For over a century, people have gladly filed themselves into two camps: left-brained and right-brained. If your left brain is dominant, you’re logical and methodical. If your right brain has control of the wheel, you’re creative, emotional and artsy. Certain parts of the brain do control certain things. Language, for instance, is controlled by the left side. It was this discovery, made by neuroscientists Paul Broca and Carl Wernicke in the 19th century, that led to a wider Victorian obsession with “dual-brain theory.” Robert Louis Stevenson played upon it in his novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which the protagonists—one good, one evil—turn out to be the two personalities of one man. This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-six Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 22 Pattern & Repetition Science writer Philip Ball speaks on the intertwined relations of our brains and the patterns they perceive. Arts & Culture Issue 45 Yoga with Adriene The internet’s best friend is—finally—finding her own flow. Arts & Culture Garden Issue 45 Piet Oudolf The Dutch designer bringing life—and death—to traditional gardens. Arts & Culture Issue 45 Thomas MacDonell The conservationist transforming the Highlands. Arts & Culture Design Issue 45 The New Craftsmen From the Outer Hebrides to central London, Catherine Lock is celebrating the crafts heritage of Great Britain. Arts & Culture Music Issue 45 Gerard & Kelly On dance, domesticity and the giants of modernism.
Arts & Culture Issue 22 Pattern & Repetition Science writer Philip Ball speaks on the intertwined relations of our brains and the patterns they perceive.
Arts & Culture Issue 45 Yoga with Adriene The internet’s best friend is—finally—finding her own flow.
Arts & Culture Garden Issue 45 Piet Oudolf The Dutch designer bringing life—and death—to traditional gardens.
Arts & Culture Design Issue 45 The New Craftsmen From the Outer Hebrides to central London, Catherine Lock is celebrating the crafts heritage of Great Britain.
