

168. A Brain Divided | Iain McGilchrist
62 snips May 13, 2021
Iain McGilchrist, a psychiatrist and author renowned for exploring the divided brain, shares fascinating insights on how our cognitive processes shape reality. He discusses the crucial roles of the brain's left and right hemispheres, highlighting their contrasting approaches to perception and attention. McGilchrist critiques the modern obsession with materialism, urging listeners to seek deeper meaning in life. He emphasizes the importance of community, nature, and belief for well-being, advocating for a holistic blend of science and human experience.
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Attention Creates Reality
- Attention shapes our reality, influencing the world we experience.
- The two brain hemispheres attend differently, creating distinct worlds.
* Hemispheric Specialization*
- Hemispheric specialization is an ancient, conserved phenomenon.
- The right hemisphere focuses on the unknown, while the left focuses on the known, influencing how we process novelty.
Ontological Landslide
- Patients with right-hemisphere strokes deny the existence of things they no longer attend to.
- This illustrates how attention shapes reality for the left hemisphere.