the hit show The Big Bang Theory.  In that show, all of his friends are constantly dealing with “Sheldonisms”.  Sheldon is famous for knocking on a person’s door and saying their name 3 times.  He is obsessed with routines and consistencies.  Yet, he is considered one of the most brilliant minds in science.  Although not talked about much, Sheldon Cooper is definitely on the Autism Spectrum.  At the same time, he is the most loveable of all the characters.  We all root for Sheldon to develop.  My wife even thinks the series will end with he and Penny falling in love!

Sheldon has some extreme traits.  His mind for science is definitely in the realm of the Right Brain.  Yet, his obsession with details could be argued to be Left Brain traits.  Sheldon is obsessed with making the “right” decision.  He is driven by how his global choices impact the rest of his life.

Was Sheldon Cooper modeled after anyone?  I think he is a combination of Sir Issac Newton and Albert Einstein.  Both of these scientific legends had many traits that would be considered ASD.  Bill Gates has similarly been linked to ASD.  Why do we care?

The Rain Man – Don’t be confused by the details!

 There is a possibility to confuse and improperly catergorize traits.  Some traits may APPEAR to be Left Brain.  Rain Man (and even the Real Rain Man) had the ability to recall and see seemingly impossible details.  In fact, the volume of details made them seem “computer-like”.  But, with further analysis, they might be in fact Right Brain.

Rain Man Official Trailer

When Dustin Hoffman saw the toothpicks lying on the floor he said there were “246”….”

Dustin Hoffman in famous toothpick scene

Was that because he could “count” them?  One amazing trait of a severe Right Brainer is that they can SEE THE WHOLE picture before they see the details.  In that picture, they can see ALL THE DETAILS that make up the whole picture.  A traditional brain would have to painstakingly count each toothpick to get to the total.  Dustin Hoffman stared at the stack of toothpicks on the floor and knew how many were there.

The Real Rain Man – Kim Peek

 Have you ever seen the Real Rain Man do the perpetual calendar?  The Right Brain sees ALL CALENDERS in a giant picture.  Then, the internal vision of the RIGHT BRAIN moves down the catalogue and can pick out a detail from that picture.

Kim Peek had an amazing ability to read two pages simultaneously.  He used is right eye for the right page and his left eye for the left page.  That is very important when discussing brain lateralization.  Kim also had very specific damage to a large bundle of nerves that connect the right and left hemispheres of the brain.  That would mean that his hemispheres could work independently of each other.  On the other hand, it also meant that his two hemispheres didn’t work well together.

Brainman – Discovery Channel

The closest we have ever been to understanding the mind of someone with ASD was when the Discovery Science Channel profiled Daniel Tammet.

Daniel went on to be known as “Brainman”.  Daniel has computer like abilities.  He can learn huge sums of data and recall them with precision.  His most obvious ability is math.  He can complete long strings of multiplication and division in his head.

Daniel became very important to science because he exhibited many skills that were limited to ASD savants.  His early childhood had many of the same challenges of someone with ASD.  Yet, his social skills developed.  That meant you could ask Daniel exactly what he was thinking when he did a calculation.  The most telling trait was that he didn’t see numbers as strict numbers.  In fact, he saw all numbers (1 to 1,000) as distinct shapes.

Somehow, he could see how all these shapes interacted with each other to create an instant awareness of ALL numbers at the same time.

Daniel is considered the highest functioning autistic person ever studied.  If you watch the documentary, you can’t help to notice all his abilities stem from seeing “The Big Picture” in everything.  Daniel Tammet has superior Right Brain talent.

A New Diagnosis – Hyper Right Brain(HRB)  or Right Brain Spectrum (RBS)

I would like to propose a brand new diagnosis for parents.  Let’s assume children and adults have tendencies.  These tendencies include traits that either resembles RIGHT BRAIN TRAITS or LEFT BRAIN TRAITS.  That means the SPECTRUM is simply a Brain Dominance Spectrum.  Therefore, there are some of us that are too close to one extreme of the Spectrum.

Those too close to the LEFT BRAIN edge would appear to be severely OCD.  They would be paralyzed by the need to process everything in a specific order.  They would have a need to overly process everything.  The process would trump any bigger goals.

The severe RIGHT BRAINER might be diagnosed ADD or even ASD.  In that case, the Right Brain might simply NOT LET the Left Brain to operate.  The Right Brain is the loudest hemisphere in the room.  The Left Brain may be trying to talk, but is drowned out by all the noise.

Could ASD’s and ADD simply be a RIGHTBRAINISM?  If that is true, could we treat it differently?  Or do we already know about treatments?  More importantly, why are there so many cases of ASD’s?  The most recent data shows that 1 in 60 children are being born on the Autism Spectrum.  We will explore those questions in PART III of this series.

Copyright Walter Oden & “I Have an Idea”

Originally copyright – September 2004

Publicly presented on multiple occasions (Videotape record available)

Article prepared for “I Have and Idea” April 10, 2014

 

Autism, Spectrum Disorders, ADHD & Brain Theory – Part I

A Possible Connection with Brain Hemisphere Theory

by Walter Oden

Introduction:

April is National Autism Awareness Month.  I was in Panera and saw the display of puzzle pieces.  As a father of a daughter that has a long term educational “fight” ahead of her, I feel for EVERY parent that is dealing with a child with challenges.

I too have challenges.  I am the quintessential ADD personality type.  I probably used to be more ADHD.  Now that I am older, the hyper activity is less prevalent!

The premise of this article series is to have us consider a theory.  This theory has not been tested.  Nor does it provide solace for each and every family that works with a child every day.  This series of articles is simply a conglomeration of observations over the last decade.

Where it all started

In 2003, I was fortunate enough to compete and win the National Seminar Contest in the United States Professional Tennis Association.  The conference was held in Hollywood, Florida that year.  My presentation was called “Right Brain versus Left Brain Dominance and its Impact on Tennis and Humanity”.  I went on to present a developed concept in Palm Springs the following year.

At the end of my presentation, I put up some slides and noted a strange correlation.  This series of articles will focus on that correlation.

Some Background on Brain Lateralization

There is some recent contention whether or not there is really a RIGHT BRAIN versus LEFT BRAIN tendency.  One study in Utah argues that there is no difference between people and their brain function.

Utah Brain Study

Yet, much like the discovery of Dark Matter we need a lot more research to eliminate all the empirical and circumstantial data that says otherwise.

In addition, even if we try to separate personality traits from brain function, we would fail.  Where do personality differences begin?  Clearly, they stem from the brain.  In addition, we know for a fact that the RIGHT and LEFT brain are responsible for different functions.  So, until those conflicts can be worked out, I will present a brief summary of brain hemisphere differences.

A Summary

Early studies comparing hemispheric differences looked at patients with severe brain traumas.  Some studies looked at patients with separations between the two hemispheres.  Damage to the RIGHT or LEFT hemisphere of the brain exhibited pretty distinct differences in their post trauma abilities.  Those early studies prompted decades of research in brain lateralization.

In simple terms, the differences between the hemispheres might be summarized as follows:

LEFT BRAIN:  Responsible for Logic, Step Oriented Activities.  Organized language is often associated with the left brain.  Imagine someone using specific steps to achieve an end goal.

RIGHT BRAIN:  Responsible for things that are Holistic.  Feeling and Emotions are often connected with the Right Brain.  Imagine someone intuitively knowing the answer to a problem and then developing steps to prove their hypothesis.  The emotion of language could stem from the Right Brain.

Dominance and Implications:

My presentation at the World Conference on Tennis in 2004 was a theory of teaching tennis.  The premise included analyzing each individual student as either RIGHT BRAIN or LEFT BRAIN dominant.  You would then use that data to steer your teaching methodologies to maximize improvement.  I have presented on this topic many times.  Over the last 10 years, it has evolved.

My overall conclusion is that you can’t escape the premise of organizing people as either LEFT BRAIN or RIGHT BRAIN dominant.  Most of society has developed over the last 1,000 years because of our ability to use our LEFT BRAIN.  The ability to follow an organized process to create society has been critical.  Yet, some of our biggest discoveries were accomplished because of a tremendous access to the RIGHT BRAIN.  Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was a “belief” and “hypothesis” before it was proved.

Brain Access Theory

The perfect human brain uses both hemispheres seamlessly.  We need both hemispheres and both hemispheres need each other.  The key is to have ACCESS to your whole brain.  I see the two hemispheres like fraternal twins.  Fraternal twins shared a womb and have the same root DNA.  On the other hand, they can be completely different people.

The ultimate goal would be able to access correct parts of the brain to solve specific problems.  If I needed to follow and organized path to get a project done, it would be nice to have great Left Brain Access.  If I needed to visualize an unconceived solution to the universe, I would need the creative function of my Right Brain.  Then, there are the connections between the left and right hemispheres.  They need to share information to operate efficiently.  Current research is studying the neural pathways that connect the two hemispheres.

Some Possible Traits Common to Right Brain People

• Random
• Intuitive
• Holistic
• Synthesizing
• Subjective
• Looks at Wholes
• Uses feeling
• Big Picture Oriented
• Imagination Rules
• Symbols & Images
• Present & Future
• Philosophy & Religion
• Can “Get it” (meaning)
• Believing
• Appreciates
• Spatial Perception
• Fantasy Based
• Presents Possibilities
• Impetuous
• Risk Taking
• Identifies Patterns
• Assigns Value
• Follows
• Daydreams and Impulses
• Imagines
• Visual and Conceptual
• Negative Emotions
• Spontaneous
• Dreamy
• Suspicious
• Random

It’s all in the Messaging!

Listing the traits as I have above can be viewed a “strength” list.  In addition, the list is not great at describing the weight of each trait  It has become almost “cool” to be described as a “Right Brainer”.  Left brainers have lost favor in the public eye.  Who wants to be known as the model accountant or actuary?  It is much cooler to be the dreamer and idea person.

Part II

In Part II of my series, I will delve into the mysteries of ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Copyright Walter Oden & “I Have an Idea”

Originally copyright – September 2004

Publicly presented on multiple occasions (Videotape record available)

Article prepared for “I Have and Idea” April 10, 2014

 

Noah, the Ark & the Science of the Bible

How current science could change our view of stories in the Bible

By Walter Oden

Introduction

 “Noah” is a current blockbuster in a theater near you.  Russell Crowe plays the biblical legend, while Hollywood provides the special effects.  Thanks to this epic, we can finally visualize what that flood looked like!

There have been some rumblings from religious conservatives that the movie has not done the story of Noah justice.  These rumblings include not giving enough credence to God’s role in the story.   Should we care?

How true is the myth of Noah’s Ark?  I remember watching a movie in the 1980’s called “In Search for Noah’s Ark”. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076182/

This movie was awesome.  I wanted them to find the Ark so badly!  Yet, the question remains.  How true is that story of Noah’s Ark?  In fact, how true are the stories of the Bible in general?

Extinction Events

There tends to be agreement with the premise of a comet or asteroid destroying the dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.  They think they found the crater off the Yucatan Peninsula.  On the other hand, we have not been able to confirm a single significant event in recent history.  Everything is a theory.  One such theory includes what we call Caldera Volcanoes.  Yellowstone Park is one such “Super Volcano”.  They believe it has erupted in the past.  Scientists think one of these events would cause extinctions.  Yet, we can’t pinpoint an exact time of this kind of event.

The Premise

Dr. Mishio Kaku, Professor at City College of New York (CCNY), hosted a great show on WNIR (Radio Station in Akron, Ohio) called Science Fantastic.  In the spring of 2009, he presented some recent findings about the history of the Earth.

70,000 years ago evidence suggests that a drought changed the course of human history.  Geneticists are able to determine that there is a severe “bottleneck” in the population of human beings.  We can tell that because DNA has a regular schedule of mutation.  Dr. Kaku pointed out that chimpanzees tend to show large DNA differences between them.  Scientists believe these differences exist because they have had millions of years to mutate.  Our expectations would suggest that humans should show a similar mutation schedule.  Yet, this is not what the data is showing. 

There is an indication that the human race may have shrunk to only 2,000 people at 70,000 years ago.  That means we reached near extinction.  After this global event, our 2,000 ancestors spread out between two main regions:  Europe and Asia.  These 2,000 people populated the earth.

What does this mean to our origins?  Can we derive a new theory that merges traditional theories of evolution and the religious tradition of creationism?  Could we finally merge biblical stories in Genesis with science?

The Stories of the Bible

I have always theorized that the bible had a lot of truth if you could decipher the metaphors.  You have to consider sophistication level of the humans at that time.  Their perception of the world is based on that sophistication level.  Therefore, the way they would record “fantastic” events would be different than today.

Many biblical scholars claim that the bible is one of the most preserved texts in human history.  This means that its words are fairly consistent with their original versions.  Even through translations, scholars agree that the bible may look today the way it looked 2,000 years ago.  If that is the case, the words need to be read within the light of man 2,000 years ago.  Most history was handed down from story tellers generation to generation.

Story Telling & Metaphors

Remember the movie “Beyond Thunderdome?”  Mad Max returned to the movies.  This story started with a small group of children living in an isolated rocky paradise.  They had no connection with the outside world.  During the evenings, they would have “story time”.  The elder of the clan would tell the stories that were told to him.  Their existence took on a mythical and magical existence.  After three generations, the stories became supernatural.  Then, Mel Gibson showed up.  He was able to decipher their stories as describing a jet liner crashing in the desert. 

The Story Game (Chinese Whispers or Telephone)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers

When we were kids, we all played the story game.  This was the camp game where kids sit in a circle and whisper something to the kid next to them.  Then that child whispers the same message to the kid next to them.  This continues until the message works its way   around the circle.  The fun begins when the last child announces the message out loud.  By the time the message gets to the last kid, the message has usually changed.  What does this tell us?  Could stories have a mutation rate?  If that is true, there is information lost and gained throughout time.  So, details in the Bible could have mutated too.  This is in spite of what scholars say about its consistency.

The Legend of Paul Revere

http://www.historynet.com/paul-reveres-true-account-of-the-midnight-ride.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/01/arts/television/01wuhl.html?_r=0

There was a brilliant show hosted by Robert Wuhl on cable some time ago.  He was the comedian that played Arliss.  It was called “Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl”.  He would go on to college campuses and talk history with students.  He used comedy to make it very interesting.  In one episode, he talked about was the legend of Paul Revere.  By the end of his story, you learn that Paul Revere’s famous ride was “concocted” as propaganda for the revolution.  Paul Revere may have only done a 2 mile ride.  The real Paul Revere may have been an unknown postal worker named Israel Bissell.  Why do we care?  We care because real history is only as good as the people recording it.  This story was only 200 years ago.  Now try to get in the heads of authors from 2,000 years ago.

Perception of Reality

Is perception 90% of reality?  If you are a creationist that believes in the literal translation of the bible, you might be partially correct.  The story of Noah’s Ark could be true for the people living it!  A natural disaster could seem like it engulfed the “whole world” if there were very few people in the world.  Let’s not forget that there were NO forms of communication other than those that were transported by people.  So, surviving a gigantic flood caused by some natural disaster might be perceived as a punishment from God.

Possible Conclusions

The first conclusion has to include a summary of how stories get changed throughout history.  This list may include:

1) The sophistication of the story teller (explanations of natural disasters)

2) The perception of reality of the story teller (their awareness of the world)

3) The motivations of the story teller (did they need the story to sell a certain message)

4) The built in “error rate” of story telling over time (like the story game)

Yet, as more data comes in about the genetic history of man, we may be able to merge some theories.  What if the science that Dr. Kaku talked about is true?  If the world population of human beings went to only 2,000 people, we might think we were “sole survivors”.  Now, add a flood to a localized settlement and you have the story of Noah’s Ark.  I have not concluded one way or another about the biblical history.  On the other hand, I must consider ALL data in making conclusions.  As for Noah and his Ark, we may never know.  On the other hand, we have a great movie to go see!

Copyright Walter Oden & “I Have and Idea”,  April 2009 & April 2014,  All Rights Reserved (Please see sidebar for specific statement of Copyright)

 

Monopoly – lessons learned while moving a shoe

by Walter Oden

Background:

Call it reality, call it a fact.  That doesn’t mean I have to like it.  My son had a sleepover last night.  Guess what they wanted to do the whole night?  Play on their tablets.  You know what I mean.  If not Minecraft, it was  some other artificial interactive reality. They wanted nothing to do with the physical world.

Then, I got involved.  “How about a board game?” I asked.  “Board games are lame!”  What kind of world do we live in where a 9-year-old says “Board games are lame!”  I put my foot down.  “We are going to play Monopoly!”.  Here is the funny part, my son’s sleepover guest said “I have never played Monopoly at my house”.  Yes, there are some kids that have NEVER played Monopoly!

So, we started to play.  My 11-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son joined us.  Excluding the conflict caused by “I want to be the dog!”, we finally got started .  Guess what?  We had to quit for the night to begin again in the morning!  When the dust settled,  I realized how much we learned.  First, I am sharing some rules we use to make the game more exciting.  Second, I have some thoughts on the life lessons.

Alternative Rules:

• Dish out $1,500 per player in JUST $500 bills and $100 bills.  Make change as you go.  It saves a ton of time and is less messy with kids trying to organize their bills.
• All money that is paid for ANYTHING goes directly under the NO PARKING slot.  We all know why.  If you land on it, jackpot!  This makes that game have a little extra lottery feel.  All purchases of properties and such are included in this rule.  This huge injection of cash allows for quicker building and fast changes in the game leaders.
• Jail is a waste of time:  We make the fine $100 to get out and move on with the game.  I see it as a tax to pay and play.
• Emphasize trading properties:  We have a rule in our games.  You can negotiate trades on any properties at any time.  Yet, no money can be exchanged in the trades.  That means that are some deals that are not perfectly even.  Yet, it creates an emphasis on cutting deals to get monopolies.  You also start to root for a game mate to land on a property you need!
• Time Limits:  Monopoly is famous for never ending.  We set a strict time limit.  When time limit is reached, the game is over!  That creates an urgency to play fast and make fast deals.
• Winner’s defined:  We use a strict “cash on hand” rule to determine the winner.  That means the person with the most cash wins.  Yet, we do give a liquidation value to each property owned.  $100 per property is the maximum.  The premise is that property values are always a lot lower when you have to liquidate your assets!

Lessons Learned:

•  Good old-fashioned math:  Kids must do quick addition and subtraction to buy properties and pay rent.  They have to make change.  They even have to calculate 10% when they land on “Income Tax”.  Kids also start to visualize where their pieces will land based on the dice.
• Patience:  Monopoly forces kids to slow down and wait their turn.  This is no small lesson in the world of immediate gratification of electronics.  Kids learn to use this time to plan their next move.  This next move might be to negotiate a trade, or build on an existing monopoly.
• A little luck (good & bad) is part of the game: Much like life, Monopoly definitely has the luck element.  This is a great chance to teach children to celebrate good fortune, and not fixate on things that go awry.  It teaches kids to “laugh at luck”.  Luck becomes a whimsical spirit that simply exists in the universe.
• To spend or not to spend:  Since we have a time limit rule, it forces kids to think about whether to invest or not.  Clearly, there is a chance I will buy a lot of properties and be out of cash.  The risk is obvious.  First, I may not be able to pay my rent.  Second, time may run out and I may not have adequate cash to win.  Later, these analogies become great for how to save for retirement versus living in luxury today.
• When to take on debt:  I encourage the kids to mortgage their properties if they need the cash to invest and grow.  I love this feature of the game because we ALL HAVE MORTGAGES.  The goal is still important.  We want to pay back our debt and keep our properties!
• Taking a loss doesn’t mean losing:  This lesson is so hard to teach children.  It is really hard to teach in tennis! Children take losses very personally.  They never see the future.  I love how Monopoly teaches kids to hang in there until the end of the game.  Then there is the ultimate lesson.  Even when the game is over, there is always another game on the horizon!
• Giving up something of value is OK to gain something of value:  Ever seen the show “Hoarding”?  I almost get it.  We never want to let go of anything that might be valuable.  Monopoly, especially with the trade rule, teaches kids to give up things of value to acquire better things.
• Real winning is CASH:  This lesson is missed by many.  “Cash is King”.  The winner is the player holding the most cash, not the player that owns the most stuff..  What a great lesson in personal finance!

 Please share your thoughts!  If you roll doubles, you can comment twice…

Copyright Walter Oden, March 2014, all rights reserved (see global notice in sidebar)

The Inaugaral Post – Another Learning Style

I welcome you to another distraction.  As if we need another reason to validate the themes in the movie WALL E.  I begin with a premise about brainstorming.  How many of you get your best ideas when in a group?  There is much research into the concept of “learning styles”.  Some of these categories include Visual Learners, Auditory Learners & Kinesthetic Learners.  I would like to propose a new learning style:   The Social Learner.  This learning style has roots in the concept of brainstorming.  They are at their best when put into a committee or other group venue.  Even though this type of person is generally creative when they are alone, they tend to shine when in front of a group.  Their best ideas come out of group presentations.  Giving this learner a daily dose of group interaction will contribute to this learner’s happiness and sense of fulfillment.  Also, this learner is highly motivated by the recognition of others for their novel ideas and contributions to organizations.  Do you know this type of learner?  Have you fed this learner what they need?

My hope is this blog will lead to some great academic sharing.  Nothing is off-limits other than negativity.  One of my Facebook posts in the past was an article called “Facebook could become God”.  You can still find it.  The concept was that once the entire human race was connected and could seamlessly share ideas, it would become the equivalent of a neural net.  I even made reference to a “Collective” much like the Borg.  I always wonder if Bjorn Borg was involved in that Star Trek plot line?  Was it because Bjorn played like a robot?  Was it Bjorn’s resting pulse rate of 40?  In any case, thank you for playing!

Walt Oden

Copyright Walter Oden, March 2014, All rights reserved