Global Thinkers
March 3rd, 2010Are you a global thinker? To find out, go to this page and take the short quiz before you read this post. Then come back here and tell me your results. I’m eager to know you better.
I worked for a textbook publishing company in Austin once. A one-eyed millionaire owned the place and a senator’s son ran it. The senator’s son told me he hired me because I was the nicest person he interviewed.
My other qualifications were pretty sketchy. A major in English, typesetting and copy writing experience, a novel. The owner seemed more interested in my novel than my background. So I was nice and I’d written a novel. Apparently, that’s all you need to work in the publishing business.
The senator’s son would hand me a manuscript and it was my job to turn it into a book. Each manuscript had to be copy edited, designed, typeset, proofread, indexed, printed, bound and shipped. My job was to find the right people to do each of those jobs, assign and check their work, and make sure deadlines were met.
It took nine months to make a book back then. In four years there I made 84 books.
I was perfect for that job because I am a global thinker, which means I process information backwards. I don’t look at a manuscript and see 500 pages. I look at it and see a bound book. Global thinkers process information holistically, from the whole to the parts. Their thinking can appear quite illogical and meandering because most people process information sequentially, from the bits and pieces to the whole.
Most people are not global thinkers. Most people are linear thinkers.
None of us are wholly one thing or the other. We use both linear and global thinking skills just like we use both hands. However, there does seem to be general agreement about hemispheric dominance. Global thinking is associated with right-brain dominance, and linear thinking is associated with the more logical left-brain functions.
Seventy percent of the population is thought to be left-brain dominant, or linear thinkers.
which explains why I’m such an outlier
Right-brain thinkers tend to be more creative and spontaneous. Actors, artists, musicians, and athletes are right-brain thinkers, which accounts for their small percentage in the overall population. These people have difficulty following a simple sequence of directions without changing or rearranging something. Instead of planning every aspect of a road trip, they will just get in the car and drive. Instead of following a recipe exactly, they will change it. They will pick up a magazine and open it somewhere in the middle or towards the back.
Thinking backwards is not a brain disorder but it can appear that way to linear thinkers. Because emotions are processed on the right side of the brain, global thinkers may seem overly emotional or too sensitive. They can’t help it. They make decisions based on feelings and intuition rather than on logic and reason. To the logically minded this can be seen as a fault.
which explains why I’m “so sensitive“
I left the publishing job to have my children, and after that I taught high school English. In the classroom linear/sequential thinkers (most students) are lost without a road map. They need specific steps and procedures on how to go about getting there. Outlining is a linear/sequential processing technique, which explains why I always wrote my outline after I finished the paper. Students who excel in math are linear thinkers because math problems can be broken into small, incremental steps.
which explains why I’m no good at math
Schools do a good job of assessing learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), especially at the primary levels, but I’ve never known them to address thought processing styles (global or linear). There is a test for left- or right-brain dominance at this site if you’re interested in learning more about yourself or your children. It will require more of your time than the test at the top.
Below are other traits of the global/gestalt/nonlinear/strategic/holistic/right-brain thinker.
- Prefers working in an informal, less structured, more flexible environment
- Tends to be spontaneous and likes spontaneity
- Enjoys doing several things at once
- Learns best when information is presented with humor or emotion or a short anecdote.
- Speaks with many gestures
- Tends to learn the general idea first, then looks at the details
- Can work well with distractions
- Tends to take frequent breaks
- Tends to need lessons which are interesting to them on a personal level
- Tends to work well in small groups
- Needs written and tactile involvement
- Responds well to pictures
(photo by Travis Wright)
So tell me. Are you a global or a linear thinker?














































