In this episode we examine what happens to the mind when it loses the perspective of the Right Hemisphere (RH) and is forced to rely on the Left Hemisphere's (LH) interpretation of the world. We will use the example of the well-known case reported by Oliver Sacks of the man who mistook his wife for his hat.
We are exploring the hemisphere hypothesis that states that the two hemispheres of our brain have two dramatically different ways of relating to the world and that our minds get muddled when the perspective of one hemisphere (usually the LH ) dominates and suppresses the other (usually the RH). We can learn to recognize the symptoms of LH dominance by studying the lives of people with dysfunctional RHs, such as Dr. P who, among other things, lost his ability to recognize faces.
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