Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

We often hear that opposites attract … but it’s usually not so. Why do you think  racial slurs continually pop up. Recently in the elevator, I heard two co-workers discussing a mixed race couple from their firm. One manager said … “I hope they realize what they’re up against…” and the other shot back … "they likely have no idea what they’re in for."

Why then, do we think opposites attract? Maybe it’s because we see more openness than in past?” Look closer though. Deeper differences of color, race, religion, and ethnicity don’t usually attract one another – and often polarize and diminish people in cruel ways. Are we simply deceived?

No question - many people attribute some growth in interracial mixes to global military involvement. American military engagements in the Philippines and Japan from 1950 to 1982, for instance, grew interracial marriages in both countries. Over 50,000 Amerasian children now live in the Philippines and more than 6,000 Amerasian children were born in Japan from 1987 to 1992. Does this spell attraction to differences?

In reality,  it’s often painfully difficult for people who choose differences. Just look at stigmatization of Amerasian children often lead to severe poverty and a lifetime of prejudice, according to Congressional Record. Daily ed. 4 May 1994 p.S5179-5194
 

Interestingly, from 1968 and 1989, children born to parents of different races increased from 1% of total births to 3.4%. For Black and White parents, births increased from 8,700 in 1968 to 45,000 in 1989. There has also been an increase in births to Japanese and White parents. Similarly, between 1968 and 1989, Chinese-White births more than tripled (from 1,000 to over 3,800) according to Futurist May-June 1993. Could attraction for opposites be growing?

Zhenchao Qian, at Ohio State University predicted from his research discoveries - that more educated minorities are more likely to marry interracially than their less educated counterparts. Do you see evidence of attraction here?  

It’s not the same in all situations. Steve Sailer – a writer for Model Minority suggested that Black men tend to marry more white women than black women have to marry white men. In about 73% of black-white couples, the husband is black. Asian women are also more prone to marry white men, compared to Asian men marrying white women. Just over 75% of white-Asian couples featured a white husband and Asian wife. Have you seen attractions to opposites  growing here?

I love to see differences come together with respect for similarities on both sides.  And I admire the life-changing lessons from people who value those who differ in views and backgrounds. It’s easier for some than others … but it’s far more possible from those who rewire their brains to regularly:  

1. Engage opposite points of view
2. Grow dendrite brain cells for a competitive edge
3. Problem-solve with the brain in mind
4. Rewire against Hebbian learning
5. Replace conventional diversity training

Where I work – at the MITA Brain Based Center – we learn a great deal daily from deep differences we are privileged to engage. These include my years of living and working among Inuit in the High Arctic…  Chileans … Irish … Canadians … Europeans … Mexicans and others. It’s one part of brain based work I most look forward to daily.

Opposites rarely attract of their own accord - but the human brain offers tools to bring differences together with brilliant benefits from many sides. What do you think?