EconTalk Iain McGilchrist on the Divided Brain and the Master and His Emissary
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May 28, 2018 
Psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist explores the divided brain and its impact on Western civilization. The discussion covers neuroscience, meditation, real conversations, narratives, the Enlightenment, immersive experiences, and the challenges of writing a book.
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Different Ways Of Attending Create Different Worlds
- The brain's two hemispheres attend differently, producing different versions of the world rather than mere functions.
- The left narrows, fragments, and manipulates; the right sustains broad, contextual, integrative attention.
Left Hemisphere Certainty Versus Right Hemisphere Humility
- The left hemisphere is focused, procedural, and confident but unaware of what it doesn't know.
- The right hemisphere is vigilant, relational, and knows the limits of its knowledge.
Learning Music Shows Hemispheric Roles
- McGilchrist uses learning music to show hemispheric roles: left handles repetitive practice, right integrates for performance.
- Practice decontextualizes; performance requires forgetting procedure and letting meaning return.