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I want to address people who are mathematical, logical and analytic; left-minded, let's say. But I find the left- vs right-minded theory trendy and biased (just the opposite of the people I'm trying to address).

My phrase goes something like: "This course is focused on left-minded individuals...".

Any help would be appreciated.

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I am so tempted to answer "Geeks..." – mickeyf Mar 9 '11 at 14:41

1 Answer

up vote 7 down vote accepted

"Left brained" or "left hemisphere dominant" are the more usual ways to put it, I think.

If you want to avoid the whole left/right brain thing, then taking a page from your explanatory sentence, you could say "this course is geared toward logical and analytical thinkers."

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“Left-brained” should probably be hyphenated in formal writing. Going by Google, “left brained” appears to be the more prevalent form on the web at large, but searching in the NY Times and on Google Scholar suggests that “left-brained” is dominant in well-edited and academic writing. – PLL Mar 9 '11 at 1:34
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It is of course worth remembering that the usage of "left-brained" and "right-brained" is based on a misinterpretation and popularization of legitimate brain lateralization studies, e.g., scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2007/10/… Personally, I wouldn't use those terms in educated company, and certainly not in professional writing. – Billare Mar 9 '11 at 1:48
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Personally, if I were reading a scientific report and found a reference to "left minded people" I would seriously doubt the scientific correctness of the report itself. The second option (analytical thinkers) is much better. – nico Mar 9 '11 at 7:03
I'll go with "this course is geared toward logical and analytical thinkers", thanks! – Duopixel Mar 9 '11 at 23:25

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