Carole Brooks Platt, Ph.D.


Carole regularly attends the Science of Consciousness Conference in Tucson, AZ, except 2020, the year of the coronavirus. She has presented her research there, as well as at poetry events and other academic settings.


Her work was originally informed by Julian Jaynes's theory on the hallucinatory origins of poetry and prophecy in the right hemisphere of the brain.


She was an invited speaker at the Julian Jaynes Conference in Charleston, WV, in 2013, and, more recently, at a symposium on "Further Reaches of the Imagination II" at the Esalen Center for Research and Theory in Big Sur, CA, Nov 1-6, 2015. She was also invited to speak at the Poetry by the Sea global conference in Madison, CT, May 2016, but, unfortunately, was unable to attend.

On February 23, 2017, she presented her research at the Jung Center of Houston.


Her book, In Their Right Minds: The Lives and Shared Practices of Poetic Geniuses, brings together all of her literary and neuroscientific research and was an Amazon Hot New Release in Neuropsychology and Poetry / Literary Criticism.


Carole also provides research on hemispheric differences, atypical lateralization, and handedness at:

https://www.facebook.com/RightMindMatters/.


Carole is currently working on a book on female mystics and mediums, beginning with Joan of Arc, and female poets who felt aligned with Joan. Carole's popular stand alone article on Joan of Arc is available for purchase from her publisher:


https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/imp/jcs/2019/00000026/f0020011/art00008

The Eye of the Beholder


In 1976, Princeton psychologist Julian Jaynes attributed the voices of the gods to the right hemisphere in pre-literate civilizations, claiming that a residual dissociative effect could be found in poets, prophets, musicians, the hypnotized and schizophrenics of the modern age. In his book, he included drawings of faces with lop-sided smiles, mirror images of each other, that he had presented to 1,000 people in a test.

                                            A                              B

Jaynes wanted to test which hemisphere was judging the facial expression. Reading direction, apparently, is independent of reading a facial expression. In 1976, as today, research has shown that recognizing facial expressions is primarily a right-hemispheric function.* Jaynes found that 80% of right-handers chose B, while 55% of left-handers chose A, showing that more than half of the latter were using their left hemispheres to read the facial expression. He also thought that if you were completely left-lateralized, left-handed in every way, you would be even more likely to chose A.

I found this curious because I am left-handed in every way, plus left eye and foot dominant, yet I chose B without hesitation. It seems to me that Jaynes was not taking into account atypical lateralization. He may have been assuming that if you are left-handed your hemispheric functions would be switched so that your language was on the right and visuo-spatial functions, including recognition of faces and facial expressions, were on the left. In fact, we now know that there can be a number of different configurations for brain functions, including both language and visuo-spatial functions on the right. So, an extremely left-side lateralized person, like I am, could still chose B.

When I posted these images on Facebook, I had just read an article in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Scientific American Mind. The author, Richard Wiseman, was saying that we are ALL in some sense “Wired for Weird,” ready to believe in ghosts or see facial images where there are none, using our natural pattern recognition, agency-detection and facial recognition abilities. However, people with a highly active right hemisphere are more likely to claim they are clairvoyant, telepathic, have dream precognition or see faces in unlikely places. Beginning in the late 1990’s, Wiseman reported, neuropsychologist Peter Brugger has been finding that right-hemisphere dominant people, judged by a variety of means, are indeed more likely to believe in and/or have experienced paranormal events. Other researchers have also come to this same conclusion.

As it must be pretty clear by now, I’m very interested in the creative abilities and special skills of people who are right-hemisphere dominant for language. When I first presented this test to My Left-handed Facebook Friends** and general Facebook Friends, 16 people responded and many more since then. In the initial test, the responses split right down the middle. Eight people chose A and 8 people chose B. Six lefties chose A, as Jaynes had predicted, using their right hemisphere. The lefties and right-handers who chose B would have been judging the smile from the right. The right-handers who chose A were atypical, using their left hemisphere to judge the facial expression.

As the facial expression test isn't really testing for over-all dominance, I would like people who have taken it, and any others who would like to join in, to take it one step further. If you report your results in the comment section, please let me know as well if you are left- right- or mixed-handed. Here are 4 simple things to do:




  1. Cross your arms across your chest. Which hand is up?
  2. If you play a sport, do you use your left or right hand/foot?Walk up stairs. Which foot do you place up first?
  3. Make a triangle with your index fingers and thumbs together in front of your face. Look at an object in the distance closing each eye alternately. Which eye makes the object appear in the center of the triangle.
  4. When you write, is your hand position facing up or do you curl in your hand? For example,  President Obama sharply curls in his left hand; Clinton writes straight up. How about when you eat? Do you curl in your hand? Sometimes right-handers curl in their hands also, so they are probably right dominant for language. One of my sons, who benefits from my left-handed genes, curls in his right hand when he writes and eats.
Thanks to any and all who take part in my test! Please also let me know if you believe in or have ever experienced any paranormal events, like telepathy or precognition.


* [R]ecent research suggests that the right hemisphere may be best at processing patterns like voice contour, facial expression, aspects of size and quantity, gestalt aspects of the world which, from a developmental perspective, represent the way children begin to learn about cognitive areas like music, art, mathematics or language. This quote is from a great up-to-date article.
** Now a Facebook page called "Right Mind Matters" for all people with enhanced right dominance, whether left-, right-, or mixed handed.

74 comments:

Anonymous said...

Answers- face-A
Left hand up
Right foot up
Right eye centers
Up or not curved writing hand

I am right hand dominant. What do my answers reveal?
Deb Pfeffer

Right Mind Matters said...

Interesting, Deb. You're left dominant but must have something bilateral going on or you wouldn't put your left hand up. It only makes you more interesting!

Right Mind Matters said...

Plus you picked face A where one would expect B from a right-hander. I don't have all the answers on this. That's why I'm running the test.

nancy oarneire graham said...

I am mixed-handed (and thank you for the correct terminology!)

Cross your arms across your chest. Which hand is up?

Left.

Walk up stairs. Which foot do you place up first?

Left.

Make a triangle with your index fingers... Which open eye makes the object appear in the center of the triangle.

Right.

When you write, is your hand position facing up or do curl in your hand?

Facing up.

How about when you eat? Do you curl in your hand?

No.

nancy oarneire graham said...

I should say that I write with my left hand. I can write with my right hand legibly. I bat right handed and water ski right handed. I throw a ball with my left and catch with my right.

Joan Dempsey said...

I chose face B.
Crossed-arms - right hand up.
Stairs - right
Triangle - right
Hand up, not curled when both eating and writing.

Anonymous said...

I chose face B.
Crossed-arms - left hand up.
Stairs - left.
Triangle - right.
Hand not curled when eating or writing.

I am right-hand dominant.

Yvette Schneider

Anonymous said...

I chose face B

Crossed arms-left hand up, I think. Not sure about the "up" meaning, but right arm is on top with hand tucked under. Left arm slides under and left hand comes up.

Stairs--both. Depends on the stairs. Increased pace to try and up the unconscious element,but still alternates.

Triangle--right

Hand--no curl. With writing, right hand dom.

p.s. Your blog/research focus has a fascinating interdisciplinary focus. From the little I've read, you explore the mind/body relationship without the reductionist tone often found among analytic philosophers and neuro-cog. researchers.

Maurice said...

Hello again, Carol,

Mr. B. is by far the happier dude. (How can "A" be happy with a flattened head and distorted chin?)

Other simple things:

1. My left arm is above my right.

2. I tried several times (trying to not force an outcome) and the result was mixed but mostly left foot went upstairs first; but I'm afraid it depended on which foot was nearest the staircase as I approached. Going down stairs (what goes up...) was, interestingly, nearly always left foot first.

3. I didn't really understand how to do your eye-dominance thing, but I'm right-eye dominant.

4. I write lefty but don't curl my hand like Obama (or Ford). More like Clinton. I don't understand "facing up," though.

Perhaps these results will confirm that I am all mixed up. I write, draw, bat, golf, and eat (as Europeans do... knife in right hand) lefty. I throw and kick righty. I also write equally well and often on a blackboard with either hand/arm.

I've always viewed my mixture as being small-motor lefty, large-motor righty. Maybe that's not accurate, but I like it. So there.

Btw, I spent nearly an hour searching for my Origin of Consciousness which has moved with me since the '70s. I'd love to read it again. I remember how profound it was to me.

Maurice|eciruaM

Right Mind Matters said...

Thanks for such a complete answer (and for the backwards Maurice).

adax said...

Hello!
I'm a studing psychology in Poland. I've used Joynes's faces in my research. I've got datas from 80 people: double test for each: eye, hand, leg and ear and answers about chimeric faces. I've tried to find out, if there is a similar recognition with emoticons:
:-) Vs. (-:

If you are interested in results of Joynes's faces at my research, please let me know on e-mail: ada.kiestrzyn@gmail.com. I'll translate it and send to you with pleasure.

alexflowers said...

the eyes are different... this isnt an exact mirror image. something about the eye on the smile side of image A doesnt look happy like the smile side of image B

Right Mind Matters said...

Ada, How interesting that you did the test in Poland. I would love to see your results, if it's not to much trouble to translate them. I'll send you an email.

Alex, you're not the first to say that. Unfortunately, I must stick with Jaynes's drawings to be true to his results and any new ones we get. Try focusing on the nose, rather than either eyes or mouth. Just stay in the middle. Jaynes recommended this method anyway.

Anonymous said...

Hello Carole,

As Alex mentions above, I was immediately drawn to the left eye (face B) which struck me as far more open and happy than the right eye (in A). I chose B. Windows of the soul. . .

I'm right handed; left hand up with arms crossed; left foot forward on stairs; left eye centre.

I enjoy your blog,

Andrew

Right Mind Matters said...

Hi Andrew,

I looked at those faces again, not having done so for a while and I finally saw how different those eyes actually are. Again, I can't change Jaynes's drawings, but, interestingly, I must see the mouth first, rather than the eyes, which conditions my response. Still, in your case, it sounds like you have some atypical mixed dominance other than your typical right lateralization for facial expression.

Thanks for visiting and commenting!

Carole

Matt E said...

My answers are:

Face - B
Both Hands Down
Right Foot Up
Left Eye Open
Hand writes straight up
Am right handed

nina4667 said...

Face - B
Right hand up
Right foot forward
Right Eye Centered
Right hand up
I'm right-handed

Right Mind Matters said...

Left hemisphere dominant all the way! Just goes to show that we can't give the right hemisphere all the credit for the extended mind stuff from what I know of you; or else there are interconnections going on that can't be judged, like the size of your corpus callosum which connects the two sides of the brain.

Thanks for participating!

Anonymous said...

1. Arms crossed = right hand up
2. Left foot kicks and steps first. Right hand throws baseballs and shoots baskets. Left hand wears baseball glove and dribbles basketball. Batting, golfing, hockey (anything with a stick or club) is left handed.
3. Right eye centers.
4. Hand position is up, not curled.

I guess I'm mixed handed?

Now a question for you: I don't understand the facial expression test. You say people chose A or B, but what what was their choice based on? What question do you ask before you tell them to choose? I don't know what I'm looking for.

Right Mind Matters said...

You definitely have mixed dominance. As for the facial expression test, you're gauging which face A or B is happier, i.e. smiling. Notice the smiling side of the face is mirrored. If you say B, you're looking left from your right hemisphere; if you say A, you're looking right from your left hemisphere. B would be the typical response for a right-hander; A would be a more typical response for a left-hander. But read again above for what those differences can mean. Thanks for taking the test! Where do you stand on the poet/paranormal spectrum?

Anonymous said...

Re poet/paranormal spectrum. I have a degree in English and I write for a living (not poetry, though). I often realize, when an event happens during the day, that I dreamt about a similar event the night before. It happens often enough and the details are similar enough that it makes me feel weird.

Re the faces. They don't look like mirror images to me. The non-arched eyebrows are different. In picture B, the non-arched brow is lower (closer to the lid), making the face look more concerned. In A, the non-arched brow is higher, making the face look happier. Strange thing is, when I think of "picture A" without looking at the faces (as when I type the letters here), I want to say it's on the right, not the left. If I were labeling the pictures, I would swap the letters A and B. This is probably why I got so messed up filling in answer bubbles on those multiple-choice tests!

Right Mind Matters said...

You're not the only one who has said that and those who do are probably more mixed dominant than others. People have read some very specific emotions into those eyebrows. Try to focus on the nose without looking at the eyebrows, the mouth is key. Thanks for the dream precognition comment. I believe that's a function of increased right-dominance as well.

Julia Gordon-Bramer said...

Hi Carole,

I took the test! I am right-hand dominant, and I chose the B face.

For the numbered questions:
1-left
2-right
3- right
4- I curl my hand, almost severely, when I write and eat.

Finally, as an "intuitive," I have had lots of precognitive experiences. They are usually quite random but I became conscious of them as a teenager.

Right Mind Matters said...

Hi Julia, as I suspected you are mixed dominant, but the key here is that you curl your right hand in when you write and eat which means your language function is in your right hemisphere and also explains your intuition and precognitive abilities. You are one of the few people who spoke up about the paranormal connection, which also made your experience with Plath's papers all the more understandable. You have a very interesting mind!

Right Mind Matters said...

P.S. Julia, since you picked B your visuo-spatial function is in the RH with your language. Do you have trouble with map-reading, geometry, getting disoriented in the outside world?

Julia Gordon-Bramer said...

Oh, yes! My joke is that I live in the spiritual world, not the temporal/material one!

deepali said...

I am currently devouring this blog! Wanted to chime in with my answers here. :)

A.
1. Left hand comes over right bicep.
2. Left foot (also snowboard "goofy footed")
3. Left-eye dominant, my eye doc tells me.
4. I write like Clinton, but turn the paper 45-90 degrees (so bottom of the page is towards my left arm).

Left-handed very dominant (I honestly cannot think of anything I use my right hand for first).

No known paranormal activity. Though I am very lucky. :)

Right Mind Matters said...

Thanks for your interest and input, deepali. You are a lefty all the way, as I am!

Syd said...

Left-hand dominant.

Image B

Left arm over right when crossed.

Sports-both left and right
hands/feet

Stairs-Right

Triangle-right eye

Hand facing up when writing/eating, though I do angle the paper on which I'm writing.

No paranormal experiences that I can't rationally explain with a little thought.

I wanted to add that, in a high school aptitude test I came across recently, I scored in the 99th percentile in a category named "Reading Problem Solving," which I believe would be a left-brain function? Also, the math aptitude scores were painfully average...

Am I a mix of both hemis, but more right than left? So many variables...

Right Mind Matters said...

Syd, I just saw this comment. You are mixed but seem to lean towards right-hemisphere dominance to me, except that excellence in reading problem solving (if it was a linguistically presented problem that you had to solve mathematically). I think men often develop the right side in sports just because that's the main-stream way of doing it and it works better with the equipment. Of course, the left-handed odd-ball can through things off for the opposition too.

Sunny Snaith said...

Although this is a stale post, I thought I'd add my 2 cents ...

Like many of the others, I noted that the images are not identical. I think the test would be more accurate if Jaynes had truly mirrored the images.

The happy side of B has a more open expression whereas the happy side of A has a slight curve/flare at the end of the crease, looking furrowed / worried to me. So, I pick B as happier.

I write with my right hand but Mom says I had to choose because they were about even.

I wonder if reading direction affects the results? Jewish / Arabic / Persian.

1. Left arm up when crossed.
2. Kick with right but stairs with left.
3. Right eye centered but it is my stronger eye.
4a. Don't curl wrist but write away from chest, paper turned 90 degrees with bottom to right. On credit card electronic signing pads that won't rotate away, I do curl my wrist.
4b. Don't curl wrist when eating.

ALSO: When I took American Sign Language, they taught us to sign (esp. spell) with our writing hand ... but this never worked for me in practice because I almost always carried books/stuff in my right hand and so needed to sign with my left (also use keys with left hand for the same reason). I think my right is stronger but my left has more fine motor control.

I do believe in and have experienced paranormal / religious events.

Since you don't know me, here's a quick rundown:
Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0: Strategic, Ideation, Learner, Input, Intellection
Multiple Intelligences: 100% Logic/Math, 90% Visual/Spatial, 90% Naturalist, 80% Verbal
Jung/MBTI/Keirsey: very INTP Architect but also pretty INFP Healer (see next)
Cognitive Functions: Ti, Fi, Te, Ne
Enneagram: 5 9 4 so/sx/sp.
______

PSs:

When reading your description of right/left brains in the Quantum Consciousness Redux post, I really identified with the Right Side but, when looking at the image, I identified with more of the Left Brain items.

Regarding your posts on Shakespeare: He was a first cousin to one of my ancestors. The family was very intermarried (see my blog post My Family Tree is a Topiary!). I don't know that this info would alter any of your views but thought you might like to know.

Found your blog from your SciAm article comment on Learning Styles.

Right Mind Matters said...

Sunny, You sound very bilateral to me with your description, plus your mother herself said it was hard to decide which was your dominant hand. If fine motor skills are in the left, that would be more usual for a right-dominant person. With all the mixing (including your ancestors!), I'm not surprised that you have so many mixed features and are prone to the paranormal. A friend of mine is an Enneagram specialist and provided this for me:

head type that seeks detachment in the face of fear
Calm is 9
4 is creative and the desire to be unique
this is called Tritype
its a type in each centeer
head, heart, and body
the so means they are sensitiver to social position
and think of their place in group hierarchies
5 is towards systemizer on the Baron Cohen empathy systemizer vs empathy continuum

You sound like a very interesting person!

Gabriela Chile said...

Hi,

I'm female, right handed
Chose face B

1. left hand up
2. right foot
3. i close right eye, see the object with left eye through the triangle
4. i dont curl my hand

and i'm left face-hemisphere dominant. i'm a little weird, maybe thats why i'm such a nerd. i'd love a comment about this. cheers!

Elaine said...

Left hand up, right foot, triangle center through R eye (but I only use my R eye because I see double), No hand curling. My eye chaos (only using R eye because crossed eyes and surgery as a baby) is mixed with left hearing dominance--have lost more hearing in R ear than in left. So there we have the human mess--and somehow we still function. Thanks, Elaine

Right Mind Matters said...

Hi Gabriela,

You seem left-hemisphere dominant (right-handed, right foot forward, no hand-curling. Choosing B would make you right-dominant for faces, so I'm wondering why you say you are left-dominant there. Still, you put your left hand up when you cross your arms and that gives you a measure of bilaterality, which increases your chances for a little weirdness. I'm sure you wouldn't have it any other way!

Right Mind Matters said...

Hi Elaine,

You don't say here if you're left- or right-handed. But if you're right-handed, you sound mixed with the left hand up; and, if you hear better in your left ear, that's coming from the right hemisphere. As you say, the eye dominance was fallout from the surgery. But, I'm curious, do you have scoliosis? I think sometimes our anatomical quirks are forced by a genetic shift in our bone structure. I have scoliosis and also had "crossed" or what's called a "lazy" eye as a child (no surgery). They sorted out on their own, but I barely use my right eye.

Shawn M. Cohen said...

Hi Carole, you asked so here are the results: A. ) Right hand. B) Right foot C) right eye D) right handed and write with it open uncurled. If this rocks your world, I was born psychic and have been one all my life, nearly 58 years old. Professional Psychic Medium,for 31 years.Degree in Metaphysics. Now will this prove anything? In my opinion no but hey if it makes you happy, enjoy my results.:-) Shawn Cohen Http://www.tarotbyshawncohen.weebly.com

Right Mind Matters said...

Hi Shawn, thanks for taking the test and becoming a follower! I see all that right-sided evidence but you did choose the A face, which is the atypical result for 20% of right-handers, according to Jaynes's test. Similarly, in my test so far, 19% of right handers have chosen A. No, one result doesn't prove much, but that's why I'm running the test. But, someone as strongly psychic as you are, I would think, would have something different going on and this may be a clue.

Shawn M. Cohen said...

Ok Carole, I am not sure what it means but best of luck with it, thanks for asking me. :-) Shawn

Art Wolk said...

Hi, Carole, This is an old classmate from 6th grade: Mr. DeLeo's class. I was very struck by your description of right-hemisphere dominated people.
Like you, I am also left handed. I chose figure A. I am right-eye dominant, write like Clinton (and hold my fork that way), my right hand is up when I cross my arms, and I begin walking up stairs with my left foot. I've had two unbelievable (actually scary) precognitive experiences. I am what has been called a super-recognizer (i.e., able to see childhood photos of famous people and know who they are). Regarding artistic ability: I played classical guitar for many years, have had about 500 photos and two books published. I'm now writing fiction. I am studying statistical mathematics because I find it not just interesting, but fun. I want to become fluent in Spanish and have started down that path.

Right Mind Matters said...

Arthur! How nice to hear from you! I don't remember your being left-handed from back in the day, but I wasn't very cognizant myself of our specialness, being 11 years old.

it seems you've grown into a very interesting man, with very mixed traits: choosing A, shows unusual left-hemisphere dominance for the visuospatial, while your language and hand-dominance show right-hemisphere dominance, but not, unequivocally, since you cross your arms with the right hand up. The music and the photography, depending on what form they take could be left or right. Classical sounds left; what kind of photography is it. Are your books about your photography or something else entirely? The interest in math is very left dominant. It was in 6th grade that I met long division and I have been hopelessly inadequate in that domain every since. I couldn't major in psychology as an undergraduate because it required taking statistics! Hence, French, which was always easy for me. But my abiding interest is neuroscience combined with creative minds.

Now you want to learn Spanish. Bilaterals show the most varied talents, and are the most predisposed to paranormal experiences. I'd love to hear about your precognitions, if you don't mind divulging them.

Thanks for you comment!

Anonymous said...

Interesting subject.

B. Face

Left hand up in crossed arms

Step with Left first.

Left Eye Dominate

Right handed and write with hand up and not curled.

I bat and throw right handed.

I shoot a rifle left handed.

I also have Aspergers and an IQ of 137. Vocalizing ideas is very hard for me but writing/typing is easy. Math/Science is of course my strongest fields and am by employment an engineer.

Pete



Right Mind Matters said...

Interesting mind, Pete! With your excellence in math and science and the fact that you are an engineer, I would surmise a left-dominant brain. You are right-handed, but you show so much right-hemisphere dominance physically: your left eye, your crossed left arm up, and your left footedness. Your difficulty in speaking versus writing may point to bilateral dominance for language. I never ceased to be amazed at the varied possibilities of brain organization, which can convey extraordinary strengths against possible weaknesses. You may want to look at a previous post where I write about savant syndrome and hemispheric differences: http://rightmindmatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/right-brain-news-from-incessant-reader_27.html

Gabriele said...

I have a problem with "triangle" part. If I look at the object which is on the left side of the triangle(from the view with my both eyes), my right eye centers it, but with an object on the right side of the triangle, the left eye puts it in the center. If an object is approximately in the middle, neither of my eye can center it. I'm probably just doing the task wrong, but can you correct me?

Right Mind Matters said...

Gabriele, make the triangle with your arms outstretched straight in front of you. Close one eye, then the other. Which eye keeps the object in the center? Thanks for taking part in the test!

Matt M said...

I should caution that I have highly atypical lateralization aha...

My left eye is dominant and my left arm is the upper one when I cross my arms, but I write right-handed, and was right-footed in soccer. As to the stair test, this one is difficult to say because I move/walk fast so I typically jump up several stairs at once and the leading foot depends upon the layout of the staircase. When I write my hand faces upward, and my hand doesn't curl when I eat. An interesting thing I've noticed is that my brother and I seem to have been born with atypical lateralization, and our handwriting style is the exact opposite- his handwriting stopped progressing at about the third grade and mine continued to evolve and get better well into college. I'd say that this is primarily because neither of us are naturally right-handed but we just copied how almost all of the other kids were writing, since this is unnatural for us, a person would have to spend a lot of time working on it. All throughout school I worked on my writing because I'm a very visual person and lectures bore me so my writing is very precise, while he did what a lot of people do- once he knew how to write he stopped practicing, but since he was writing with the wrong hand his writing didn't improve as he matured.

I have experienced at least one event which could be considered precognition.

Laura Pauley Rich said...

Re: the faces, I chose B. I am left/mixed handed.

1. When I cross my arms over my chest, my left hand is up.
2. I'm right-footed.
3. Left-eye dominant.
4. When I write left-handed (or right-handed, I can do both), my hand position is facing up.

Right Mind Matters said...

Mixed handed, right-footed, left-eye dominant, but right dominant for the visuo-spatial, judging by your choice of B. I'm beginning to be amazed by how many people are atypically lateralized! Have you ever had precognitions, telepathy, etc.?

Anonymous said...

If by precognition you mean knowing things w/o being able to explain why? Yes. Often.

B.
Left hand on top
Goofy (left foot in front) (kick with right tho.)
Right eyed
Right handed, no curl.

Right Mind Matters said...

Anonymous, you sound quite mixed. I'm not surprised you've had precognitive experiences, meaning knowing that they're going to occur before they do; maybe dream precognition; or instantaneous knowing during a highly relaxed or highly stressful state.

Ambereyes said...

i chose image A

1-right

2- right *although i throw with my left hand*

3-right- right eye dominant

4- I am a lefty- and am a straight writer like Clinton

5- i have had several experiences of telepathy/paranormal experiences only after having a ET contact experience in 2012. i have however had pre- cog abilities most of my life.

Right Mind Matters said...

Yes, Ambereyes, you appear to have reversed dominance: left for the visuo-spatial, right for language. But you are also mixed: left-handed, right hand up. It's not surprising that you have paranormal experiences. Another interesting mind!

Anonymous said...

Ran across this blog and figured, why not!

Face B
Left hand dominant
1. Left arm up, Right hand up
2. Left hand, left foot, left foot
3. Right eye centered
4. Write like Clinton and I do not curl when eating.

5. Yes, a couple of OBEs out of the blue. I've been known to know what a person will say before they say it; can read outcomes before it happens, etc.

Donna P

Right Mind Matters said...

Donna, you seem to be mostly right-hemisphere dominant, except for that right eye. The fact that you chose B, as I did, is atypical for a left-hander, meaning your visuo-spatial function is mostly on the right as well, or maybe spread across both hemispheres. Are you an artist who is inclined towards the vertically linear? I say that because that's my visual preference in art. Your OBEs and precognition do show your enhanced right-dominance I'd say. Thanks for participating with your interesting results!

Anonymous said...

A
1. Left forearm up, right hand up.
2. Right
3. Left eye (right eye is nearsighted)
4. Straight

Right Mind Matters said...

Hi Anonymous. You didn't say if you were left- or right-handed; if right, your choice of A for the smiley face would be atypical; if left, more typical. Your dominant left eye points to the right brain, but the near-sightedness could be forcing that. In my case, my right eye is "lazy" most likely because I was right dominant in all respects from birth. These days, they put a patch over the good eye to make the bad one work harder. There is a window for this after which no change will occur.

Anonymous said...

Right-handed here. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Hey.
I write with my left hand. Eat with my right, but I remember eating with left as a kid and being scolded for it.
I chose image A.
Right hand up and left forearm up when I cross arms.
I keep my left foot first and bat with my left hand.
A distant object appears nearer the centre with right eye. With left eye, it gets almost out of frame.
I don't curl up when I write or eat.

Awaiting your analysis.

Pranav Ishar
Kashmir

Right Mind Matters said...

Pranav Ishar, it seems to me that you were born right-hemisphere dominant, since you are left-handed, left-foot dominant, originally ate left-handed, and bat with your left hand. Since you chose the A image, your facial recognition is most likely coming from the left, rather than the more typical right hemisphere. Your visuo-spatial function then may be in the left hemisphere with your language function in the right hemisphere. This would explain the fact that you do not curl your hand when writing or eating. The right eye dominance may be the result of using your left hemisphere for the visuo-spatial.

Sue Burke Harrington said...

Hi! At your suggestion:
1. Left
2. Both (my Dad taught me sports and he was right handed, but over the years I have begun to change to the left)
3. Left
4. curl writing, curl eating

Yes, some precognition.
Left power!

Sue Burke Harrington said...

I forgot to mention the faces. I find it hard to chose. They are the mirror image of each other... At first I was drawn to B, then A....

Right Mind Matters said...

Sue, you have a lot of right-hemisphere dominance since your left hand goes up when crossed your arms and you are left-eye dominant. Like many people, you learned sports right-handed, but your native inclination to the left is returning.

Two things point to mixed dominance, the fact that you could not really distinguish the smiley faces, so neither side was dominant for the visuo-spatial. Since you curl your hand when writing, your language is coming from the typical left hemisphere, rather than the atypical right. Your art itself appears very right dominant to me. Left-dominant art is vertically oriented and linear, not impressionistic and metaphoric, like yours. You have a neurodiverse mind!

Neto said...

This is very intesting. Thanks for the write up. I find really hard to chose but I chose the B. The A looks like sad to me. But I'm a converted left-handed it does influence the results, isn't? I think doesn't makes much sense answer the questions because I was using the right side of my body to everything since I thought I was right handed. All I can tell I feel my left hand is stronger so as the foot. Even so, I was using the right side to all stuff. But if you ask me to fight boxer my position is "southpaw stance". I learned it's natural for a left handed boxer. My left eye is the weakest one and barely can look at an object with that eye without my glasses. Something funny, when I was a child I remember having difficult with a plasstic gun because I always shot away from the target. I was using the right hand and I wonder if the eye dominance changed because right is lazy?

But I have couple of questions.

1. what if feel more confortable writing like Obama over Cliton, what it does means to a converted left handed?
2. I read that for men, the opposite foot of the dominant hand is bigger. Is this true?
3. What does the direction that one draw a circle tell anything about the hemisphere dominance?
4. Since that usually wiring with non dominant hand cause a lot of problems on the brain because it overload the non dominant hemisphere switching back to use the dominant hemisphere really make the problems go away? if so, how long would it take?
5. I read that if eye doesn't match with hand, the child might have poor writing. I guess the mine is poor because I was writing the wrong hand to write. But since that I'm right-eyed is a good idea change even my left eye is poor? I really would like to have a descent handwriting.
6. When biking, does the foot up on pedal match to the one used to kick?
7. With the over load of the brain and the use of the non dominant half of the brain, what changed on my brain?

I hope get an answer! thanks in advance.

Right Mind Matters said...

Neto,

If you find it hard to chose between A and B, this generally means that your brain is more bilateral for the visuo-spatial. I did parts of the blog test in person with two friends this weekend; one was a converted left-hander, neither could see a difference when doing the eye dominance test; the figure stayed centered with either eye. The questions you asked are interesting. I don't know all the answers, but maybe I can shed some light since I'm a left-hander myself.

If you feel more comfortable writing like Obama, your language function is probably more in your left hemisphere. I write like Clinton, which puts my language more in my right hemisphere. My left foot is bigger and my left hand too. My left eye is dominant and my right eye has been lazy since childhood. I have encountered several converted left-handers recently, and they seem to function fine. Having a bilateral brain can have it's advantages. You might read my last post on Leonardo da Vinci, who was ambidextrous, but still predominantly left-handed, and, of course, multi-talented. His handwriting was awful, but his art was sublime

As for the bike, I always push with my left foot, which I certainly would with a soccer ball as well. Just like walking or climbing, you'll use your dominant foot first. When I try to switch, I just can't maintain it. The left always overrules the right.

You may have switched sides, but you have gained some bilateral abilities. That's not a bad thing!

Neto said...

Thanks for your response! That's pretty interesting you're testing left handers! if they didn't have a eye-dominance does it means they are close to ambidextrous, isn't? can the switch of handedness do that? if you right eye is lazy and you're still left-eyed I guess I was born right-eyes then. Are there any advantages of being left handed and process the language on the same side? I read that who write like Obama use left brain for language but use both parts of the brain equally well. They call it "inverted left-handed" (http://ireadhands.com/inverted-writing.html). Those converted left handers that function fine, does it means they didn't have any of those issues? http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/being-lh/children/changing-left-to-right.html if so, I guess that they are close to ambidextrous and can't overload the other half of the brain? I found converted left handes, including myself, that feel the brain is "on the fire". After a while writing with my left handed I was ever better at speaking. I still do some effort to say a single word. Sometimes I have stuttering. I did very bad at school.
If those inverted left handers use both parts of the brain equally well, writing with non dominant hand doesn't result in overload of the other half of the brain, isn't?
I'm going to read the article about Leonardo da Vinci. One of the best engineer/inventor ever! (this phase is too left-brained, right? haha)

About the bike, I always push with my left too. Noticied left handed people do so. I tried to kick with my left foot and it's much better. About the size of the foot, I forget to mention that the research say it's true for man(and 80% of the population have left foot bigger) and the opposite is true for female. It matched to 3 friends I've asked yesterday: the left foot is bigger. Gonna ask some lefties (including the ones on my family) later.

I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions and with this badly written English (this isn't my native language). I've been searching for this subjects for a while (since I learned I was born left handed). And found someone who I can talk about and know a lot about it isn't that easy.

Right Mind Matters said...

I see you have done a lot of research yourself. I can add this: stuttering has been attributed to incomplete dominance, i.e. atypical lateralization:

http://www.stutteringhelp.org/atypical-cerebral-laterality-neural-risk-stuttering

Anonymous said...

Right hand is up.


If you play a sport, do you use your left or right hand/foot?Walk up stairs. Which foot do you place up first?

I think my right leg is dominant.


Make a triangle with your index fingers and thumbs together in front of your face. Look at an object in the distance closing each eye alternately. Which eye makes the object appear in the center of the triangle.

Left eye.


When you write, is your hand position facing up or do you curl in your hand? For example, President Obama sharply curls in his left hand; Clinton writes straight up.

I'm left-handed when I write. Usually the paper is perpendicular to me, but there can be ocasions when it is nearly upside down.


How about when you eat? Do you curl in your hand? Sometimes right-handers curl in their hands also, so they are probably right dominant for language. One of my sons, who benefits from my left-handed genes, curls in his right hand when he writes and eats.

I hold the fork with my right hand, altough it felt more natural to hold it with the left hand as a child.

Anonymous said...

Right hand is up.


If you play a sport, do you use your left or right hand/foot?Walk up stairs. Which foot do you place up first?

I think my right leg is dominant.


Make a triangle with your index fingers and thumbs together in front of your face. Look at an object in the distance closing each eye alternately. Which eye makes the object appear in the center of the triangle.

Left eye.


When you write, is your hand position facing up or do you curl in your hand? For example, President Obama sharply curls in his left hand; Clinton writes straight up.

I'm left-handed when I write. Usually the paper is perpendicular to me, but there can be ocasions when it is nearly upside down.


How about when you eat? Do you curl in your hand? Sometimes right-handers curl in their hands also, so they are probably right dominant for language. One of my sons, who benefits from my left-handed genes, curls in his right hand when he writes and eats.

I hold the fork with my right hand, altough it felt more natural to hold it with the left hand as a child.

I forgot to mention I was born left-handed.

Right Mind Matters said...

Anonymous, I'm glad you added that you were born left-handed, so you ate with your left hand, and you still write left-handed, but need to turn the paper around, showing left language lateralization. Your left eye dominance remains, but your right hand goes up with crossed arms and your right leg is dominant. So, despite being basically left-handed, you have mixed dominance. You didn't choose the A or B face. Can you add that for a fuller picture of your visuospatial dominance?

Anonymous said...

I did notice I hadn't answered.

1. left arm (when I cross my legs left is on top too, is this any related?)
2. left leg is better to kick. Left up first.
3. right eye. But I do other things with my left. It has better vision too.
4. Curl hand when writing but don't when eating.

Right Mind Matters said...

A or B face, Anonymous?

Unknown said...

The photos are not mirror images, so it's no wonder more people chose B. The pictures are very, very different. The eye area on B's happy side is much happier that the eye area in A's happy side, and we judge happiness more by eyes than by mouths I would say.

Right Mind Matters said...

Deanna, These are Jaynes's drawings, so I can't change them. But try focusing on the nose, not the eyes, because the mouth is the important feature.

Anonymous said...

I just came across this page. Very interesting. I have a unique situation. I was born left handed, trained as a child to eat right handed (European style) but eveything else completely left. I do not curl my hand in when writing but have to turn the paper.

I wear my watch on my left hand as my left handed mother taught me to do that as a way to tell my left from right.

Here is the interesting part: cataract surgery with replacement lenses changed me from left eye dominant to right eye dominant. I immediately chose A for the face. I have studied it and can't even see where B would be the happier image.