Life is….Good. My first 22 years were in Detroit, son of a Detroit police office. I went to a magnet high school, followed by college at Wayne State University. Possibly the most influential contributions to my Life during those years were working in grocery stores and living on campus at a fraternity house very much like Animal House

I earned a clinical degree in eye and vision (OD) and a graduate degree in Vision Science (PhD) from Ohio State University. My mentor was Glenn A. Fry, a person who: 1) played a monumental role in providing a scientific basis for the profession of optometry, and 2) taught Vision Science as per Hermann von Helmholtz, my academic grandfather. My subsequent years, 2/3 in academe and 1/3 in corporate, have been well-decorated with opportunities, publications, honors, and wide recognition within my field.

I have always been guided by an underlying passion to understand Brain, Mind, Human Behavior, and Life. Early in my career I became interested in reading and learning disabilities. I observed that some children seemed to predominantly have difficulty with vision perception and others with words or speaking.

The 2 cognitive modes associated with vision and speaking were distinct in my observations. Through introspection of our own consciousness we are able to be aware of the 2 different cognitive modes.

Vision has been the primary Darwinian force since at least the Cambrian Period….and is deeply tied to our “right brain” abilities. Our self-awareness comes from our vision-based right brain – no words. Our left brain speaking ability is a relative newcomer to Life on this planet – existing for only about 100,000 years and is well-developed only in Homo sapiens. Our thinking self (ego) is located in the speech-based left brain cognitive ability. Our thinking left brain seems to occupy the major part of our consciousness, and meditation-type activities are often required to become mindful of our right brain self-awareness.

We can have a much better understanding of human behavior, including cultural and civilization differences, by considering and applying the known differences between the two parts of our mind. I have elaborated these investigations in a book: Pondering Life.