RSA Animate - The Divided Brain

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  • Cognition

Renowned psychiatrist and writer Iain McGilchrist explains how our 'divided brain' has profoundly altered human behaviour, culture and society. Taken from a lecture given by Iain McGilchrist as part of the RSA's free public events programme.

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  • 'Kicking so many cans down the road' and denying responsibility for our reckless overconsumption, relentless overproduction and rampant overpopulation activities today can fulfill nothing more than the promise of a disastrous future for children everywhere tomorrow. Choosing now to live outrageously greedy lifestyles that are patently unsustainable provides all the wrong lessons to our children, who must learn to live sustainably before it is too late for human behavior change to make a difference.

  • Yes!  WHO is doing this fabulous animation???

  • The closing message in this presentation was especially encouraging to me.  I am an American, one who has many gifts.  I know all too well that the servant is honored - not just honored in America, but worshiped - and the gift is not just forgotten, but has been ostracized.

    I think I chose to change my last name to Wolf in part because I feel as though I needed to be recognized as one who was ostracized as wolves have been (and are once again.)   I have, for example, recently discovered Kohlberg's concept of Mental Maturity, and realize I may well be approaching Transcendental Morality.  In my mind, this gives me significant responsibilities for the kinds of things that the RSA itself tries to accomplish in society.  But Americans only see arrogance and how vastly different I am, and treat me accordingly.

    Understanding ourselves and our brains is vital to society.  And given the overload of information shoved in our faces daily through every sensory channel available; it is difficult to sort through what is virtual, what is real, and what is patently false.  For that, I am grateful for these animations; but not only for their content and being information I know I can always count on as being useful and relevant; but also because I discovered the RSA through the RSAnimate video series.  In fact, I am going to try to become a fellow, as the work I do, rather in a vacuum as I reside in America (it's much worse than I think most Brits imagine), is quite parallel to the missions of the RSA it its fellow.

    I hope that these animation can continue, and that they can retain their original purpose and effectiveness.  I do agree that they have become a bit complex, and do advocate for a return to simplicity so that the message isn't garbled.  But I am quite grateful to the animator and those who help put them together and hope that they can continue to enlighten, and hopefully attract people to the RSA and its missions.

    For my part, thank you for this video and the series, and for the work you fellows do.

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