Advantages of being left-handed
We often end up complaining about the frustrations of being left-handed, but there are plenty of advantages as well.Here is a list that has been reported in various places recently - we have done features on most of these items before but it is nice to put them all in one place. It would be great to make this list longer as well! If you can think of any other advantages of being left-handed and, ideally, can provide some sort of research results or reporting to back it up, please add a comment below and we will expand the list.
10 Proven Benefits of Being Left-Handed
With only about 10% of the population being left handed, lefties are a serious minority. While they’ve endured a serious amount of prejudice (the word for left in almost every language has a less than positive connotation) and even aggression over the years, today, many left handed people are proud of their unusual handedness. And why not? After all, they have to survive and thrive in a world designed for those who are right handed. The next time someone teases you about your left handedness, bring up one of these facts that show that being left handed just might be a genetic blessing after all, offering you bigger and better abilities that can help you do everything from get a degree to kick butt at video games.
Here are the Top 10 advantages of being left-handed and also a few extras we have added from LHC member comments...
- Being left handed is an advantage in many sports. You might just come out ahead in athletics if you’re a lefty. Since most players are right handed, many are unused to dealing with those who are left handed. Take baseball for instance. Southpaws have the advantage of already facing first base when they’re at bat, can more easily keep an eye on first base when pitching and can cover a large amount of the field when playing in the outfield by having their glove in their right hand. There are specially designed left-handed baseball gloves available (worn on the right hand so you can throw left-handed). Other sports that offer an advantage to lefties are fencing, boxing and tennis.
- [Updated August 2026] Left-handers and right-handers have essentially the same average intelligence. For years it was widely claimed that left-handers were more likely to be geniuses or have a high IQ — including a much-repeated statistic that 20% of Mensa members are left-handed. We looked for a credible source for that figure and haven’t found one, so we’re retiring it. The best current evidence points the other way: a 2018 meta-analysis of over 66,000 people (Ntolka & Papadatou-Pastou) found only a statistically tiny IQ difference — in right-handers’ favour, not left-handers’ — and a separate 2015 meta-analysis (Papadatou-Pastou & Tomprou) found intellectually gifted people were actually somewhat less likely to be left-handed than average. What the research does show is that left-handers are a bit more varied in things like brain organisation for language — a genuinely interesting story, just not the "secret genius" one. Read our full article on left-handedness, intelligence and creativity →
- Left handed men may make more money. All that genius has to lead to something, right? According to studies, left handed males who have gone to college earn 13 percent more than their right handed counterparts. The causes of this difference are unknown, but the gap is statistically significant enough that its not a simple anomaly. Oddly enough, however, the results are quite different for women, with lefties earning 5% less than women who are right handed.
- Left handed people adjust more easily to seeing underwater. Bizarre as it may sound, one of the benefits of being left handed is being able to adjust more easily to see the world around you when you’re underwater. While you may not need this ability very often, it could come in handy if you live by the sea or enjoy swimming. While it’s not quite clear why this is so, scientists think it has something to do with a different part of the brain being dominant in left handed individuals.
- Lefties are better able to multitask. One of the advantages of being left-handed is that it forces your brain to think more quickly. What this means for everyday life is that those who are lefties may find it easier to multi-task and deal with a large, sometimes unorganized stream of information. Researchers found that conversations between the left and right sides of the brain happen more quickly in left handed people. The more dominant the left handedness is, the better these abilities are.
- Some left-handed individuals have better memories. While it isn’t true for all who are left handed, data from recent studies suggests that those who come from families of lefties tend to have better memories, though only of the episodic kind. The odd thing about this study, however, was that individuals didn’t necessarily need to be left-handed themselves to have a better memory- just come from a family of lefties. These studies show that traits related to handedness may be passed down separately, though some lefties would prefer to think that their left-handed benefits just rubbed off on their right-handed counterparts.
- Generally, lefties are better at playing video games. Some of the traits that make lefties better thinkers and multitaskers also make them better at playing video games. Research conducted by Dr. Nick Cherbuin shows that lefties are better at handing large amounts of stimuli, making them naturally better at killing zombies, playing virtual tennis or fighting off alien hordes in the virtual world.
- Left handed stroke victims recover faster than right handed stroke victims. While the reasons behind this aren’t entirely clear, some believe it’s due to left handed people having to strengthen both sides of the brain when navigating a right handed world. Because many lefties are better able to use their non-dominant hand, it is easier for them to recover from a stroke that damages one part of their brain. Of course, recovery for those suffering from a stroke is never easy, no matter which is their dominant hand.
- Left-handed people are likely to be more visual than language-based, making them ideal for artistic pursuits. Research has shown that university students are more likely to major in visually-based, as opposed to language-based, subjects when they’re left handed. While another study — not comprehensive at only 103 students — showed that within the sample, 47% of art students were left- or mixed-handed. If you want to be an artist this is an amazing benefit, putting you in the likes of greats like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Rembrandt.
- Southpaw drivers are more successful at learning to drive than right handed people. If driving came easy to you, it might have a good deal to do with your left-handedness. A driving school poll found that 57% of left handers passed their driving test first time compared with only 47% of right handers. This is pretty amazing, considering that most cars are designed with right handed individuals in mind
Is this true in all countries, regardless of whether they drive on the left or on the right?
Here are some others to think about...
- Be a faster typist- on a standard qwerty keyboard there are about 3400 words that can be typed solely with the left hand, compared to about 450 words typed solely with the right hand.
- Less time in line. Studies show that most people veer to the right if there are multiple lines to choose from, but lefties tend to choose the line on their dominant side. A Disney World guidebook states that visitors will spend much less time in line for attractions if they choose the left-hand side when given an option.
- Get to choose your seat at the dinner table. Everyone knows you can't sit next to a lefty, otherwise you'll get your elbow bumped. Smart southpaws use this to their advantage to get a spot with more space. Unfortunately, this doesn't work as well at a circular table.
- Have an easier time writing in Hebrew. Many Arabic languages, including Hebrew are written from right to left. This alleviates the problem that lefties have when writing.
Let us know what you think about these and add any more advantages you can think of by adding a comment below.
Comments 473
I don't know if this is common with left handers or not.
I am the youngest and wondered if playing with the next brother up if i learned alot of left handedness from him - throwing balls, bowling, kicking etc.
To be honest I haven't really enjoyed being left handed because so many things are just made for right handers. I do find it a great advantage having a natural 'spin' on my backhand when playing table tennis and tennis.
this is dr alaa , iam lefty and i studied medicine , i used to draw since i was a kid , i stil have the ability to draw , i am addicted to vediogames and i like peing a pilot ?!
is that has any relation to the spatial inteligence left handed have?
my concearns is regarding to shifting my career from being a doctor to somthing else i have a believe that iam gifted in , like flying , drawing , movies macking , iam not sure yet ,, but can this website guide me/ assist me through self discovery ???/
your help and comments pls
From South(No Jokes) Africa,
I passed my drivers test first time round.
I'm a programmer who studied Information Technology.
I love to draw and I love to play guitar... Only wish it was easier to find left handed guitars... (Yes, they exist)
My one co-worker who started before me saw my payslip while my back was turned and complained to our boss...
I play A LOT of Video Games.
Don't know about the seeing underwater part, but as for the multitasking part... I'm watching Family Guy while writing this, apparently Mort's Pharmacy is going broke, more tragic cause he's Jewish apparently. No Peter, opening and closing the cash register multiple times is not helping.
Finally... What does James Bond say right before he receives a poison dart pen?
Hi Q. (Get it? IQ... Hi Q... :-D, you didn't get... Sigh...)
is it algeria or something :v
i find what you say interesting
My mother complained bitterly about my orneriness, but she always said my handwriting (which was very good), was just as good backward as forward.
I always wondered if that was only because I am left-handed or whether I am just wired differently...
you are pointing to something that i always think about
i am an arab and i am a righty, anyway
i was always outstanding in school above all righties and lefties
there was just one student who was extremly clever and unbeatable at school he was righty ofc
but i always thought that i was the best gifted student when it comes to languages
i like to analyse languages since i was a child and compare them, find relations between them , similarities and strange thoughts comes to me
recently i started watching japanese manga,,,,awesome
which meabs that i started to speak some japnese without realising it
but what did mke me freaked out are some similarities between jnese and semitic languages like arabic
my mother tong
that s really wierd
Language is related to geography ,,,, that s the wy i think
but japan and. the middle east are very far
Religious Jews who are left handed have a special set of laws for the performance of religious observances. I note that many artists and actors are left-handed. My left-handed son is artistic. I have to check whether any of his nephews are left-handed. To be continued.
left-handedness.
I am not sure, but I find that I seem to be very self-reliant and do not necessarily need the company of others to make me happy. I tend to think a bit more just on normal life situations than maybe I should...I've heard that this is a normal trait in left-handed people.
I have a good eyesight that can follow moving object like it was in slow motion if I wanted to. I don't know if it was me being a lefty or just me being me but I can avoid/dodge moving object quite easily even I'm not into anything sports like to train my eyes
Another benefit to being left-handed...when dining, we don't have to switch our fork to the opposite hand in order to pick up our knife to cut food. This is not only more efficient, it is the Continental style of dining...considered to be a more graceful way to eat! I just consider it to be more "common-sensical"!
The interesting part is the reaction of righties vs lefties. A righty will listen to a solution I devise, and immediately criticize or shoot it down. Meanwhile, upon hearing the same plan, a left handed person will at the very least stop to play out the scenario in their head to see if they feel it works.
It would seem that these two approaches play to the nature of the left and right brain. While right handers quickly do calculations and use past experience to solve a problem, left handers are more likely to take an out of the box approach, treating the situation as its own unique problem. Makes sense, I suppose, given the mathematical lean of the leg brain, and the abstract of the right
I am the only left-handed girl.
I am good at sports.....Tennis was great....no one could match my 2 handed back hand!
Today, I was in a meeting with 8 people. The gentlemen to my right was left-handed, the lady to his right was left-handed. What are the odds of that?
Hey lefties...admit it...I'm not the only one who looks at people during meetings, dinners, etc to see who is left-handed.
my food is very tasty appreciated by husband,
I am good at academics,
my IQ is very good
I didnt mean to show myself great through this post i just thought it might be a benefit of being left handed so i posted
thnks for reading
were my parents better informed i would be a good tennis player
luckily or unluckily all i really utilize is my brains while at school
i think i understand why i am better at understanding things
the only problem I EVER had was with M1 Rifle at Marine Corps rifle range.
if you fire left-handed you flinch as you pull the trigger as the expended shell casing flies right in front of your eyes.
I also noticed that I seem to have a bit of humor and that other lefties I have met seem to tolerate me better . Would I ever find my way into the hearts of practical-mind right-handed men??? lol
Also Justin Bieber is left-handed and he actually seems quite attractive...
Incidentally as a left handed slightly dyslexic it is extremely hard to type in a mixture of letters and numbers correctly - it took me at least five goes!
Also driving is easier since most of the controls are on the left of course. (I drove in America once and that took a lot of concentration in more ways than one!)
I never minded being the only person in a group who did things the other way. Made me feel special. (Aside for the first few months of high school and who isn't unsure then?)
It took me 6 months to learn underground utility work and be a
Tractor operator, at the same time to learn English; but....
Is a problem with learning fast, we get bored easily as we learn the
Skills .
I hope this will help and please righties be patient, just give us more task
To do and more thing to learn lol.
Math was my best subject in school, not expected from a girl. Also at only 5 ft tall I was great at basketball. Not for making baskets but because I I could sneak up low and swipe the ball with my left hand from the right handed dribblers.
-Research has shown no correlation between hand-dominance and IQ (other than ambidexterity).
-Multitasking is a left brain (right-hander) skill.
-Recovery from stroke depends on which side of your brain, or area, was hit. If you had a stroke in the right side of your brain, and you're left-handed, you're not going to do so great.
-Language centers are almost always dominant in the left side of the brain, regardless of hand dominance.
I agree with all of the stuff here, although there are downsides, like you are more likely to have insomnia (me).
For right handed people; for example on the notes of left side of the piano
Is played slow and on the right side is faster notes, therefore is more complicated
For us to play instruments.
I recommend to find a keyboard and switch the notes and you will see the differences
Or be a good lefty and learned to play it like this, master your right hand and
Make it faster and better ( like I'm with the guitar) and you will be a good musician!!
Good luck!!
Use a clipboard upside down for taking notes.
1 Insert lined paper upside down.
2 Take notes. Write story ect. (only use the one side facing you)
This opens up your left hand to write comfortably.
This also allows you to transfer the paper back to a binder in a forward manner.
I personal use a file system for freedom.
You can also, simply open a binder from the back and start from there.
(only use the one side facing you)
You do lose the option of reloading the paper into the right handed world's form.
But if they are just notes for you, you win!
As a left hander, I hate cheque books as the stubs get in the way, scissors argh, London tube ticket machines, all right handed, most door security machines are made right handed.
Michael
cant really decide a certain hand in sports.
But having 140 IQ helps a lot for a 17 year old highschool boy like me!
To all the lefties out there..... hellooooo :-)
Also, reading this didn't make me feel like an outcast anymore. I'm only 10 but in 7th grade.
Having a higher IQ seems accurate, because I skipped a few grades, and I'm still in gifted class.
Thanks again!
P.S. National left-hand day is August 13th!
P. S. A few other advantages I have found reside in playing music. I'm a drummer who plays the drum set right handed and I find that my hands are free to do what they please with my left hand dominance( I can also play the kit left handed) upon playing piano it's common for a right handed player to struggle with his independence in the left hand. Being a lefty gives you that natural dexterity. And lastly I slappa duh bass mon! Also playing a right handed bass. Which makes my left hand's ability to travel with ease along the fretboard of my bass. That's all folks!
No accents over here in California... But I can do one if I read outloud with accent..
The spelling is easier with your guys' proper english..
Fibre, colour, flavours, organised, etc... I read a lot of old books published in the UK.. So it is difficult to not misspell an American word..
But your bloody shows on the tele... My god, Some of the humour on BBC is outlandish and frankly makes me laugh simply cause it is only supposed to be funny..Lol.
California is very different...it's Hollywood, Mexico, nice weather, better wine, and Liberals.
Leftists. Lol
It's on the left side of the world. I guess lol. Left side of US.
Anything left handed?. Lol
I tried as STUDENT-athlete.. Not a dumb football player as many would think.
Never studied though... Until college bleh ...
I was football all team captain senior year at Clovis East, under Coach Tim Murphy, got 110% award in sophmore, and player of the game when we played a team from Texas at Dallas Cowboys stadium...In 2008. That was cool. It was their old stadium, some ppl think turf is fun to play on... Hell no.. Lol. But football did not just allow me to get As. In elementary school I played baseball, ran track & field but was not very good, in 6th grade in California I got the highest standardized test scores of my entire city... 98 99 97 in the three categories.
In 2011 on December 2nd being 20 years old... Born in JUNE, 1991..
I had a severe left hemisphere stroke due to the misuse of Clenbuteral. First time I tried it. For cutting weight in body building
.. The helicopter took me to Fairfax Inova hospital... Lol helicopter... Coming from From Inova Loudoun hospital in Leesburg VA.. Over by the Pentagon and CIA and all that good shit lol.
smack... I lost the ability to talk and walk, but soon could say all the swear/curse words, thank you, please, yes, no, and hey. Then with only 1 month of total therapy I regained enough ability to return to work at Starbucks 30 hours à week, was doing 40-50 before the stroke... But soon took sick leave again..due to me getting thrown out in the snow in Virginia lmao got hypothermia twice.. It's really not that bad being homeless with a stroke in the cold... Until you get dislocated at work and your girlfriend named Bianca gets engaged to your homeless "best friend." Jonathan D... Then I returned to Fresno, CA... Hehe all that really happened. No joke... But it is funny to me because I learned how to listen and learned so much more... And had a paradigm shift...
But 2 years later I have no physical deficits (100%)!!! and my speech is about 87-94 % (it depends on how tired and how anxious I am) .... Umm I'm estimating that in 1 more year I will be at 92-98% and in under 3 years I will be back at 100%.. So yeah having a stroke sucks... The horror of not being able to say anything but sound like a drunken idiot with a bad stutter will make anyone go ape shit. The humor of all those doctors telling me I'm never gonna be the same. Et
But yeah all true and I'm now finishing my two associates degrees, being a personal trainer, and a 22 year old.. Life is good, but it was the excellent parenting, and coaching with Jesus' help that makes the impossible tough stuff easy for me,
Because I'm left handed I'm used to being at a constant disadvantage, I'm like immune to being the underdog lol.
Look me up on Facebook.. Michael Andrew XP... Clovis East High School 09.. I'm the attractive Michael with the green eyes
-----Any grammar errors are due to me texting this out on my Android. £â‚¬ ¥ ¢ © ®â„¢~ ¿ ¡^ ¬ ¦ ° ¶ §Ã—
Left handed ppl rule the world. If there were 50 randomly picked lefties vs. 50 of the latter.. we would dominate.
Left over, left out, left handed path... Right way. Right now. Right or wrong. Right side of the road, Civil rights, and righteousness, righteous right hand of God, and everything else in the world Follows that... Left hand turn signals SUCK.
Advice: When you are holding a gun and the clip drops out... Cause Ur left hand triggered it to release on accident.. Never buy a right handed handgun... Lol never happened in the action, but it has happened during the shooting range...
It's been a privilege.
Sincerely,
Michael Andrew XP
Is there any research or facts to back up my observation?
Most interesting. People wondered why and how I'd find things underwater when other people dont. Amphoras in Turkey under a landslide, polished stone 30 yards from the beach in Saint MArtin. I left everything in place. I'd forecast manythings when writing software.
A question : do southpaws are more lucky. Does it exist statistics about the lotery winners ? I survived 19 violent death risks, out of all odds.
Being a frustrated southpaw I am unfortunately ungifted for drawing.
Too bad ?
Jacques De Schryver
for example, in basketball, i dribble with my right, not good w/ my left.. but in other sports such as tennis i can only play w/ my left.
I also knit w/ my left but cannot crochet using it (i crochet using my right hand).
I eat using my right hand but that's only because of my religion and culture, I'm not sure if i used to eat w/ my left initially.
So I'm mix-handed but lean closer to left handedness.
and forgot to mention that even though my left is dominant, my right hand is actually stronger, so if i ever tried pitching in baseball i'd probably throw w/ my right just coz it's stronger, though my left is probably more accurate.
although i knew most of the things on this article I'm still learning abt myself, just days ago i took interest in drumming so i'd try to watch youtube tutorials and imitate them (dnt have a drum set yet), and the weird thing is it's easier for me to control my hands for drumming (left) but can control my right foot better, so for bass drum it'll be easier for me to do it with my right foot, strange ...
Can read upside down and mirror fashion - makes doing word puzzles much easier
- When I was 5 my Mom tried to get me to use my right hand. She kept putting everything in my right hand but I started stuttering so she stopped.
- thanks for the tip re using the mouse and still being able to write!
- we have chip credit cards now in Canada so we don't have to sign - am happy about that!
- I read that in the early 1900s the keyboard was developed to slow down the typists!! (I forget why).
- I always try to sit at the left end of a table.
- used to think I was lucky that I didn't have to switch knife and fork to cut a steak.
- like Ian's comment: We are on natural brain steroids.
- whoever moderates the notes should not have printed the negative comment re the spelling.
- the U.S president is left-handed.
When working on house projects, a Leftie can use tools with both hands thereby working both "sides" from central position.
AND, when swinging a paintbrush...when one hand gets tired, simply switch to the other hand.
Ok, I wasn't taught to write in school, I just looked at the kid beside me and did the opposite.
I am good at most sports too.
Left handed people are said to be musically inclined.
I am terrible at math.
I can write 'backward' (have to read it with a mirror) automatically without thinking. I think genuine lefties can but most probably don't try. Just an fyi.
I believe we use both sides of our brain which makes us quite intelligent.. I could be wrong.. however..
Hello to all other lefties out there. Nice to meet ya'll
from Windsor Ontario Canada
Everyone calls me different and stuff, but it doesn't bother me.
The only thing on this list that I can't really do is multitask, it's just something I can't do, and will probably never be able to do, haha! Anyways, being left handed is awesome. I wouldn't trade to right handed people even if I had the chance! #LeftyFoLyfe
I am lefthanded but uses right for writting and uses the left for special tasks. A lefty never misses a target.
I will love to start using my left fully by learning arabic language. Plesase, keep me posted on mmonyem@yahoo.com for resourceful website and material for learning arabic language.
Great lefties, Great achievers.
note:i was left handed too
For anyone to force another, even a child, to comply with what their version of " normal" is, especially if they naturally use their left hand ....well, there would be war in my family if this occurred.
I am a left handed golfer, but use a baseball bat with my right hand. It's not that I am any good at golf,but took it in college as an elective.
The child will naturally pick up things with their dominant hand..and I wouldn't allow anyone to force any child to " perform" with their right hand. I agree with the other poster wholeheartedly !
It's far more ancient. There are some similarities but these are two very differant languages..
world. The answer came to me one day in junior high.
1.Open your binder backwards.
2.Write only on the one side of paper facing you.
It is a brain flip for the mind but it works wonderfully!
I know this will work for you. Others will admire the ingenuity.h926
I use a clip board.
1. insert your lined paper upside down.
2. write holding the clipboard upside down.
This will open your left hand to write freely.
This will allow you to transfer your papers
back to a binder in a forward manner.
I just realized your request is a year old.
I hope you found the answer sooner. Good Day!
Like, Transhandedism or something...?
Or am I just a weird person?
You may wish to double check your theory. It is Writer, not Righter. It is Than, not Then. What is a "smart known" person? If you are the smartest, the others must be having real problems.
Am I called a lefty?
I think left-handers are good at adapting to difficult situations. My cousin is left-handed(the only one in our family) & she's ambidextrous. She writes the entire alphabet backwards, even though she's only 6.
this news letter and believe that being left handed is advantage when
it comes to typing. The bias made to slow typists down i.e. there are
approximately 200 words that can be typed just using the left hand
whereas there are only 20 using the right hand. Nowadays there is no
need for this bias - it was to slow the keys to prevent them jamming.
The one thing I have always been troubled with is using cameras which have always been designed for right-handed people. All the buttons and controls are on the right side of the camera. You can only hold the camera with you left hand, you have to use your right hand to press the shutter button.
what beats me is lefty's that aren't openly proud of being so
also is it just me or does it look totally wierd when you see another lefty doing something?....i'm so used to seeing right handed people doing things that when i see a lefty it stick out like a sore thumb and it takes a second for me to figure out why it doesn't look right lol
But perhaps this is because I was forced to write with my right hand when I was 5?
Er, Hebrew isn't an Arabic language :P
BTW. I love being a lefty, and I think that all of the benefits are true. I am very viasual.
First, the disadvantages- Most right handed people have NO clue as to how difficult or how hard we work at fitting in. Most everything is made to cater toward the right handed people so many things are at first are quite awkward for us to utilize. Other than those minor inconveniences? Being a lefty is AWESOME!
First, we are quite brilliant. Think about it. For everything a righty does a lefty learns at least twice! We learn it the righty way and turn it around for us to use. We adapt quicker than most because we adapt daily. What right handed people take for granted we have to 'fix' to work for us.
Writing: Because I am a lefty, I have had the wonderful experience of dragging ink and pencil across my papers to where everything that was readable looked quite dingy or dirty. To compensate for this, I first turned my papers to the other extreme and wrote left slanted. I didn't like that look so I learned to write up and down. My paper, dead center and writing with hand placed below the lines... Because of my constant adapting on this I can write upside down, left, right, backward etc. and I can also read this way. Including mirror images.
As a mother, of 5 right handed kids, teaching them as they have grown has been a BREEZE! All I ever had to do was sit in FRONT of them and do something and they were able to pick up the 'how-to's ' quite easily! As if they were looking in a mirror. The same has gone toward my own learning. I have taught myself how to crochet, paint, sculpt, bead, make wire jewelry, all by watching a right handed person in front of me rather than beside me or behind me. Makes it quite simple too when learning via the internet!
When dining out I make sure that I inform everyone that I must sit on the outside unless they wish to be wearing their meal instead of enjoying it...of course this is said with a laugh- though I mean every word! lol I used to obsess when drinking or eating, until I learned that the right handed world has me, a lefty, as their guest. LOL So I sit, I lift my glass in my left hand and keep it near me...
I have adapted in the way that I am patient and often take visual 'cues' from others as to whether they are left or right handed... and in my occupations, moved forward.... As a rule I place everything in the 'center' and allow others to take from their preferred direction.
I do find it uncomfortable when passing others, or shaking hands (when forced to shake right handed I feel as if I am somehow lying..lol) taking change or when going to hug someone- I never quite know how to proceed- other than by allowing others to make the first move! Once that is established everything else just flows into place.
I march to the beat of my own drummer- my first step is with my left foot. I lead with the left and go opposite of everyone else. As I am grown now the world is more enjoyable- but as a child being a lefty was a total pain! Teachers never understood me. Were constantly on my back to write with my right hand- yes. I have been hit with a ruler and even called 'devils spawn' by a teacher repeatedly- until I told my mother and she went and set her straight! Never piss off the mother of devil spawn! lol
other advantages are- right handed people leave OUR stuff alone! They either don't understand it or are too baffled to proceed!... I was never bugged for my 'notes', Use of my office space or my computer. I ALWAYS buy a universal mouse for my computer and set it up for my left hand. I have noticed that as a lefty I prefer the uniball mouse over the so called normal, button variety. As a lefty I have more dexterity and a better ability to maneuver the ball rather than deal with a scroller or various buttons for functions. Drives my hubby insane! hehehe
I get to keep my kitchen to myself as NO one can every find anything! :D I place it where it should be...of course...for a lefty like me! :P
Genious and intelligent that is different story and advanatages is always good. But as parent basic education is the most important and if I could facilitate my son in his study that will be great for me . So I am in real need of help for not only son but nepali children who are sufferening for the progress. I like to keep lefty very proud but like to include my son also.
Although languages are my other strong points: i'm one of the top five best studenst in portuguese, i can score 97% in english tests without bothering to study, my teatcher oftently praises my extense vocabullary for an 8th grader learning a foreign language. and i get 5's (1 being the worse and 5 the maximum grade) in french (tough i don't like it much. i find it really annoying and the teatcher is obnoxious. It's the only school subject everybody in my class hates)
I never did learn to use left-handed scissors--they weren't available, so I used right-handed ones, and now I can't cut with scissors in my left hand. I use both hands for many tasks. I think many lefties learn to be slightly ambidextrous. When I learned to use a computer mouse a number of years ago, the mouse was always on the right side for my husband's convenience. I never thought to switch it over to the left, so I learned to use a mouse right-handed. I type with a two-finger method and can go pretty fast.
I simply cannot fathom the prejudice in some cultures against left-handedness, but there's no logic in any kind of prejudice, anyway. Left-handedness is something a person is born with. Our brains are wired a bit differently. If you try to force a child to use their right hand, you mess with their mind! I'm glad I live in a more enlightened age and place. No offense intended to anyone who feels differently.
I can do many things right handed because thats just how the world is set up and how i grew up; just accepting the situations and dealing with them and its not a big deal. The only thing that really irritates me is having to sign those credit card machines at the stores!
Also, when I write I don't turn my paper toward the right; I keep it turned toward the left or straight! Don't know why but its more comfortable that way and I don't have to look like my hand is deformed while I am writing like some lefties do!
:-)
thats why i feel proud.........
I use the same principle with the phone. Answer it right handed and it will leave your left hand free to write messages.
Most people don't care if you do bump into them at the table, from my exp (using your left).
I think that it is an advantage in typing though. I'm actually terrible at it (given the amount I've to type) but the left-handedness compensates and I manage to pass as normal.
Now I'm looking forward for a spouse who is lefty...
They switch hands - cut the food, trade the knife for the fork and eat right handed.
My husband alhough a rightie is from Europe, so we both eat two handed - fork in left hand, knife in the right. Seems much less awkward.
I have always been lefthanded, and no one ever tried to force me to switch. However in my younger days, there were no left handed scissors, so I learned to use the right handed ones. Big surprise when I was in my 60's I broke my right arm, and I was astonished to find all the things I needed it for. Door knobs turn to the right. Very frustrating
The most frustrating thing I find is trying to open a keyring to put a key on it. Whichever way round you turn it, the keyring opens the same side - it takes me forever!
I am left handed for finer skills like writing, sewing, using scissors etc, but use my right hand for sports.
I'm left-eared - cant seem to comprehend so well if I try and use the right ear!
I've noticed that I have a much stronger grip with my right hand than I do my left. My doctor even commented on it. Perhaps I've developed the stronger grip to compensate for the lack of skill?
When I took calligraphy, I had a hard time too, until I figured out how to make the letters backwards. It worked wonderfully for me and my writing was among the best in the class, even though I took longer than most people to write out the assignment.
As for being visual and artistic, I'd say that's true for me too. I always learned better when I had some sort of diagrams or even just notes on the blackboard to work from. I don't learn very well with a teacher lecturing and me trying to take notes while listening. When it comes to art, I can't draw to save my life, but I do make beautiful jewelry.
Can i you fill a lefty survey for a work i am doing about lh ppl?
Thanks
Ron
I agree wholeheartedly about learning to try your shoes. My older sister tried to compensate for me left-handed-ness by reversing how she tied her shoes when she taught me how to tie shoelaces. Consequently, I am 50 and still cannot tie my shoes to stay tied without concentrating on the tyeing. I tie them half way as a left handed person, then reverse the process, so my bows are perpendicular to the initial tie. I was 30 when I made a friend of mine work me through it one step at a time. I look forward to when I can wear Velcro shoes that do not look dorky. Probably next year. :-)
Always been both Artistic and mathematical. Tremendous sense of spacial awareness so don't get lost and can think in 3D.
Also found left foot breaking in an automatic car very easy to learn.
Love being left handed.
For my job, I can use the computer mouse with my right hand and take notes at the same time with my left hand, and call at the same time. Quite a multitasker!
Only one difficulty: writing on a white board, because while writing you'll wipe everything out that you just wrote.
I always try to sit at the end of a table so I don't bump elbows with the person next to me, which is generally a right handed person...it sure makes eating more pleasant...lots of my friends now realize what I am doing and are always accomodating : )
As a left-handed I suppose your question can be answered by keeping this famous proverb in mind: "practice makes perfect". suppose there are lots of people who were samples of lefties but following some bad events such as a terrible accidend they lost their left hand and started to use their right one in an appropriate manner.
I wish you the best my dear
Tayeb Hassan-pour, Iranian university studend majoring in English lg. translation
I agree that in general lefties record higher IQs. Of course lefties cannot play hockey.
As I live in France I am also driving on the "wrong side" of the road. It's far easier to change gear with your left hand than the right or is that just me?
I, too, am an Anne with an 'e'! My sense of misdirection is legendary. My daughter teases me that I can get lost, even with a GPS. Maybe, we need to do a study on lefties named Anne and sense of direction!
Nearly all powered woodworking equipment are unsafe for leftys, especially circular saws. When Porter Cable came out with a left handed model I got one. Now I have a good excuse for not loaning it out
I got a left-handed corkscrew. When using a right-handed corkscrew, I put the tip of the screw in the cork, hold it steady and upright, and then turn the bottle. I have used the left-handed corkscrew in the normal manner. However, I have found when I extract the corkscrew from the cork I have become so used to the way a right-handed corkscrew works that I screw the cork I screw it into my hand.
It is fun, however, to hand the corkscrew to a right-hander and watch the show.
Has anyone else made these observations?
Lefties Rule!!
I believe this to be true. I'm always watching people's movements and make comment when I notice that someone's lefty. You are also correct that rightys don't notice this at all. They seem to assume that everyone else is right handed.
My hubby and son are right handed, which I feel sorry for them on. It still drives hubby wild that I'm always veering to the left, especially at the grocery check out. We don't wait in line much when I'm "driving".
Go all of us lefties :D
im left-handed and i often get straight A's...and guess what?? 4 of my cousins are also left-handed and two of them also get good exam reports!
this is year i was offered to go to my state 2nd best achived high school at first i was afraid that i would be considered "different" because of my left-handedness but i was supprised that a lot of the students there are also left-handed!!
lefty have excellent sense of directions, they do not get lost that easy.
Happy Christmas Steen.
Lately I have noticed a great deal of "left handed" actors in commercials here in the USA, both in print and on TV. I put LH in quotation marks because I get the feeling that they are doing some trickery and reversing the angle, after the fact. I think this is done because the dominant world will prefer to read the text in an ad on the right side of the page or screen and if they make the actor seem LH, it clears the way for an unobscured shot of the person holding a fork or pen or whatever. The thing is--as a lefty I can "tell" that it is often faked, because the hand and actor look awkward. But I guess it shows the righties really need us! Anyone else notice this?
Happy Holidays to All
brain surgery I started eating with left hand. Told it my surgeon and he woke up
and wrote it in his Dr's recovery notes. Raised in the Napa Vally on a pear farm. My
grandmother who was a handsome woman resembled Elanore Roosevelt with arms like
Pop Eye would tie my left arm behind me with rope during meals. Probably should
thank her.
I don't even think about it.
Number 11 is:
That all "lefties" are better looking than anybody else, and a Cochrane will confirn it, I think...
The 12 commandment Is:
That all "Lefties" can do every thing better than everybody else. We just need a little time extra.
Greetings Steen
Of course this is true even for the left-handed fencer, when he or she faces another lefty...
:-)
There are two leftys amongst us kids, and my daughter is also left-handed. The only disadvantage is that some of us can be dyslexic. I still have some trouble with b's and g's on the keyboard. Had to help my daughter with this when she was learning to read.
I also altered the way that I hold a pin because I got tired of the side of my hand being black or blue from dragging in the ink. People don't immediately notice that I'm lefty because of this. My eldest brother still writes with "the hook".
When I do wish to write for others, it takes me forever because my brain's going thousands of times faster than my head and I'd much rather type whatever it is I'm saying. I type at nearly 100 wpm, so it's more efficient. I've taken to just typing whatever I need and handing that to the person.
I was taught to write well and do not write with a hook. My paper must be aligned horizontally so that the lines are vertical on the page. Never cared as to whether or not someone liked my handwriting.
I've also made the case for getting special pens for writing at work. I have to write a fair amount in my job, and I hook my left hand. I avoid some of the tendonitis that I used to get by having very smooth pens that are the envy of others in the office.
It is especially useful when one does not want to sit next to somebody ... just use the hand preference to change places!
Leave a Comment