*related http://videosift.com/video/What-Are-You-Kurzgesagt

What Are You? - Kurzgesagt has been added as a related post - related requested by eric3579.

This must be why I hate myself.

imo, this goes to the idea that "consciousness" is emergent. consciousness is made up of a multitude of less conscious/non-conscious parts and the totality creates what we call consciousness or "you". there is no singular "you". you are a collective of parts. splitting the hemispheres means 2 large subsections of you don't communicate with each other as well as they used to (they still communicate but the speed of that communication is too slow for them to operate as a cohesively single collective).

Holy crap, that is amazing! Is this really true?

Only half a turd, but unfortunately it seems to be the half that controls the things I say and do.

also, my right brain is typing *promote

Left brain seems ok with this.

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Tuesday, May 31st, 2016 10:45am PDT - promote requested by ChaosEngine.

but can right brain actually type? Is it it not language, not just speech, that is in the realm of the left brain?

No idea, but given the video shows both sides of the brain reading text, I'm inclined to say no.

In anyone who doesn't have a split brain, left brain and right brain can share information through the corpus callosum. Right brain doesn't come up with the words, but it's happy to help you mash the correct keys, given a request from left brain.

I'm amazed I found exactly this question on a neuroscience blog :

http://www.neuwritewest.org/blog/2014/2/6/split-brains

When right brain picks up a Rubik's cube because it was asked to, left brain has no knowledge of that. So when the Rubik's cube is passed into the hand controlled by left brain, how does left brain know to even receive the item? Is it acting on habit - i.e. it's so used to cooperating with left brain and body parts that it accepts things left brain offers? And in that case, is the incorrect explanation from left brain influenced by what it thinks right brain wants? For favourite colour - is each side influenced by what it thinks the other prefers?

I suspect viral marketing techniques like anthropomorphising body parts is taking away slightly from the truth. It's a fun conclusion that captures the imagination to say that there are two entities, one in thrall to the other, but we are talking about a malfunctioning brain so the conclusions need careful consideration. These type of things can be a little economical with the truth to paint a better picture, I know the physics ones are on occasion.

I AM FREAKING OUT!

There is actually an argument that our brains are three due to the way the frontal cortex works. (not the "triune brain" which is a different idea)

The frontal part can exercise control over the two hemispheres and is about as close as we have gotten to identifying where free will comes from. Certainly, in people who have had frontal brain damage there appears to be a direct link to lack of impulse control.
Almost every serial killer in history appears to have had some manner of frontal brain trauma at some stage in their lives and the link to delinquency is fairly well documented by this stage.

The latest research suggests consciousness itself is a fractal programme running co-operatively across the brain, but it remains pretty obscure none the less. The frontal cortex is split between left and right hemispheres, but it certain appears to behave as one in healthy brains.

The best way I could describe it is that the left and right represent the animistic unconsidered side of our behaviour and desires as we see in most animals (interacting via the corpus callosum that connects them). With the frontal cortex seeming to represent the higher functions that allow us to harness the rest of our brain in more considered and abstract ways (presumably also split into left and right).

I think of it like the foreman directing the other divisions of the factory but staying largely hands off when considered decisions don't need to be made.

All of the above is a gross oversimplification though. We can guess at the basis for free will, but it remains elusive.