Dragons of Eden - Chapter 7 - Carl Sagan Reflection

Tricia Libradores

Honors Physical Science        

Clements

14 December 2015

Chapter Outlines

        In chapter 7 Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan explains the difference of the the right and left brain hemispheres. He tries to disprove the stereotype that left-brainers are predominantly analytical and suited for logical and mathematical analysis, while right-brainers are predominantly creative and suited for more artistic revenues. However, the truth is that the right hemisphere of the brain controls the muscles on the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere of the brain controls the muscles on the right side of body. The two hemispheres,however, can communicate information, to each other through the thick corpus callosum that connects them in the middle. The thicker the corpus callosum is, the faster the communication between the two hemispheres can occur. In general, the left hemisphere is dominant in aspects such as language. It  processes what you hear and handles most duties that deal with communication and is in charge of carrying out logical and mathematical analysis, like  when you need to remember a fact, your left brain is in charge of pulling it from your memory. The right hemisphere is dominant in aspects of spatial recognition, face recognition and processing music and helps to comprehend visual imageries and make sense of what we see.         As for whether a person is right-brained or left-brained, the stereotype is never truly proven because the brain is much more complex than a simple answer. Different factors such as biology, environment, and more come into play with brian hemisphere dominance. I wonder if brain dominance and thickness of the corpus callosum can indicate the intelligence of some people. Studies say that while Albert Einstein may be predominantly left-brained, his unusually thick corpus callosum contributes to his intellectual abilities.

        In chapter 8 of Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan explores the history of the development of communication. Languages are far more complex than any primitive animal communications.\. They are learned instead of inherited-- like with animals-- which accounts for the language diversity found in humans. Unlike animals,  human languages are innovative; humans generate new combinations of letters and words to suit their communicational needs.. Humans can use language to describe and objects, events, and people in the past and the future, which separated human languages from animal languages. Language complexity comes from cultural diffusion over many generations of humans. Even more impressive than verbal communication is written language. Sagan points out that  written language lets information be readily stored into books. Because of this, humans can read at their own pace without disturbing others. It allows humans to revisit the past, or