Balanced Brain

AP (my housemate in London) once joked that I give directions 'like a man'. She's training to be a psychotherapist, and these statements have a lot of weight when coming from a psychotherapist.

"How's that?" I asked.

She explained that when a woman gives directions, it normally sounds something like: "Walk straight for a while till you see a Banana Republic on your right, then turn right into that street and continue walking straight down it till you see a pretty church on your left. Its just a couple of blocks after the church, by a jewelry shop with a bright blue door."

Whereas if man gave the same directions, it would sound like: "Walk straight about 5 blocks, turn right onto Jones Street and continue down the street for a further 5 blocks. It'll be on the left hand side of the street, number 575."

Basically, a right-brain left-brain argument. I'm not one for gender stereotypes of any kind, and everyday there's increasing evidence of borders merging and stereotypes breaking down. And as social roles evolve, so naturally does the way in which we think, as we move towards a more equal balance.

It especially doesn't make sense in this instance, where we live in a world in which schools place increasing emphasis on all students to become more left-brained (logical/rational) in their approach to life. But it did set me wondering about myself.

So I did a left-brain right-brain test:
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/2brains/

And I came out exactly equal.

And while it doesn't matter one way or another, I'm kind of happy to be equal.