We live in a society, so we believe in what it tells us, preaches to us. We accept it all happily because we feel it is good for us. The society has made standard systems for every field and if any particular system says this is a problem, we take it seriously and work on it. A few years ago our education system became very conscious of Dyslexia and said if some of us have a problem with reading, writing or understanding it is a serious issue and we need to work on it. So we also become conscious and accepted that problem.

EXCUSE ME  ” I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DRAW AM I SUFFERING FROM DISPICTORIA?”

The current scenario:

We live in an era which is witnessing the fall of the human intellect- where people like to follow each other more than making their own decision. We always say that the human brain has so much potential and we are just using 10% of it. One of the reason is that our education system only focuses on the left hemisphere of the brain, by training analytical and rational thinking through reading, writing, and arithmetic. It ignores the right hemisphere which is responsible for visual thinking, imagination, and creativity by keeping drawing classes once a week and portraying them as a fun activity, stress buster or peripheral skill. We believe in it and just develop those abilities which enable us to become Doctors, Engineers, CAs, CSs, Bankers, and Govt. Employees but not creative professionals.

Why it is important to develop the right brain

Why does a child cry when it has to go to school? Why does study feel like pressure? Why does learning a new theory or formula feel so difficult, but watching a movie feels like fun? Nobody asks us to learn songs but still somehow, we just learn them, almost automatically. Why is perceiving information through movies or visual media easy? Why do illustrations make information easier to understand. Why is there so much positive and voluntary response for movies, songs, and other visual media and not for the studies the way education system trains us?

Some Biological and Psychological facts:

01- Perception of information from surroundings through our five senses is not equally distributed. 70% of the neurons are connected to the visual part and brain craves for visuals all the time in fact since our childhood. This is the reason why we understand visual communication better and faster.

02- Humans are designed to learn through their senses. But our education system makes us text literate and not sense literate. When we were born, drawing was as similar to talking, walking and other basic skills. Nobody had told us but still, when we were just a year old, we started scribbling. At the age of three, we drew our mom and dad, and in fact our cat as well. At the age of five, we made a marvellous landscape with a sense of perspective and proportion, and we didn’t even miss the doorknob on the door. But at the age of ten, this ability got suppressed because of the heavy training on the left hemisphere of the brain. And today we believe that we don’t know how to draw- that drawing is God’s gift that we don’t have.

03- We don’t use much of conscious thinking while watching cinema. It feels involuntary, where you understand everything. It is not as difficult as understanding refraction of light or a law of physics. When we see or listen to a story, we understand it very easily because it is told in a sequence. When anything is told in a sequence, it gets categorized in our brain very easily. When something gets well-categorized, it helps us differentiate it from other pieces of information inside the brain. It creates a strong recall  of that information. When you understand well, you communicate well.

Why stories are so satisfying?

When we experience stories, it gives us a feeling of completion. The format of storytelling has a circular nature. It has a start, a mid and an end- a complete format, which is very easy, soothing and satisfying for our brain. Facts and other pieces of information are like a straight line. But the feeling you get when information is in a circular format is way more humane than any other format.

Subconsciously on a deeper level, we don’t even realize but we relate it to the basic concept of life story- which is birth, dharma, and death and to the all natural processes like- the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle or the food chain. They all have a circular nature. This is the reason you feel so complete and good after experiencing storytelling. When we add a hero, conflicts, struggles, achievements, hope and a positive end it just works like muscles for the skeleton of the story. That is why we always tell stories to our children, friends, family and even in professional world for brands- storytelling is in our instinct.

Results of a well developed Right Brain

Firstly, nobody is asking you to become an artist, or a designer or a filmmaker- but please note that these abilities are as vital as reading, writing and arithmetic for all cognitive activities. Secondly, after the development of this suppressed sense, you won’t look at a thing, how others are see it. Perception is not based on a mathematical formula, it is very subjective, it entirely depends on your personal visual experience. When you develop a concept from this new percept, it becomes very original and new because it’s entirely yours- you own it and this gives a feeling of individualism and your existence. Thirdly, it’s a journey towards innovation and invention because here nothing is copied or repeated, it’s new and fresh- which is a sign of growth and an art of expression for an individual.

Just like there is a difference between a literate mind and an educated mind, there is a difference between and educated mind and well formed mind!

 

(This perspective was originally written by Shubham Saurabh Gupta. Shubham is Graphic Designer at Lokusdesign and he takes keen interest in visual thinking and sense making)