11.8 Half Brains


Brain is build of many pairs of agencies that are cross connected. This has led to the old of idea of the brain as a "meeting of anti-principles". "On one side stands the Logical, across from Analogical. The left-side brain is RAtional; the right side is Emotional. No wonder so many seized upon this pseudoscientific scheme: it gave new life to nearly every dead idea of how to cleave the mental world into two halves as nicely as a peach."

The problem is that the brain has many parts, not just two. "My own theory of what happens when the cross-connections between those brain halves are destroyed is that, in early life, we start with mostly similar agencies on either side. Later, as we grow more complex, a combination of genetic and circumstantial effects lead one of each pair to take control of both. Otherwise, we might become paralyzed by conflicts, because many agents would have to serve two masters." In other words, Minsky's theory of lateralization is deeply rooted in the context of maturing control structures.

(NB: Now would be a good time to refresh one's mind about what Braitenberg said about cross-connections!)


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