RSA, please do NOT listen to all of the people who comment that it's too dense - these are the people who expect everything to be delivered to them in bite-sized, ELI5 levels. It's actually a very small minority of people (the vocal minority) who complain about complexity and denseness. Many of these people are either non-English speakers, or autistic. The silent majority - aka most of us who do not comment, fully appreciate the scope and depth of the illustrations and the level of detail you put into this animation.
Why are you bringing autistic and none-English speakers into your insults? Pretty ironic you claim to grasp the context of the video when your immediate reaction is to be intolerant and obvious about the people you consider less intelligent then yourself.
Evidence, please, for those people being foreign and autistic? If there's no evidence provided, we have the right to assume your comment is just racist and ableist.
This talk is extremely compelling. I am a physicist, and the discussion in this video well describes the problems we encounter today in physics: we are able to explain so many separate phenomena, but we are completely incapable of arriving at a Theory of Everything. Science - as with many things - has become increasingly left-brained: devoted to the mechanics of fragments, and not the analysis of the whole. I feel it is important to note, especially in my own brain, the left brain does not shave off that which disagrees with its model, but at every instance is prepared to abandon its model of the universe and reality in favor of a more suitable description. Perhaps I am more right-brained than others, but I feel the most important thing is to be at all times willing to reformulate one's conception of life and everything pertaining thereto. I think my right brain governs all arguments, in contrast to this video. Although admittedly, this was not always the case, but rather I have arrived at this outlook through trial - and, more importantly, error. In any case, the majority of this talk rings true, and in fact, offers an explanation for much of the troubles I encounter in scientific research. I think that any intellectual should, as a starting point, endeavor to understand the workings of their mind, and I think that this video will greatly aid such studies.
Try "The mechanism of mind" by Edward de Bono. He gives some excellent ideas about how evolution has made our minds work in linear fashion and how we can use a different mode of thinking to understand both ourselves and the world (as we percieve it) around us. btw I think a theory of everything is wrong headed, unnecessary and ultimately futile. The Newtonian macro world is measurable and predictable while this is not the same in the micro or quantum world. I think science should be about "the mechanics of fragmants" (and how they fit and work together) maybe the "analysis of the whole" is more of a philosophical topic.
Take LSD if you want to open up that right hemisphere. As far as I see it, the whole wanting to know more and progress in this left handed rationality is just a front for mankind to reach his own understanding and take pride. As the saying goes, "Don't think less of your self, think of your self less."
@@Silverhand290 1. The "quantumworld" is just as predictable and measureable as the macroscopic world, it just is fully unintuitive to us. 2. A theory of everything doesn't aim to combine newtonian and quantumphysics but to combine relativity and quantumphysics. Actually both relativity and quantumphysics do contain newtonian laws and will predict everyday physical phenomenons actually more precise(though with a lot more math) than newtonian laws ever could. 3. The issue with the theory of everything, and why you don't actually support your claim on it being wrongheaded is, that we need it to find out everything about "mechanics of fragments" because the Toe would answer us 3 unsolved questions: how gravity works on the quantum scale? How Singularities behave? And tied to that what was before the big bang.
The only way to do an analysis of the whole is to take it apart and put it back together. "We are able to explain so many separate phenomena, but we are completely incapable of arriving at a theory of everything" And your point here is? What you are saying is like "yeah I know RAM and an HDD functions, but I am still not able to understand how a whole PC functions" yeah obviously because there are more pieces to a PC than an HDD and RAM. The reason why we can't complete the toe puzzle is because we are missing pieces, not because we put them in the wrong order.
I know this comes 6 years after your original comment, and i hope all is well:) but i also ponder this; the Theory of Everything. Would you say that this theory is the ultimate goal or purpose in science we hope to arrive to in the future?
This is the most important video I’ve ever seen on TH-cam. I can’t begin to express how much darkness was extinguished by the light of this particular lamp. Thank you to everyone who had anything to do with this.
Hi all. Thanks for all your comments about the new RSAnimate. We've taken on board all of your feedback re: the speed of this latest one - it certainly is a lot more visually dense and information-heavy than the previous ones. We'll try and scale it back and slow it down a bit when we make the next one. In the meantime, enjoy rewinding and pausing your way through this one - there are loads of little jokes, characters and references to find...
"We'll try and scale it back and slow it down a bit when we make the next one." Nooo, this is my favourite RSA so far! Please scale it up and speed it up again! It's no use if it does not challenge the brain, it's so beautifully rich, and where's the problem in usage of pause function? I want to learn! I want depth! Defy dumbness! Thank you!
Please don’t do that! Every time I watch this I chuckle at the clever jokes and comments of the illustrator… it would be a great loss to cut any of them out.
This is NOT too information heavy! It is exactly as 'heavy' as it needs to be! This is so easy to understand and anyone who has problems with it is just plain lazy. I just slow it down a bit in the video, you can choose the speed.
This has been by far my favorite one yet. I've been trying to explain this concept of the importance of being comfortable outside of elementalism for a long time, but this did a much better job than I ever have.
You've done an unintentionally admirable job of illustrating the point about modern society being overly focused on the purely technical/mechanical (e.g., AC, light bulbs, radio, robotics,etc.), while missing, or, depending on your p.o.v., indulging in a willful ignorance of the bigger picture; of the overall meaning of these technical successes in relation to the wider conception of reality (i.e., the complex interaction between networks of human & nonhuman systems needed to create a radio).
Holy ****. This explains perfectly the decrease circulation in my brain to the right hemisphere, and how it so strongly emphasized the left. The profound effects on me, my personality, and how I saw the world. Crazy. Thank you.
What hemisphere are you on, northern, or southern? From where you stand now, if you imagine a straight line from your position going through the center of the Earth, and then continuing on to a point on the opposite hemisphere diametrically opposed to your present point of position, and then you stood there on that point, would the twist on your brain still be counterclockwise?
I LOVE this little video so much! I'll be sharing it with friends. It is very densely packed with information. Not everyone has an awareness of even what the corpus callosum actually is, for starters. Not everyone will accept what is being said as likely to be true. I think he's got some very good points. I read a book about the "modular brain" long ago -- It's a much better way to understand the brain that the simple "left-right" divide. This video deals with the whole package of concepts.
This is sheer brilliance, thank you! This shows succinctly the two different ways the brain learns; through listening and watching; through verbal communication and imagery. As I am more of a visual person (who needs information given to me in an ordered and logical way), I found the animation brilliant! Thank you! Just...thank you!
Excellent piece, just excellent. The kind of thing I love to send round to my students for a fun surprise when they've been working hard -- works wonders to consolidate what they need to know about themselves as learners..
01:18 Inhibitory function of the corpus 01:28 Why is the brain asymmetrical 02:39 Animal use their left and right 03:10 The differences in human 04:16 Enablement for empathizing 05:25 We need to simplified version of 06:36 Summary 07:57 The history of western culture 09:10 Rationality is grounded in a leap of 10:32 The hall of mirrors effect
Studies agree that as nonverbal cues are sent and received, they are more strongly influenced by modules of the right-side neocortex (esp. in right-handed individuals) than they are by left-sided modules. Anatomically, this is reflected a. in the greater volume of white matter (i.e., of myelinated axons which link nerve-cell bodies) in the right neocortical hemisphere, and b. in the greater volume of gray matter (i.e., of nerve cell bodies or neurons) in the left. The right brain's superior fiber linkages enable its neurons to better communicate with feelings, memories, and senses, thus giving this side its deeper-reaching holistic, nonverbal, and "big picture" skills. The left brain's superior neuronal volume, meanwhile, allows for better communication among the neocortical neurons themselves, which gives this side a greater analytic and intellectually narrower "focus"
This animation is simply brilliant. I have read The Master and His Emissary and this is a beautiful summary of the book... but also stands on its own!!!!
1st intuit, notice what you feel about a problem, and what you feel would be a better situation, Right Brain, then with your Left Brain create a solution that helps that situation come about. LB solutions without RB connection is destroying our world, for it is "thought" the superficial is sufficient. Terribly wrong. Read the children's book, The Giving Tree. We must return to the tree before he did, when it was too late, but at least was reassuring for his soul.
Absolutely brilliant, people watching this have to understand that this is not simply composed of pure facts, it includes an interesting perspective towards the two hemispheres as well.
I think he should have explained about the corpus callosum more, because although it inhibits information, it does still facilitate communication between the two hemispheres. The way that he explained it was very misleading.
+Monet Anero When he said it inhibits information, I got the impression it does allow communication except where it inhibits. His wording worked for me.
From what I understood he's saying the same thing but from another angle. Instead of saying it allows for communication, its assumed it already communicates but by inhibiting it consequently facilitates. The function has been taught to in an analogy of a music conductor where he is saying it is an inhibitor. Perhaps the result is the same with organizing communication but the way to that is different.
you will learn about the word non-apophotic, and that is the relationship the brain has, and the CC is both a wall and a bridge simultaneously. I agree with sammy2629 "read his book" and "amazing" he is right! :)
Were does he say that it inhibits information? He say it inhibits the other hemisphere, not information. Inhibition literally just means downregulating the activity. And by that it sends information. The brain is actually quite weird with it mechanics and how it employs inhibition and activation and stuff. Just to give a really simple example: the mechanism which allows you to see actually works by the light inhibiting your retina cells, stoping them from sending a signal, that is then translated by a logic gate(made up of nervecells) which is turned on when the input signal is turned of, and from that it goes more or less into your brain through and gets processed into an image
And just to prove the point that we honor the servant more than the gift, the whole thing ends up on smartphone followed by corporate branding. Abstract object contained.
This was not only a compelling watch but also profoundly emotional to me. In my youth I might have been the poster child for intuitive thinking but I have recently become trapped in that 'hall of mirrors' precisely because it insists of its own version of reality as being the only one because it is the only comprehensible one (by its own standards). A bit of a wake-up call, perhaps... in any case it is certainly something for me to ponder. I always thought I could resist societal bias, too...
The schools, the institutions , they were/ are indoctrinating us into the system , always have been , that's how the schools were invented in the first place for indoctrination !
This, so far, is the most balanced and well-argued video of all the RSA videos. In quite a few of them, despite making excellent points or delivering a potent and powerful message, the speaker would have a tendency to make misleading/false over-generalizations. Of course, they all accomplish the goal of provoking and encouraging critical thinking, but this particular video fills my scientific satisfaction with BALANCED arguments/statements.
I've always thought that the popular "left/right brain divide" theory, was not a solid one. Yet it became widely accepted as truth. This is a powerfull argument opposing this. Bravo!
very good - but this animation, compared to the others, have way too much extra infos to read. it's hard focusing on a complicated topic while reading all the extras in it - especially when english is not your mother language!
You can pause and continue, as if pausing is one hemisphere, and continuing is the other. And your (un)pause button is the corpus callosum sitting between pause and continue :)
There's a deep interesting point made in this video regarding the two hemispheres of the brain and how we use them to interact with the world around us. On the one hand we can use our brain so empathize with others and see them as no different than ourselves, yet in the other hand we can use our brain to manipulate others and the world around us. If we were to take this same principle and apply it to real world situations like ones concerning race and social economic inequality, then of one were to empathize with others then we would cease to see someone my the color of their skin, But rather
It's more than worth seeing again and again; in fact, it's worth seeing many more times than thrice, for the information it illustrates is so vast--and the narrator speaks so fast about intricate concepts--that to fully internalize the information, it should be part of a daily dose one tiny bit at a time! It's almost like reading Augustine.
Very much so. I think jaynes's book is so important for consideration. Its impressive how much information can be obtained from learning from our ancestor's myths and writings.
I was thinking the exact same thing. I don't know of Jaynes was correct, but his book is fascinating even if he's completely wrong. I believe he was definitely on to at least something very important.
Extraordinarily keen assessment. It's because things exist in relation to one another that it's important that we understand how each of the individual objects works, but we can only make sense of how individual things work based on their relation to one another.
This is the most revolutionary research in the RSA Animate series so far, I think. McGilchrist has basically revived the cultural studies. His book is subtitled "The Making of the Western World;" now I hope to see a supplement and his ideas on "The Making of the Eastern World." Fascinating.
+Olaf Von Hambergler -after reading Bjarne Stroustrup's book 2.5 times and after having to wait about 2 years too, before for my brain showed any sign of getting comfortable with that subject. I can tell you that I did have to also read McGilChrist's book 2.5 times, but it was the doctor's book, that I feel helped me to ever understand the inventor of the C++ language's book....So I would say yes, but with effort and patience. Your question is important and 100% valid...not just because I thought the exact same thing.
I was really impressed by his conclusions from 8 minutes on. Amazing graphics accompanying the facts. Great updates on what I learned in my Psych class a few years ago.
Wow! One of the best things I've seen in a long while! I applaud the animation as well, not just for it's incredible art, but it served to help me understand a lot of information very rapidly and kept my divide brain engaged:)
@Avray1967 Sorry, I'm afraid not. But you can listen to the audio or watch the full lecture on our website rsa (dot) org/events, and if you fancy delving even further into the ideas, McGilchrist also has a book on the same subject...
Having read your book Iain, this was a pleasure to watch and I smiled at the ending, thanks it was a great read, very insightful and a life's work. Much admiration and gratitude for piecing it all together. Well done RSA.
i like how this video is the best combination of both hemispheres of the brain - concrete visual representations played to an audio track of an abstract theory :)
I like it better when I get to watch him drawing more instead of the pictures just appearing. Still, I love all these RSA Animates. I also don't have any problem with the ad at the end.
Very compelling, especially as someone who specialises in human learning and how we make decisions based on patterns. A lot of this is explored in complexity adaptive systems theory which is something I use a lot in business. However I think it's also important to note this isn't advocating the generalised "I'm a left/right brained person" belief people love to hold, because humans love to simplify and categorise - in fact, he clearly says several times we use both. We've fed one more at a societal level, which isn't the same as individual identification for justification of specific actions, which can be quite self-fulfilling. Very thought provoking and still in line with a lot of the neuroscience which dispels the myth - as ever, the truth lies in balance somewhere between the two, and it's always more *complex* than that!
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a rational servant. We have created a society that honours the servant but forgotten the gift." 😔
"We have created a society (all of us, and our ancestors) that has honored the "servant" (narrow mind, rationality)... and forgotten the gift (of intuition, freedom, and evolved interconnectedness)." Time for everyone to learn how to fulfill themselves inside (again) through meditation and self-knowledge = Happiness, health and wholeness.
Guys, this is TH-cam! Once you've seen the video and would like to read the bits of info that were displayed too fast, just hit replay and pause to your heart's content...
A lot here to ponder. I like the bits that layout how the brain works and get us beyond the old ways of thinking left brain-right brain. I don't know that I buy into all the historical and societal implications and conclusions. I worry about what might be just really way too big of leaps from how the brain works to a commentary on western civilization. Which just makes me want to read the book and understand more!
Just Brilliant! Both the talk and the animation. Can't get enough of this stuff. I also watched the video of the entire talk he gave. Worth checking out!
Wow this helped me be less egotistical, by first (years ago) giving a logical argument to trust the open/feeling/interpreting part of my brain rather than interrogating it, then once I could trust my feelings I can now trust other people without ‘interrogating’ them. ... ah I might have some apologies to make.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
For anyone who hasn't already read Iain McGilchrist's book - The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World - then do it! It is easily one of the best books I have ever read.
Having just panned Barbara Ehrenreich's RSA presentation "Smile or Die" - hated it. I am so happy to find that I am not simply a jaded critic. I loved Iain McGilchrist's presentation. He puts in holistic context the hyper-rationality of which we hyper-rational humans are so capable.
This is brilliant! It's been on YT for 12 years apparently but I only just heard of it! (Why wasn't I told!??! ) I have doubts about the job of the corpus callosum being to inhibit communication between hemispheres though. IMO it's more likely that the capacity of the hemispheres to mediate and construct those aspects of the world they specialised in, respectively, was greatly increased by the expansion of the cortex of each and the white matter (axons) which interconnects all the different specialised regions of cortical surface. IE there has been a trade off between the relative advantages of intra cortical signalling capacity versus inter hemisphere integration. If this be true, it seems to me that a major limiting factor has been the maximum size of infant head which can be successfully extruded by a birthing mother! As a "mere male" having watched three of my children being born, I am convinced that the marsupial system is far superior! 😮 😊
RSA Animate is like nothing I've ever experienced, and I love it. This one was slightly too fast for me to be as enjoyable as previous ones... But I still found it enjoyable and educational. That sums it up - education has never been so enjoyable. But... I'll have to watch it a few more times to get everything, which makes me feel a bit stupid. I'm nitpicking of course, but I hope they slow down the pace just slightly in the future!
@Zoggthefantastic @mrghostrider The reason the format is so successful > it provides both to visual and auditory representation of the same information simultaneously > both regions of the brain associated to interpretation of the content will be processing in a complementary manner > it was at a pacing I believe that everyone can comprehend, the pace of speech In this video the visual content doesn't follow the auditory, therefore separating your focus in multiple directions.
Being a left brained, German descendant, homo sapiien, this opens up all kinds of associations in my mind, This has historical applications to geopolitics, let alone my own history, which blow me away.
RSA, please do NOT listen to all of the people who comment that it's too dense - these are the people who expect everything to be delivered to them in bite-sized, ELI5 levels. It's actually a very small minority of people (the vocal minority) who complain about complexity and denseness. Many of these people are either non-English speakers, or autistic. The silent majority - aka most of us who do not comment, fully appreciate the scope and depth of the illustrations and the level of detail you put into this animation.
Perhaps they favour the servant, more than the gift, and expect others to do their learning for them…
Why are you bringing autistic and none-English speakers into your insults? Pretty ironic you claim to grasp the context of the video when your immediate reaction is to be intolerant and obvious about the people you consider less intelligent then yourself.
this is the most autistic comment I have ever read
Evidence, please, for those people being foreign and autistic?
If there's no evidence provided, we have the right to assume your comment is just racist and ableist.
I dont think autism is the reason for people complaining. Although I agree broadly.
"we created a society that honnors the servant, but has forgotten the gift" - Now thats something to think about.
Thanks for posting this. Please don't change it, shorten it or edit it. It's perfect as is.
Who else gets goosebumps while listening to this man speak? Then the visual art is just the icing on the cake!
This talk is extremely compelling. I am a physicist, and the discussion in this video well describes the problems we encounter today in physics: we are able to explain so many separate phenomena, but we are completely incapable of arriving at a Theory of Everything. Science - as with many things - has become increasingly left-brained: devoted to the mechanics of fragments, and not the analysis of the whole.
I feel it is important to note, especially in my own brain, the left brain does not shave off that which disagrees with its model, but at every instance is prepared to abandon its model of the universe and reality in favor of a more suitable description. Perhaps I am more right-brained than others, but I feel the most important thing is to be at all times willing to reformulate one's conception of life and everything pertaining thereto. I think my right brain governs all arguments, in contrast to this video. Although admittedly, this was not always the case, but rather I have arrived at this outlook through trial - and, more importantly, error.
In any case, the majority of this talk rings true, and in fact, offers an explanation for much of the troubles I encounter in scientific research. I think that any intellectual should, as a starting point, endeavor to understand the workings of their mind, and I think that this video will greatly aid such studies.
Try "The mechanism of mind" by Edward de Bono. He gives some excellent ideas about how evolution has made our minds work in linear fashion and how we can use a different mode of thinking to understand both ourselves and the world (as we percieve it) around us. btw I think a theory of everything is wrong headed, unnecessary and ultimately futile. The Newtonian macro world is measurable and predictable while this is not the same in the micro or quantum world. I think science should be about "the mechanics of fragmants" (and how they fit and work together) maybe the "analysis of the whole" is more of a philosophical topic.
Take LSD if you want to open up that right hemisphere. As far as I see it, the whole wanting to know more and progress in this left handed rationality is just a front for mankind to reach his own understanding and take pride. As the saying goes, "Don't think less of your self, think of your self less."
@@Silverhand290 1. The "quantumworld" is just as predictable and measureable as the macroscopic world, it just is fully unintuitive to us.
2. A theory of everything doesn't aim to combine newtonian and quantumphysics but to combine relativity and quantumphysics. Actually both relativity and quantumphysics do contain newtonian laws and will predict everyday physical phenomenons actually more precise(though with a lot more math) than newtonian laws ever could.
3. The issue with the theory of everything, and why you don't actually support your claim on it being wrongheaded is, that we need it to find out everything about "mechanics of fragments" because the Toe would answer us 3 unsolved questions: how gravity works on the quantum scale? How Singularities behave? And tied to that what was before the big bang.
The only way to do an analysis of the whole is to take it apart and put it back together.
"We are able to explain so many separate phenomena, but we are completely incapable of arriving at a theory of everything"
And your point here is? What you are saying is like "yeah I know RAM and an HDD functions, but I am still not able to understand how a whole PC functions" yeah obviously because there are more pieces to a PC than an HDD and RAM.
The reason why we can't complete the toe puzzle is because we are missing pieces, not because we put them in the wrong order.
I know this comes 6 years after your original comment, and i hope all is well:) but i also ponder this; the Theory of Everything. Would you say that this theory is the ultimate goal or purpose in science we hope to arrive to in the future?
This is the most important video I’ve ever seen on TH-cam. I can’t begin to express how much darkness was extinguished by the light of this particular lamp. Thank you to everyone who had anything to do with this.
This really is one of the best speeches of all time.
Hi all. Thanks for all your comments about the new RSAnimate. We've taken on board all of your feedback re: the speed of this latest one - it certainly is a lot more visually dense and information-heavy than the previous ones. We'll try and scale it back and slow it down a bit when we make the next one.
In the meantime, enjoy rewinding and pausing your way through this one - there are loads of little jokes, characters and references to find...
It has lots of replayability. I enjoyed pausing it and reading all of the in-jokes. The illustrator clearly put a lot of thought into it.
"We'll try and scale it back and slow it down a bit when we make the next one."
Nooo, this is my favourite RSA so far! Please scale it up and speed it up again!
It's no use if it does not challenge the brain, it's so beautifully rich, and where's the problem in usage of pause function?
I want to learn! I want depth!
Defy dumbness!
Thank you!
I’ve come back to it tens and tens of times over the last decade.
Please don’t do that! Every time I watch this I chuckle at the clever jokes and comments of the illustrator… it would be a great loss to cut any of them out.
This is NOT too information heavy! It is exactly as 'heavy' as it needs to be! This is so easy to understand and anyone who has problems with it is just plain lazy. I just slow it down a bit in the video, you can choose the speed.
This has been by far my favorite one yet. I've been trying to explain this concept of the importance of being comfortable outside of elementalism for a long time, but this did a much better job than I ever have.
You've done an unintentionally admirable job of illustrating the point about modern society being overly focused on the purely technical/mechanical (e.g., AC, light bulbs, radio, robotics,etc.), while missing, or, depending on your p.o.v., indulging in a willful ignorance of the bigger picture; of the overall meaning of these technical successes in relation to the wider conception of reality (i.e., the complex interaction between networks of human & nonhuman systems needed to create a radio).
someone should make subtitles in diferent languages, so that this (rsa animate) could get to more people all over the world.....
Erryui
Divyanshu
Holy ****. This explains perfectly the decrease circulation in my brain to the right hemisphere, and how it so strongly emphasized the left. The profound effects on me, my personality, and how I saw the world. Crazy. Thank you.
This gave my brain a sharp twist - counterclockwise.
I lol'd
What hemisphere are you on, northern, or southern? From where you stand now, if you imagine a straight line from your position going through the center of the Earth, and then continuing on to a point on the opposite hemisphere diametrically opposed to your present point of position, and then you stood there on that point, would the twist on your brain still be counterclockwise?
This is one of the best intellectual oratories in the whole of TH-cam
Since childhood I’ve been feeling that I was gradually forgetting the gift. It was painful. It still is.
Take some magic mushrooms. You’ll remember.
I LOVE this little video so much! I'll be sharing it with friends. It is very densely packed with information. Not everyone has an awareness of even what the corpus callosum actually is, for starters. Not everyone will accept what is being said as likely to be true. I think he's got some very good points. I read a book about the "modular brain" long ago -- It's a much better way to understand the brain that the simple "left-right" divide. This video deals with the whole package of concepts.
This is sheer brilliance, thank you! This shows succinctly the two different ways the brain learns; through listening and watching; through verbal communication and imagery. As I am more of a visual person (who needs information given to me in an ordered and logical way), I found the animation brilliant! Thank you! Just...thank you!
Or, a society that honors the mind over the body, thinking over feeling, doing over being, etc. Thank you so much for this.
Excellent piece, just excellent. The kind of thing I love to send round to my students for a fun surprise when they've been working hard -- works wonders to consolidate what they need to know about themselves as learners..
I'm 15 years old and instead of stay up late playing video games im watching these videos and cant seem to tear myself away from them.
01:18 Inhibitory function of the corpus
01:28 Why is the brain asymmetrical
02:39 Animal use their left and right
03:10 The differences in human
04:16 Enablement for empathizing
05:25 We need to simplified version of
06:36 Summary
07:57 The history of western culture
09:10 Rationality is grounded in a leap of
10:32 The hall of mirrors effect
Studies agree that as nonverbal cues are sent and received, they are more strongly influenced by modules of the right-side neocortex (esp. in right-handed individuals) than they are by left-sided modules. Anatomically, this is reflected a. in the greater volume of white matter (i.e., of myelinated axons which link nerve-cell bodies) in the right neocortical hemisphere, and b. in the greater volume of gray matter (i.e., of nerve cell bodies or neurons) in the left. The right brain's superior fiber linkages enable its neurons to better communicate with feelings, memories, and senses, thus giving this side its deeper-reaching holistic, nonverbal, and "big picture" skills. The left brain's superior neuronal volume, meanwhile, allows for better communication among the neocortical neurons themselves, which gives this side a greater analytic and intellectually narrower "focus"
Bloody brilliant.
This animation is simply brilliant. I have read The Master and His Emissary and this is a beautiful summary of the book... but also stands on its own!!!!
My right hemisphere is intrigued by this, however the left hemisphere is finding it complicated and not very useful....I am struggling.
are you still alive?
@@ramushsteinuts9318 yes still here
@@Analyticalinadream that's awesome man. good vibes
Isn't it the other way around?!
1st intuit, notice what you feel about a problem, and what you feel would be a better situation, Right Brain, then with your Left Brain create a solution that helps that situation come about. LB solutions without RB connection is destroying our world, for it is "thought" the superficial is sufficient. Terribly wrong. Read the children's book, The Giving Tree. We must return to the tree before he did, when it was too late, but at least was reassuring for his soul.
Absolutely brilliant, people watching this have to understand that this is not simply composed of pure facts, it includes an interesting perspective towards the two hemispheres as well.
Anyone else notice Moss from The IT Crowd at 9.37?
I didn't know who Moss was, but I immediately thought of Richard Ayoarde when he was drawn in.
These animations and lectures together bring tears to my eyes.
How sublime the horror of this Art. Truly we are a gifted and beautiful race.
Kudos.
I think he should have explained about the corpus callosum more, because although it inhibits information, it does still facilitate communication between the two hemispheres. The way that he explained it was very misleading.
+Monet Anero Yeah, it's odd that he didn't mention that.
+Monet Anero When he said it inhibits information, I got the impression it does allow communication except where it inhibits. His wording worked for me.
From what I understood he's saying the same thing but from another angle. Instead of saying it allows for communication, its assumed it already communicates but by inhibiting it consequently facilitates. The function has been taught to in an analogy of a music conductor where he is saying it is an inhibitor. Perhaps the result is the same with organizing communication but the way to that is different.
you will learn about the word non-apophotic, and that is the relationship the brain has, and the CC is both a wall and a bridge simultaneously. I agree with sammy2629 "read his book" and "amazing" he is right! :)
Were does he say that it inhibits information? He say it inhibits the other hemisphere, not information.
Inhibition literally just means downregulating the activity. And by that it sends information.
The brain is actually quite weird with it mechanics and how it employs inhibition and activation and stuff. Just to give a really simple example: the mechanism which allows you to see actually works by the light inhibiting your retina cells, stoping them from sending a signal, that is then translated by a logic gate(made up of nervecells) which is turned on when the input signal is turned of, and from that it goes more or less into your brain through and gets processed into an image
This video is so intelligent I had to go over it a few times(arguably) to fully get it.
And just to prove the point that we honor the servant more than the gift, the whole thing ends up on smartphone followed by corporate branding. Abstract object contained.
Man, I've been sat here for hours watching these videos. My mind has exploded several times over.
WOW! Awesome. Excellent animation and design. Must've taken you ages. :) Very enjoyable.
My copy of "The Master and his Emissary" by McGilchrist arrived a few days ago, seeing this is a timely reminder to start reading it.
This was not only a compelling watch but also profoundly emotional to me. In my youth I might have been the poster child for intuitive thinking but I have recently become trapped in that 'hall of mirrors' precisely because it insists of its own version of reality as being the only one because it is the only comprehensible one (by its own standards). A bit of a wake-up call, perhaps... in any case it is certainly something for me to ponder. I always thought I could resist societal bias, too...
The first fresh thinking about the workings of our brains in years. Thank you
Balance maybe the shortest and most secure way to perfection. But who aims for it?
Best RSA talk in my opinion. Seen it like 10 times.
It would be great if teachers utilized youtube videos like these to teach our kids.
they do
The schools, the institutions , they were/ are indoctrinating us into the system , always have been , that's how the schools were invented in the first place for indoctrination !
This, so far, is the most balanced and well-argued video of all the RSA videos. In quite a few of them, despite making excellent points or delivering a potent and powerful message, the speaker would have a tendency to make misleading/false over-generalizations. Of course, they all accomplish the goal of provoking and encouraging critical thinking, but this particular video fills my scientific satisfaction with BALANCED arguments/statements.
mentioning gödel makes sense here. good talk
I've always thought that the popular "left/right brain divide" theory, was not a solid one. Yet it became widely accepted as truth. This is a powerfull argument opposing this. Bravo!
very good - but this animation, compared to the others, have way too much extra infos to read. it's hard focusing on a complicated topic while reading all the extras in it - especially when english is not your mother language!
its actually easier to follow than the original talk
You can pause and continue, as if pausing is one hemisphere, and continuing is the other. And your (un)pause button is the corpus callosum sitting between pause and continue :)
just slow down the speed and / or press pause every now and then!
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant... how true...
There's a deep interesting point made in this video regarding the two hemispheres of the brain and how we use them to interact with the world around us. On the one hand we can use our brain so empathize with others and see them as no different than ourselves, yet in the other hand we can use our brain to manipulate others and the world around us. If we were to take this same principle and apply it to real world situations like ones concerning race and social economic inequality, then of one were to empathize with others then we would cease to see someone my the color of their skin, But rather
I like it better when hes writing the whole thing and its not just popping up. Its just so much easier to read and keep attention on.
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift" - Albert Einstein
It's more than worth seeing again and again; in fact, it's worth seeing many more times than thrice, for the information it illustrates is so vast--and the narrator speaks so fast about intricate concepts--that to fully internalize the information, it should be part of a daily dose one tiny bit at a time! It's almost like reading Augustine.
I'd be interested in hearing Iain McGilchrist's view on Julian Jaynes's 'Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind'...
or his take on baudrillard's concept of the hyper-real
Very much so. I think jaynes's book is so important for consideration. Its impressive how much information can be obtained from learning from our ancestor's myths and writings.
I was thinking the exact same thing. I don't know of Jaynes was correct, but his book is fascinating even if he's completely wrong. I believe he was definitely on to at least something very important.
Extraordinarily keen assessment. It's because things exist in relation to one another that it's important that we understand how each of the individual objects works, but we can only make sense of how individual things work based on their relation to one another.
too much artwork moving too quickly and not explained
use your right hemisphere, focus on the audio. :D
the graphics are only guidance to highlight the important points.
Set you video playback at 75% . . . the whole you will greatly appreciate this!
This is the most revolutionary research in the RSA Animate series so far, I think. McGilchrist has basically revived the cultural studies. His book is subtitled "The Making of the Western World;" now I hope to see a supplement and his ideas on "The Making of the Eastern World." Fascinating.
Horribly overloaded animations - do not help at all sadly
"A++"
"Well Done"
"Eye Opening, Mind Engaging, Heart Warming."
Thank You.
My brain has not gotten a grip on this... is there is version for dumb people?
you are a cynicist, yes?
IDK what that means, but I've often described myself as being a cynic. I'm going to say yes?
No. No discrinination. One for adhd but that was way back n subconscuous
+Olaf Von Hambergler -after reading Bjarne Stroustrup's book 2.5 times and after having to wait about 2 years too, before for my brain showed any sign of getting comfortable with that subject. I can tell you that I did have to also read McGilChrist's book 2.5 times, but it was the doctor's book, that I feel helped me to ever understand the inventor of the C++ language's book....So I would say yes, but with effort and patience. Your question is important and 100% valid...not just because I thought the exact same thing.
+Olaf Von Hambergler no time to waste here, go make some shoes better.
This is my all-time favorite explainer video. I went on th finalaly reas the book, and loved it. Never change it, i send it to people all the time.
Audio + images = too much information. I had to watch the video twice
Yeah well that's just like, your opinion, man.
Watch many times - there's a wealth of info here
I was really impressed by his conclusions from 8 minutes on. Amazing graphics accompanying the facts. Great updates on what I learned in my Psych class a few years ago.
Wow! One of the best things I've seen in a long while! I applaud the animation as well, not just for it's incredible art, but it served to help me understand a lot of information very rapidly and kept my divide brain engaged:)
This was one of the most amazing things I've seen and one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. Thank you so much.
@Avray1967 Sorry, I'm afraid not. But you can listen to the audio or watch the full lecture on our website rsa (dot) org/events, and if you fancy delving even further into the ideas, McGilchrist also has a book on the same subject...
"We have created a society that honours the servant, but has forgotten the gift" 100% true!
Having read your book Iain, this was a pleasure to watch and I smiled at the ending, thanks it was a great read, very insightful and a life's work. Much admiration and gratitude for piecing it all together. Well done RSA.
i like how this video is the best combination of both hemispheres of the brain - concrete visual representations played to an audio track of an abstract theory :)
@Avray1967 I rewatched (OK a couple of times) and clicked on the pause button a fair few times. It really is worth the effort.
I like it better when I get to watch him drawing more instead of the pictures just appearing. Still, I love all these RSA Animates. I also don't have any problem with the ad at the end.
Very compelling, especially as someone who specialises in human learning and how we make decisions based on patterns. A lot of this is explored in complexity adaptive systems theory which is something I use a lot in business.
However I think it's also important to note this isn't advocating the generalised "I'm a left/right brained person" belief people love to hold, because humans love to simplify and categorise - in fact, he clearly says several times we use both. We've fed one more at a societal level, which isn't the same as individual identification for justification of specific actions, which can be quite self-fulfilling.
Very thought provoking and still in line with a lot of the neuroscience which dispels the myth - as ever, the truth lies in balance somewhere between the two, and it's always more *complex* than that!
Even if I don't understand some of this, I still feel smarter just by watching it.
Well DONE!
@Alxnwl The artist is Andrew Park. He can be contacted through his website Cognitive Media via the contact form on their website.
Beautiful, I could not agree more. Thank you for doing such a good job of presenting these fact, it is truly a perfect gift.
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a rational servant. We have created a society that honours the servant but forgotten the gift." 😔
A deeply heartening presentation of a fascinating subject in a style that even retained my 'gnat-like' attention. Thank you RSA and Iain McGilchrist
"We have created a society (all of us, and our ancestors) that has honored the "servant" (narrow mind, rationality)... and forgotten the gift (of intuition, freedom, and evolved interconnectedness)." Time for everyone to learn how to fulfill themselves inside (again) through meditation and self-knowledge = Happiness, health and wholeness.
Guys, this is TH-cam! Once you've seen the video and would like to read the bits of info that were displayed too fast, just hit replay and pause to your heart's content...
RSA Animates are so thought provoking. It's awesome.
Using this in my 1 hour project.. Just saaaaaying... This is brilliant.
These videos are a treasure.
A lot here to ponder. I like the bits that layout how the brain works and get us beyond the old ways of thinking left brain-right brain. I don't know that I buy into all the historical and societal implications and conclusions. I worry about what might be just really way too big of leaps from how the brain works to a commentary on western civilization. Which just makes me want to read the book and understand more!
Just Brilliant! Both the talk and the animation. Can't get enough of this stuff. I also watched the video of the entire talk he gave. Worth checking out!
Wow this helped me be less egotistical, by first (years ago) giving a logical argument to trust the open/feeling/interpreting part of my brain rather than interrogating it, then once I could trust my feelings I can now trust other people without ‘interrogating’ them. ... ah I might have some apologies to make.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
That ending with the bird in the cage was spot on. Nice job.
For anyone who hasn't already read Iain McGilchrist's book - The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World - then do it! It is easily one of the best books I have ever read.
Instantly become one of the all time favourite videos
Wow! You RSA artists totally rock. Thanks for this. :)
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and a rational mind is a faithful servant.
Having just panned Barbara Ehrenreich's RSA presentation "Smile or Die" - hated it. I am so happy to find that I am not simply a jaded critic. I loved Iain McGilchrist's presentation. He puts in holistic context the hyper-rationality of which we hyper-rational humans are so capable.
This is brilliant! It's been on YT for 12 years apparently but I only just heard of it! (Why wasn't I told!??!
)
I have doubts about the job of the corpus callosum being to inhibit communication between hemispheres though. IMO it's more likely that the capacity of the hemispheres to mediate and construct those aspects of the world they specialised in, respectively, was greatly increased by the expansion of the cortex of each and the white matter (axons) which interconnects all the different specialised regions of cortical surface. IE there has been a trade off between the relative advantages of intra cortical signalling capacity versus inter hemisphere integration.
If this be true, it seems to me that a major limiting factor has been the maximum size of infant head which can be successfully extruded by a birthing mother! As a "mere male" having watched three of my children being born, I am convinced that the marsupial system is far superior! 😮 😊
Wow! Impressive. I bought the E-book The Divided Brain and its been pretty impressive. I had to TH-cam him. Excited to read both books!
I loved Iain McGilchrist 's book and I love what you've done with his lecture here!
RSA Animate is like nothing I've ever experienced, and I love it. This one was slightly too fast for me to be as enjoyable as previous ones... But I still found it enjoyable and educational. That sums it up - education has never been so enjoyable. But... I'll have to watch it a few more times to get everything, which makes me feel a bit stupid. I'm nitpicking of course, but I hope they slow down the pace just slightly in the future!
Wow, brilliant talk! I think I'll need to watch this at least two more times to fully grasp what he's said :)
Love it. This captures a 1-hour blog 12 minutes!
It's actually much better than TED where most people speak like preachers. This video is another category: it is an invitation to philosophize.
@Zoggthefantastic @mrghostrider
The reason the format is so successful
> it provides both to visual and auditory representation of the same information simultaneously
> both regions of the brain associated to interpretation of the content will be processing in a complementary manner
> it was at a pacing I believe that everyone can comprehend, the pace of speech
In this video the visual content doesn't follow the auditory, therefore separating your focus in multiple directions.
Absolutely wonderfully articulated, thank you!
Short and clear explanation. Congratulations colleague.
Another awesome Animate. I wish more of these would be uploaded!
I am feeling so utterly incapable of even saying this was amazing!
That would probably be because it sent out on a right brain field day. Took a trip but never left your chair.
Being a left brained, German descendant, homo sapiien, this opens up all kinds of associations in my mind, This has historical applications to geopolitics, let alone my own history, which blow me away.