The intellect composes the higher pathways of the left (for right-handed people) cerebral hemisphere where resides our rational awareness and where the processing of thoughts and sensory information according to logical constructs takes place. This is linear thought and association. The other part of the intellect resides in more primitive centers of the right side of the brain. This is where thinking took place during the very earliest part of our lives before logic and rationality were learned. Thought here is nonlinear and concepts are processed whole, called gestalt (wholeness) perception, rather than being dissected into parts and categorized as occurs on the left side.

     Right brain thinking can more quickly discern patterns within complex information and can achieve the quantum leaps in thinking, known as intuition, to arrive at often uncannily correct conclusions on the basis of limited information. Creativity, the capacity for reordering of component ideas to produce something new for effect or for efficiency, also resides on the right side. One use for this faculty is to understand, create, and appreciate beauty in artistic forms of expression.

     While both cerebral hemispheres are capable of operating independently of one another, in all but a small percentage of cases of ambidexterity, one side is usually dominant and conscious, while the other is subordinate and sporadically conscious. One side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body, and the dominant hemisphere is the one on the side opposite to the hand with which a person writes. The dominant hemisphere contains the language and speaking ability, whereas the other is mute. Mathematical ability, curiously, has been designated as a logical or dominant-side ability by some authors and as "right-brain" by others.

     Interhemispheric communication occurs via a structure called the Corpus callosum. For this reason the consciousness seems to be able, to a greater or lesser degree from one individual to another, to apprise itself of events taking place on the other side. There are certain simple mental exercises that will allow a person to temporarily suppress the dominant hemisphere in order to facilitate creative/artistic expression. (See, for example, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards)⁽¹⁾

     Another critical function of the intellect is the creation, storage, and retrieval of information – the memory function. In the brain, the hippocampus is thought to command the thalamus to file memories. At least two different processes are involved and result in either what is called short-term (STM) or long-term (LTM) memory storage. Most of the ongoing flood of thoughts and sensory impressions that make it to consciousness linger there only seconds then vanish from awareness. Traces of thoughts, ideas, perceptions, and their associated emotional responses occur as circulating currents of electrical activity that persist briefly and then gradually fade out in favor of newer ones. If any interest at all is invested in one of these memory traces, it may be selected for STM storage. This is like a trial phase for memory; if it is not soon used, it too will disappear from accessability anywhere from a minute to a day or so.

     A powerful emotional "tag" of importance, an act of will, or certain learned techniques can cause a trace to be transfered to LTM storage. LTM is hard stored, coded into the structure of macromolecules, or in connections between neurons, where it remains indefinitely, though greater effort is sometimes required for retrieval as time passes. I have found that the act of putting an idea into my own words, especially when accompanied by writing it out in clear, complete sentences works admirably. This essay is how I am organizing, clarifying, and storing for future use many of my ideas. The written work is for you while I retain the memory.

     Storage or retrieval problems are referred to as blocks. We unconsciously implement emotional blocks in mistaken attempts to protect ourselves from unpleasant memories which are then modified to render them less uncomfortable to our conscious awareness, or are buried beyond accessability. Unfortunately, these repressed memories are available to other parts of the mind and, especially if they occurred early in life, may become the basis of profoundly dysfunctional patterns of thought and behavior at a later time. A mechanical block is like a technical error in recording or retrieval. We were either confused or distracted when the memory was about to be filed or too preoccupied with competing thoughts when we tried to retrieve it. Physical blocks are usually the work of some external agent or condition and may be temporary (poor diet, illness, fatigue, head injury, alcohol/drugs) or permanent (sensory loss, brain damage).

     Keeping the brain healthy and the mind actively challenged helps to keep the intellect functioning properly, even into the later years of life. Conversely, apathy and mental stagnation can lead to early decline in functioning and onset of senility. It is important to develop and exercise the intellect to its fullest by enjoying and taking part in learning all through life. There is so much to learn and with it we open the doors of imagination and creativity.