Very interesting point! I`m a portrait photographer, and sometimes I struggle to achive natural (relaxed, sincere) smiles from certain people. Some people smile with only one half of their face. And an asyimmetrical smile (in the mouth area) is a sign of scorn. Maybe it`s more frequent a problem with IT guys... I suspected it`s a neurological tension problem – they`re really nice otherwise, don`t want to show contempt at all. Since our whole western culture is prone to induce left hemisphere dominance, might actually explain the phenomenon.
On facial asymmetry - this is normal and a perfectly symmetrical face (only achieved in photoshop) elicits an uncanny feeling. But what we are talking about is not a “normal” asymmetry and rather consistent in its presentation as Forrest so well documents.
Another interesting essay Winston. I do think that culture and education focus on left side knowledge and learning while neglecting and supressing development of the right side. There is an interesting little book about this titled: "Exploring the Crack in the Cosmic Egg: Split Minds and Meta Realities" by Joseph Chilton Pearce.
All language is symbolic and the left seems to focus on language that is descriptive of objects and as you more or less put it....the micro, the smaller details, or parts (I'm using poor descriptors of what I mean by left language). It's the everyday language of culture and the view of the world as a collection of separate objects. For lack of a better term, the material world. (Another bad descriptor because it implies that the material world is separate from right side perception)
I think there is also a language of the right side. Like all language it is also symbolic but in a different way. This type of language is focused on the macro which incorporates the micro. It can use language to condense concepts similar to have a zip file can condense a lot of information. What this language communicates can only be 'heard' by those who can 'unlock' the zip file. Or as a prophet reportedly put it, "He who has ears to hear, hears."
I think that there are experiences that can 'activate' (another poor descriptor) the right side to various degrees. Sometimes just glimpses. Sometimes much, much more. Sometimes in stages. Sometimes in leaps. I think that there are also times when the right communicates to the left and the left is unaware of the totality of what is being communicated. In his "Apology to the Athenians" Socrates tells of coming upon a group of poets who did not understand the meaning in their own poetry. I would say....metaphorically speaking that they could not open the zip file. They may however at some point be able to unzip the file.
For most the right is the unkown. That which is not seen, the dark side, like the Dark Side of the Moon.
Feb 28, 2022·edited Feb 28, 2022Liked by Winston Smith
As a layperson in relation to neuroscience and biological systems, the above capsulizes in a clear and unequivocal way what took many years of careful wading to only partially comprehend. Thanks a million for picking up Toby's gauntlet here, melting it down, and forging a modest object of rare explanatory elegance.
Not kissing a** here -- just genuinely thankful for these moments of clarity.
Very interesting point! I`m a portrait photographer, and sometimes I struggle to achive natural (relaxed, sincere) smiles from certain people. Some people smile with only one half of their face. And an asyimmetrical smile (in the mouth area) is a sign of scorn. Maybe it`s more frequent a problem with IT guys... I suspected it`s a neurological tension problem – they`re really nice otherwise, don`t want to show contempt at all. Since our whole western culture is prone to induce left hemisphere dominance, might actually explain the phenomenon.
On facial asymmetry - this is normal and a perfectly symmetrical face (only achieved in photoshop) elicits an uncanny feeling. But what we are talking about is not a “normal” asymmetry and rather consistent in its presentation as Forrest so well documents.
Thank you for a very interesting article. I found your Substack from Toby Rogers and I look forward to reading some of your older posts!
Another interesting essay Winston. I do think that culture and education focus on left side knowledge and learning while neglecting and supressing development of the right side. There is an interesting little book about this titled: "Exploring the Crack in the Cosmic Egg: Split Minds and Meta Realities" by Joseph Chilton Pearce.
All language is symbolic and the left seems to focus on language that is descriptive of objects and as you more or less put it....the micro, the smaller details, or parts (I'm using poor descriptors of what I mean by left language). It's the everyday language of culture and the view of the world as a collection of separate objects. For lack of a better term, the material world. (Another bad descriptor because it implies that the material world is separate from right side perception)
I think there is also a language of the right side. Like all language it is also symbolic but in a different way. This type of language is focused on the macro which incorporates the micro. It can use language to condense concepts similar to have a zip file can condense a lot of information. What this language communicates can only be 'heard' by those who can 'unlock' the zip file. Or as a prophet reportedly put it, "He who has ears to hear, hears."
I think that there are experiences that can 'activate' (another poor descriptor) the right side to various degrees. Sometimes just glimpses. Sometimes much, much more. Sometimes in stages. Sometimes in leaps. I think that there are also times when the right communicates to the left and the left is unaware of the totality of what is being communicated. In his "Apology to the Athenians" Socrates tells of coming upon a group of poets who did not understand the meaning in their own poetry. I would say....metaphorically speaking that they could not open the zip file. They may however at some point be able to unzip the file.
For most the right is the unkown. That which is not seen, the dark side, like the Dark Side of the Moon.
As a layperson in relation to neuroscience and biological systems, the above capsulizes in a clear and unequivocal way what took many years of careful wading to only partially comprehend. Thanks a million for picking up Toby's gauntlet here, melting it down, and forging a modest object of rare explanatory elegance.
Not kissing a** here -- just genuinely thankful for these moments of clarity.