[Iksander]

If you take a drawing (higher quality, the better) of some sort and turn it upside down - you can free-hand copy the drawing with a very scary accuracy. The right brain does a better job of perceiving the whole of a thing without burdening itself in recognizing every little detail and shape.

If instead you turn it right side up and try to free-hand copy it that way, it always turns out to be irritatingly hideous. The left brain tends to analyze all the details and shapes, trying to line them up in a sequential order on the page (much how a computer builds pixel maps) to build the perceived object.

The right side tends to be more holistic and broad - while the left side is more focused and singular. Whether a specific activity is suitable for one or the other is really dependent on the individual - I, for one, greatly enjoy certain logical processes. When I am building computer programs, financial strategies, or entertaining philosophical ideas are a few examples.

There are places for me where the logical process is absolutely meaningless, for example, snowboarding - sailing - martial arts - imagination (something I do the most) - inspirational speaking - and loving a woman.

Now, many of those activities at one point may have required 'logical' step-by-step instruction before it became a holistic activity, the martial arts for one uses quite a bit of logical orientation to build a foundation of efficient and powerful movement. Repetition slowly transfers it into a movement that needs no remembering - or logical steps. Sailing is similar, snowboarding is not - I just 'picked it up', imagination certainly isn't, inspirational speaking is not (I do not use any notes) - and loving a woman is so far from logical it must be right brain. Imagination and love being the two mental and (only for the latter) physical activities that I engage in the most.

I am using the word love to connote the three Greek foundations "Eros", "Logos", and "Agape" - making love to her, reciprocated emotional conversation, and taking care of a woman. My masculinity is always backed up by my logical side, my logical side - is - my absolute foundation upon which I define and evolve my strength and respect as a man. However, who I am becoming always seems to be defined entirely by what I imagine myself to be, or conceive myself to be - a right brain activity.

(Based on that, left brain would be much like 'roots' in the ground, and the right brain would be the foliage growing towards the sun...?)

Personally - I think if you were to 'train' the right side, it would simply end up operating much like the other one. Fretting about how, when, why, and where to use the 'right' side is a very 'left' brain activity. The right side is akin to the chaotic, yet, powerful mother nature - redirect your attention from trying to make the right brain 'brilliant' and just let it be what it already is, brilliant.

So what if we were to, instead of, devising processes for developing genius - devise processes (because the left brain loves processes) to train the left brain into allowing more room for the right side to do what it always does - be brilliant.

From all this, I do personally feel genius is absolutely NOT something that requires 'hard work' to become. It already exists, and simply requires focus. If you love something with enough passion that you can direct your undivided focus and attention - becoming a genius is effortless (assuming you hold no negative self conceptions going into it), focus is not a difficult or strenuous state to engage in unless the object of your attention is something that does not bring you joy, in which case it does become 'hard work'.

The above statement has not been considered of a Savant, do Savants practice their skills obsessively, combined with a less restricted right brain activity for brilliant thinking? Or is the brilliance just 'there' and all they need is basic instruction before it begins to express itself? - that I think would be an interesting discussion, I will think on it further...

Cool topic, hope it keeps going!