Balancing Order and Chaos
Notes for Fifteen Seconds, October 2021
Thank you for joining my talk at this year’s Fifteen Seconds Festival. The notes below provide additional resources associated with my talk. I hope you enjoy exploring them and embracing the opportunity Chaos — and the right hemisphere—offer us when we choose to “Think Different.”
Understanding the Hemispheres
Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard neuroanatomist who suffered a massive left hemisphere stroke and spent nearly a decade bringing that hemisphere back online, delivers breakthrough understanding in her epic TED Talk, My Stroke of Insight, as well as in her book by the same name and her recent Whole Brain Living, an unparalleled exploration of the qualities and limitations of each hemisphere — and what anyone can do to activate whole brain thought.
To dive deeper, consider learning from Dr. Iain McGilchrist, a true pioneer in untangling the real functions of the hemispheres. Perhaps explore some summaries of his work, like this or this; you can learn more on his website or in his book The Master and His Emissary and (coming soon) The Matter With Things (Our Brains, Our Delusions, and the Unmaking of the World).
You might also enjoy this, my 11-minute talk on Albert Einstein’s corpus callosum and what it might say about his extraordinary genius.
New Ways of Working
Sharing below some articles referenced in my talk, and beyond.
Charlie Warzel, Galaxy Brain: What if People Don’t Want “A Career?”
Cal Newport: The Rise of the Monk Mode Morning; A World Without Email, On Productivity and Remote Work, and — in a fascinating contrast to that third article, his recent The Frustration with Productivity Culture. I highly recommend Cal and his work; scout around and see what strikes you.
Eric G Reid: How to Balance Uncertainty in Uncertain Times. Some encouraging, applicable insights here.
More from Me
My work centers around brain-aware practices in leadership, life, and spirituality. Below you’ll find a few pointers to talks and publications. You can also explore my content here on Medium, follow me on Twitter, or connect on LinkedIn.
The Happiness Hack: Take Charge of Your Brain and Create More Happiness in Your Life. THH is an easy starter guide to the brain, guiding intention and mindfulness as a path to life satisfaction. An audio edition of is available on Audible.
Here’s a talk from Fifteen Seconds 2017 on the Default Mode Network (DMN), the brain modality increasingly associated with insight and creative problem solving.
My TEDx talk, Happiness by Design.
Applied Neuroscience
This talk by New Scientist journalist Caroline Williams surfaces some key principles of neuroplasticity: Pimp My Brain (TEDx).
I reference Dr. David Rock several times; I’m a big fan of his book Your Brain at Work (summary video HERE) and his earlier Quiet Leadership. For a dive into his thinking, check out this Science of Success Podcast: Neuroscience Hacks You Can Use To Change Behavior, Take Action & Finally Break Through What’s Holding You Back. Some great stuff in there.
Follow me on Twitter or on my (fairly inactive and not too business-y) Instagram. Connect on LinkedIn, and I always appreciate followers and applause here on Medium.
Wishing you well!
Ellen
