Magnum Opus

[Barrett Dorko]

At 462 pages, the main body of the book itself is formidable, but there are about 200 pages of notes beyond that to consider. The Master and His Emissary should transform our understanding of the cerebral hemispheres and what this split has accomplished. It can, if given a careful reading.

McGilchrist explains our way of apprehending the world with an intricate and carefully researched view of history.

On page 277 of the book:

By the time we reach the fourth century BC, each of the changes that had taken place in written language favoured a shift of balance inexorably towards the left hemisphere. In this way the history of writing recapitulates the history of language generally: originating in the right hemisphere, but translating itself into the left.

And now there’s a pod cast that makes all of this clear. I couldn’t recommend it more highly.

From the transcript:

What I learned about (the) differences between the hemispheres suggests that these actually underwrite two competing ways of being in the world and thinking about the world, only one of which we seem capable of entertaining these days.

Guess which side dominates these days and what that means.

Sound like anyone you know?