The whole 'left brain, right brain' thing isn't actually a thing

Popular culture has convinced us that our brains are split in half. They are, but not in the way you might think.

If you're artsy and imaginative, you may assume you're "right brained." If you're logical and organized, you must be "left brained." Sound familiar?

Well, it turns out that's not a thing.

While our brains are physically split into two different hemispheres, the left and right sides don't divide and conquer when it comes to our creative thought processes.

This popular myth probably originated from results of studies done on the brain for epilepsy research in the early 1980s. More recent science has overturned these ideas, and proved that most of what we consider to be activity controlled by one side of the brain is actually done on both sides.

"Neuroscience now tells us that there is no right or left side of the brain when it comes to thinking," Columbia Business School professor William Duggan told the school magazine. He explained this concept in terms of how we brainstorm: "Creative ideas actually happen in the mind, as the whole brain takes in past elements, then selects and combines them - and that's how creative strategy works."

So, no matter what online quizzes might tell you, your entire brain functions as one.