Enhanced Hemispherical Task-Division

[Reverse Transcriptase]

I'm reading a sci-fi book ("Consider Phlebas" by Iain M. Banks), and ran across this bitchin idea.

His gimmick is he never sleeps. He has a... ah..." Yalson frowned, obviously looking for the right words. "... an enchanced hemispherical task-division in his brain. One third of the time one half sleeps and he's a bit dreamy and vague; the other third of the time the other half sleeps and he's all logic and numbers and when he's in action or whenever there's an emergency, both sides are awake and functioning. Makes it pretty hard to sneak up on him in his bunk.

And if we follow some variant MBTI theory: T&S reside in the left half and N&F reside in the right half.

So what do you think of this? If you could have the ability to do this, would you? As INTPs, what would you do while you were Ti/Si? How about Ne/Fe?

I wonder if my Ne/Fe would even be functional.... I think it would be like being drunk, without the physical uncoordination.

 

[Dormouse]

Ne/Fe... Good god. That would be awesome. Intoxication by oxygen and stardust.

Hmm, so my question is, does the other half of the brain remember what went on when it was asleep?

I think we would swing from being dreamy nutcase poet types to insane supervillainous scientist types.

 

[ckm]

Earlier today I was very much considering making a thread along these lines, as I am reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

Here's how the author broke the "modes" (L vs. R) down:

Verbal vs. Nonverbal;
Analytic vs. Synthetic;
Symbolic vs. Actual/real;
Abstract vs. Analogic;
Temporal vs. Nontemporal;
Rational vs. Nonrational;
Digital vs. Spatial;
Logical vs. Intuitive;
Linear vs. Holistic.

These are arranged with left-brain characteristics first.

I would summarise them as Te vs. Se. Alternatively, we could say J vs. P.

Question: I read somewhere that Si and Ni are judging functions as well as Te and Fe, and that Ti and Fi are perceiving functions as well as Se and Ne. It's certainly consistent with MBTI theory, but can anyone verify this?

Roger W. Sperry did some pretty awesome research on this topic, which is referenced to in the book. He determined the separate functions of the two hemispheres of the brain by doing tests on patients who had had their corpus callosum (link between the hemispheres) severed to combat their epilepsy. I can't find a link, so I'll type it directly from the book:

In one test, two different pictures were flashed for an instant on a screen, with a split-brain patient's eyes fixed on a midpoint so that scanning both images was prevented. Each hemisphere, then, received different pictures. A picture of a spoon on the left side of the screen went to the right brain; a picture of a knife on the right side of the screen went to the verbal left brain. When questioned, the patient gave different responses. if asked to name what had been flashed on the screen, the confidently articulate left hemisphere cause the patient to say, "knife". Then the patient was a curtain with his left hand (right hemisphere) and pick out what had been flashed on the screen. The patient then picked out a spoon from a group of objects that included a spoon and a knife. If the experimenter asked that patient to identify what he held in his hand behind the curtain, the patient might look confused for a moment and then say, "A knife". The right hemisphere, knowing that the answer was wrong but not having sufficient words to correct the articulate left hemisphere, continued the dialogue by causing the patient to mutely shake his head. At that, the verbal left hemisphere wondered aloud, "Why am I shaking my head?"

 

[Agent Intellect]

So, people should become more like whales?

 

[warryer]

This would be amazing. I hate having to shut down. Just think of the possibilities! It would be like night and day in terms of the way you view the world. Even schizo like?

I fully support the implementation of whale-people.

 

[flow]

So, people should become more like whales?

Ha I was just going to say that whales sleep with half of their brain at a time..

 

[Da Blob]

Earlier today I was very much considering making a thread along these lines, as I am reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

Here's how the author broke the "modes" (L vs. R) down:

Verbal vs. Nonverbal;
Analytic vs. Synthetic;
Symbolic vs. Actual/real;
Abstract vs. Analogic;
Temporal vs. Nontemporal;
Rational vs. Nonrational;
Digital vs. Spatial;
Logical vs. Intuitive;
Linear vs. Holistic.

These are arranged with left-brain characteristics first.

I would summarise them as Te vs. Se. Alternatively, we could say J vs. P.

Hmmm I took a course with Sperry in the mid-70's that more or less changed my worldview. I found the idea of having a 'silent mental twin' a radical alteration of my reality.

There are actually several more interesting ways to 'polarize" the different philosophies conducive to each hemisphere

Science vs Art
Reductonism vs Gestalt
rational vs 'super'rational
atheism vs Theism

etc vs etc

 

[Reverse Transcriptase]

Question: I read somewhere that Si and Ni are judging functions as well as Te and Fe, and that Ti and Fi are perceiving functions as well as Se and Ne. It's certainly consistent with MBTI theory, but can anyone verify this?

Nope, Fi, Fe, Ti, and Te are all judging functions. S & N are perceiving.

Even though we're INTP, the P just means that our first extroverted function is a perceiving function. And this we interact with the world in a perceiving way.

 

[Starfruit M.E.]

... When I took a test it said I was (in order of use) Ti Fi Fe Ne. So... Shouldn't I be judging? But I'm not...

EDIT:
Although I will say that my perceiving is low (around 68% on most recent test), I do not at all relate to the INTJ profile.

 

[hope]

I had a response typed up that i decided to delete after seeing Da Blob's excerpt's
confusing statements
digital? vs spatial
reductionism? vs gestalt
rational vs super rational ?

 

[Da Blob]

I had a response typed up that i decided to delete after seeing Da Blob's excerpt's
confusing statements
digital? vs spatial
reductionism? vs gestalt
rational vs super rational ?

Sorry,
The left and right brains use different operating systems.

The 'left brain' uses analytical software. Analysis is a process of destruction and making things smaller, this includes logic, rationality, reductionism etc. It is a akin to a microscope focusing on details.

The right brain uses a constructive type of software that looks at the bigger picture, Gestalt, holistic, creativity etc. It is akin to a telescope, the focus encompassing a wide range of input. However, it is questionable whether the word focus is even appropriate.