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Jan Ehrenwald has begun a new study of the nature of genius, which is full of possibilities for the opening up of unfamiliar vistas. While the subject has been approached many times by psychoanalysts and psychiatrists, this is probably the first effort based on neurobiologic data since Sir Francis Galton did his genetic investigations of the nature of genius. Neither Galton nor Ehrenwald, however, have neglected psychologic principles.
Ehrenwald's work is founded on the new data of split brain research emanating from the heroic surgery of cutting the corpus callosum and anterior commissure for such conditions as intractable epilepsy. These procedures have permitted the study of each cerebral hemisphere in isolation, to detect the contributions of each in normal functioning. From the welter of resultant findings, Ehrenwald has delineated the functions of the right hemisphere as essentially those of intuition, inspiration and imagination, bringing forth dreams, myths, the appreciation of music, etc. The left hemisphere, on the other hand, is the tool of Western civilization, being the implement of language, reading, writing, arithmetic, logic, science and technology. Normally both hemispheres function cooperatively and in harmony, each assuming dominance at different times. The performance of either or both hemispheres may be impaired by the irruption of activity from deeper centers in what the paleontologists call the “reptilian brain.” It may come as a surprise to psychoanalysts, but today we even have data on the small brains of dinosaurs, related to those of reptiles. We cannot scoff at the possible usefulness of such information; even Freud was an ardent student of ancient history and paleobiology.
According to Ehrenwald, the genius is the person who gets his inspiration through intuitions of his right brain, adorns them in his imagination, and employs the left hemisphere to arrange his material in the reasonable manner that permits its application by others and co