Is it a myth?

Actually, no.

The thing is some people are more left-brained and others are more right-brained.

We found out that what determines which side has dominance happens before we're even born.

In the womb, when our spines develop, the way they wire up to our developing brains determines which side is dominant.

Why do we have a dominant side?

Lateralization.

This refers to some brain functions taking place in one hemisphere or one side, rather than the other.

Each hemisphere controls a different body side as well.

Your dominant brain side connects to your dominant body side.

The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body.

And the right side, the left.

This cross-wiring of neural pathway means, if you are left-handed you are more relying on the right side of the brain.

And again vice versa.

How does this affect our thinking style?

The left side and the right are responsible for very distinct thinking patterns.

Generally, the right brain thinks in pictures instead of words.

Using intuition and focusing on the bigger picture.

The left focuses on actual words.

Thinking in a very verbal way.

Honing in to details first, and then putting them together to form a whole picture.

It's widely agreed upon that the right side is creative and the left is logical.

How is language affected?

The left side is good for vocabulary, grammar, and literal meanings.

The right side is great for intonation and accentuation, basically, how we speak.

How is music heard in the brain?

We already know the right side is more creative.

Music processing takes place in the entire brain.

With the right side focusing on the melody, while the left side focuses on the motor scale your hands need to play the instrument.

Is it true that math is left-brain business?

We assume the left side, being more logical, does more math.

Things such as counting, adding, subtracting, etc.

The right, however, actually helps with estimating amount of sets of objects.

While your left brain might help you take a test, the right brain can tell you how many boxes are still on the delivery pallet at work.

Which side handles the memories?

The hippocampus is actually the part of the brain associated with memory.

And it occupies both sides of the brain.

The left side has been deemed more important for storing memories, as its strength is in retrieval.

The right side is good for reciting, like multiplication tables.

Which side will help me more in wilderness survival camp?

Depending on our situation, the sides we depend on change.

Studies have shown that in warm places with more calm moods and less risks to your life, the right side is better.

The left kicks in when it's cold.

The food is scarce, and threats to your life like unyielding polar bears are abundant.

Survival skills are based more on spatial awareness and logic.

Not creativity.

So the left side controls more of our ability to survive.

How does damage to the right side affect a person?

Damage to the right side could lead to self harm and even suicide.

An overactive right side can cause feelings of depression and angst.

It can also cause problems with language and perception, such as the lack of emotion while speaking.

How does damage to the left side affect a person?

Left-side damage affects vision.

There is a reduction in spatial frequency,

so we only see the larger parts of an image.

Speech also seems to be littered with grammatical errors.

This is called Broca's aphasia.

So, which side is superior?

It's important to stress that there is no right or wrong way to think.

Both sides have their advantages and simply represent two ways of thinking.

If you want to increase your brain power, work on both sides of your noggin.