Can you be both right and left brained???

So, apparently everyone at work has decided that I know everything.  (Which I admit is sometimes kinda cool.)   

It’s kind of funny, really, because whenever someone is curious about something, they say, “I bet kegger knows!”  Whether it’s how to pronounce a name or how to spell something, or some profound religious question, I always get asked the random questions. 

Today, I was asked, “What makes people left handed?”  This kind of caught me off guard, because I thought everyone knew about genetics.  I mean, didn’t everyone learn about genetics in 7th grade, or was that just me?  Granted, I did have Mrs. Beckham for science, and she was completely and totally obsessed with genetics, but still.  (We paired up one day in class and made babies by flipping a coin to see which genetic traits our baby would get.  I was paired with my friend Rebecca, and we named our baby Aeon Flux.  My two guy friends at the next table named their babies Mrs. Butterworth and Aunt Jemima.  Hee.)  I thought genetics were pretty common sense.  Of course, the lady that was asking me this was in her 40’s and genetics might not have been such a big deal back then, who knows.  So anyway, I start going in to the whole dominant and recessive trait things and I tell her that someone in her family must have a left hand, either her mom or her dad, if she does (her dad does) and then I go on to tell her that if she’s left handed, she’s usually right brained. 

So that got me thinking–I don’t know if I’m right brained or left brained.  Can you be both?  I’m right handed, but I’m also relatively creative–I paint, I draw, I’ve illustrated a book, I like to photograph things–and those types of things are typically a right brain thing.  I also like to write but I’m not entirely sure if writing is a right brain thing, or a left brain thing.  But I’m also right handed, not left handed (although my dad did say once that when I was little, I used my left hand more and they trained me to use my right hand instead) and I’m always on time and I’ve usually fairly organized at work (but rarely at home for some reason) so I couldn’t decide if I was right brained or left brained. 

So, because I was curious about that, I googled “Left and right brain tests” and I took one.  http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

And sure enough, I’m kind of both, even though I’m more one than the other.  Usually people are more to the left or right and less in the middle, from what I’ve heard:   

Left Brain	Right Brain
42%	58%

 

You are more right-brained than left-brained. The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. In addition to being known as right-brained, you are also known as a creative thinker who uses feeling and intuition to gather information. You retain this information through the use of images and patterns. You are able to visualize the “whole” picture first, and then work backwards to put the pieces together to create the “whole” picture. Your thought process can appear quite illogical and meandering. The problem-solving techniques that you use involve free association, which is often very innovative and creative. The routes taken to arrive at your conclusions are completely opposite to what a left-brained person would be accustomed. You probably find it easy to express yourself using art, dance, or music. Some occupations usually held by a right-brained person are forest ranger, athlete, beautician, actor/actress, craftsman, and artist.

Your Left Brain Percentages

54%	Verbal (Your most dominant characteristic)
42%	Symbolic
27%	Reality-based
18%	Sequential
17%	Logical
16%	Linear (Your least dominant characteristic)

Your Right Brain Percentages

46%	Concrete (Your most dominant characteristic)
45%	Random
43%	Intuitive
40%	Fantasy-oriented
36%	Holistic
0%	Nonverbal (Your least dominant characteristic)

So, amelie, take the quiz.  What are you???!