During my studying for the GRE psychology exam, I came about a n interesting fact. The human brain has 2 sides to it...called the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body while the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body...but this isn't the fact that I was talking a bout. Humans typically have a dominant side of their brain that is opposite to the hand that they write with...for 97% of people...that hand is their right...thus making their left brain more dominant. It is said that the dominant side is more analytical...controlling things like language, logic and math. it also manages details. Now here comes the interesting part....the non dominant side of the brain controls things like emotional tone used in spoken language (which allows you to detect whether or not someone sounds happy, sad, depressed etc), it controls your creativity, intuition and music...things that are not really associtated with logic. A person's artistic skills is governed by the non dominant side of their brain. For most people, their dominant, logical side is exercised more often, especially those living in a western world where competition and autonomy is rife. For others, for example those living in a more artistic environment...or an environment that nurtures and reinforces the artistic side (like France)...their non dominant brain is used more than those in a western place (NYC). It can be inferred that these people may have an advantage over others in that both sides of their brains are quite active.

Our non dominant side allows us to think abstractly. When details and information are scarce, our abstract reasoning comes into play...Art can be quite abstract and open to interpretation. it is definitely a plus to be able to think abstractly and not obsess too much over details (even though some art work and the task of creating some forms of art can be very meticulous).

You might be wondering why I have added a scientific explanation for human's artistic skills...why not? My passions include both art and science...and to discover a possible scientic explanation for a passion of mine is killing 2 brids with one stone. My artistic skills sadly have  never been reinforced or even tollerated, luckily I did not allow it to completely dissolve. I channeled it into my scientific skills...by sketching the heart muslces or the skeleton. If only I could find those sketches I would post them in a heart beat. Maybe when my hectic life calms down a bit, I shall resume my scientific sketching.

In the mean time I have indulged my artistic appetite by researching artistic websites and admiring the wonder art that have been posted. I found a really remarkable website called artneighbor.com ...It is a virtural gallery and a social networking site...sort of like a facebook for artists. I have been there quite often, as they have quite a diversity in art works, and collectibles. However, recently I haven't had much time to gaze at art works so I hadn't checked it out in a few weeks, but I did log in yesterday and I saw that they have added  a lot more features, like contests, a chat room, blogs and their latest addition is the market place...where art can actually be sold. Maybe I am little new to the advancement of technology, but I guess this is a good thing...Art auctions usually have very high commission prices, so I guess this makes it very convenient. I personally take more advantage of the social networking aspect of the site. I love rating and commenting on art works and interacting with the members....it's like going to a museum or an art exhibition without even leaving my home. It really is amazing what technology can do these days.