left hemisphere
"The left hemisphere is like a train that can travel on one track only while the right can have many trains on multiple tracks traveling simultaneously. The stunning implication for learning languages is this: Second language instruction on the left side of the brain in a traditional class is slow-motion learning because input from the instructor is evaluated by the student's brain as "lies" and therefore erased almost before the student stands up to leave the classroom."
"Goldberg likens these differences in connectivity thus: the left hemisphere is like a fleet of taxicabs that traverses short town-like distances while the right is like a fleet of airplanes that traverses large continental distances."
"Vilayanur Ramachandran, of the Center for Research on Brain and Cognition in San Diego, California, has a competing metaphor for who's the boss. Slightly stooped, dark-featured and serious, he gesticulates energetically and paces sometimes while he speaks. He says the left hemisphere is like a general who planned a battle using conventional weapons, and the right hemisphere is like a scout who provided an update to the general right before battle1. "The report said that the enemy had nuclear weapons. The general would be very foolish, if he adhered to the original plan. He must now abandon his previous plan and formulate a new one, for the consequences, if the scout is correct, are just too great." "
"The left hemisphere is like a computer.
The right hemisphere is like a kaleidoscope.
These two hemispheres are complimentary: they give the mind its flexibility. "
"No sense of humor. The left hemisphere is like Dr. Spock in the Star Trek movies. Spock could reason deductively and inductively but could not have feelings or fun. Feelings come from the core and the right hemisphere."
"In all these cases we see the dominance of the left hemisphere in action, the failure to see the whole picture, to be forward looking on a global scale, evolutionary and compassionate, and ultimately to use the aesthetic gifts of creation to progress humanity onto a new level of existence. Unfortunately the left hemisphere is like an empty vessel. It makes the most sound yet is empty within. It engenders too many self induced, non-negotiable standards."
"Or, to steal a metaphor from Jill Bolte Taylor, the left hemisphere is like a serial processor, while the right is a parallel processor. (My shriveled little inner computer geek, who surely lives in the left brain, loved this idea.)"
" The left processes awareness of time and the right makes intuitive leaps. Medina uses an analogy of a spotlight to describe the differences in the hemisphere's processing of visual attention, which I'd like to modify for my students; the left hemisphere is like a laser pointer, finding and directly pointing out specific details. The right hemisphere is like a floodlight, showing us the big picture. Just as people tend to have dominating intelligences, most people's brains have a dominating hemisphere."
"The difference is connected to memory storage capability in left and right hemisphere, with the right able to store more data density in less time. It is almost like fast 1000 speed film in the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere is like 100 speed film. It need a slower shutter speed but has the advantage of better resolution if the shutter speed is correct."
METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.