Current Left-handed research
This section gives information on research that has been in the news recently or is particularly relevant to current events.General information on left-handed research
If you are currently involved in research or studies involving left-handedness and would like more detailed information than we have available, you may find the following links helpful. You can view articles and often search for any papers or articles relating to your particular area of interest. Research websites: https://bmj.com https://www.nature.com https://www.genetics.org Research books: Right-Hand, Left-Hand by Prof. Chris McManus Available from our online shop The Left-Handers Handbook by Diane Paul Available from our online shop If you discover any interesting research relating to left-handedness that we have not covered, please let us know about it, and we will add a link to this page.Are left handed people more inhibited?
This article appeared in the New Scientist - click here for original article Lefties face a daily battle with a world designed for right-handers. Now it seems that left-handed people face a similar struggle in the mental sphere: behavioural research suggests they are prone to inhibition and anxiety. When about to do something, left-handers tend to dither, says Lynn Wright, a behavioural psychologist at the University of Abertay Dundee, UK, who led the study. Right-handers tend to jump in a bit.” On tests of behavioural inhibition, 46 left-handed men and women scored higher than 66 right-handers. Women, too, tended to rack up higher scores on the tests of reticence. Wright and her colleagues uncovered these predilections by giving subjects a behavioural test that gauges both personal restraint and impulsiveness, qualities which seem to emanate from opposite hemispheres of our brains. Compared to right-handers, lefties and women were likelier to agree with statements such as, I worry about making mistakes” and Criticism or scolding hurts me quite a bit”. All groups responded similarly to statements such as I often act on the spur of the moment” and I crave excitement and new sensations”, Wright’s team found. The results could be due to wiring differences in the brains of left-handers and right-handers, she says. Research suggests that handedness is a matter of degree (see "Edinburgh handedness inventory"). But in left-handers the right half of the brain is dominant, and it is this side that seems to control negative aspects of emotion. In right-handers the left brain dominates. It’s all relative, you see,” says Philip Corr, a behavioural neuroscientist at Swansea University, UK, noting that the differences in the brains of left and right-handers are usually slight. However, he says handedness is not so much a predictor of personality as a great way to understand how emotions are handled in our brains. Although we may have a predisposition to an inhibition, that may encourage us during adulthood or childhood to develop coping strategies,” he says. It could act as a blessing.” Wright, a lefty, agrees. They [left-handers] like to colour-code things, they like to write lists, it’s almost a way to alleviate their stress,” she says, adding that she is the classic example of the things that she finds in her work - "which is frightening”. An international group of scientists, led by a team from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics atResearchers at Oxford University find gene for left-handedness
An international group of scientists, led by a team from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, have discovered a gene that increases the chance of being left handed. The study is published on-line today by the journal Molecular Psychiatry. The research, which involved over 40 scientists from 20 research centres around the world, revealed a gene called LRRTM1; the first to be discovered which has an effect on handedness. Although little is known about LRRTM1, the Oxford team suspects that it modifies the development of asymmetry in the human brain. Asymmetry is an important feature of the human brain, with the left side usually controlling speech and language, and the right side controlling emotion. In left-handers this pattern is often reversed. There is also evidence that asymmetry of the brain was an important feature during human evolution; the brains of our closest relatives, the apes, are more symmetrical than humans' and they do not show a strong handedness. The Left-Handers Club welcome these new findings, as a genetic link has long been considered the most likely cause of left-handedness yet a specific gene has until now remained elusive. This is the first potential genetic influence on human handedness to be identified, and the first putative genetic effect on variability in human brain asymmetry. LRRTM1 is a candidate gene for involvement in several common neurodevelopmental disorders, and may have played a role in human cognitive and behavioral evolution. The researchers also discovered that LRRTM1 might slightly increase the risk of developing schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia often have unusual patterns of brain asymmetry and handedness, so the researchers were not surprised when LRRTM1 also showed a possible effect on the risk of developing schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a disorder of the brain which results in impaired perception and thought. It affects roughly one percent of adults worldwide. There has not, however, been any assumption that left-handedness and schzophrenia are linked. The study leader, Dr Clyde Francks, said: "People really should not be concerned by this result. There are many factors which make individuals more likely to develop schizophrenia and the vast majority of left-handers will never develop a problem. We don't yet know the precise role of this gene." Some of the researchers involved in this discovery are now planning further study on the roles of LRRTM1 in the developing brain, and to find other genes with which LRRTM1 interacts. Dr Francks said: "We hope this study's findings will help us to understand the development of asymmetry in the brain. Asymmetry is a fundamental feature of the human brain that is disrupted in many psychiatric conditions." For more information contact: Dr Clyde Francks (Study Leader) GlaxoSmithKline Email: clyde.2.francks (at) gsk.com Phone: +39 045 821 8059 Prof Anthony Monaco (Laboratory Head) Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics University of Oxford Email: anthony.monaco (at) well.ox.ac.uk Phone: +1 302 945 5349 07795 690173[Updated August 2026] This 2007 finding was an important early step, but it’s now over 15 years old and the science has moved on substantially. A 2021 genome-wide study of over 1.7 million people (Cuellar-Partida et al., Nature Human Behaviour) found handedness isn’t controlled by any single gene like LRRTM1 — instead, dozens of genetic variants each make a tiny contribution, and genetics only explains a modest share of the picture overall (environment and chance in early development account for the rest). LRRTM1 itself hasn’t held up as a major factor in larger follow-up studies. See our detailed article on the genetics of left-handedness for the current picture →
Higher breast cancer risk among left-handed women (Sep 2005) Source : BMJ, doi: 10.1136/bmj.38572.440359.AE (Pub. 26 Sept 2005) New research suggests that left-handed women may be more at risk from breast cancer. The study, published online by the British Medical Journal, found left-handed women were more than twice as likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer as non-left handed women.| The researchers, from the University Medical Center Utrecht, looked at the relationship between handedness and cases of breast cancer in more than 12,000 middle aged women born between 1932 and 1941. As part of their examination, the researchers also took body measurements and assessed risk factors such as economic status, smoking habits, family history of breast cancer and reproductive background. |
[Updated August 2026] This 2005 study was a single, fairly small dataset, and the wider research since has been inconsistent — some studies found higher risk, others found none, and one even found a lower risk in premenopausal left-handed women. A comprehensive 2024 systematic review, meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization study (Oh et al., Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology) pooled 8 studies and found only weak, inconsistent evidence overall — and critically, when they used Mendelian randomization (a stronger method for testing whether an association reflects real causation, using genetic data), no significant link was confirmed. Current best summary: possibly a very weak association in some data, not something to be concerned about, and not a confirmed causal effect.
The loneliness of the left handed surgeon (Jan 2005) Source: BMJ 2005;330:10 (1 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7481.10-f| Left handed surgeons lack access to left handed instruments while training, receive little mentoring about their left handedness, and are more prone to needle stick injuries than their right handed colleagues. They also have considerable difficulty handling some instruments. One in 10 left handed surgeons was also uncomfortable with the idea of being operated on by a left handed surgeon, says a report in Current Surgery (2004:61:587-91). Six per cent also reported concerns by patients about their laterality. |
If anyone picks a fight with you, tell them you're left handed and they may well think again!
Scientists have found we lefties often have the upper hand in combat. The endurance of left-handedness has puzzled researchers, considering the links to disadvantages including an increased risk of some diseases. But researchers at the University of Montpellier in France believe left-handers continue to thrive because they do well in combat.
Scientists have found we lefties often have the upper hand in combat. The endurance of left-handedness has puzzled researchers, considering the links to disadvantages including an increased risk of some diseases. But researchers at the University of Montpellier in France believe left-handers continue to thrive because they do well in combat.
The team, who have today published the results of their study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, saw that left-handers had the advantage in sports such as fencing, tennis and baseball. They said that Western interactive sports such as these can be classed as "special cases of fights - with strict rules, including the prohibition of killing and intentionally wounding the opponent".
This led them to speculate the same advantage may persist in more aggressive contexts, such as war, so societies which are more violent would have a higher frequency of left-handers.
For this latest study, the researchers analysed data for eight traditional societies; the Kreyol people of Dominica, the Ntimu of Cameroon, the Dioula-speaking people of Burkina Faso, the Baka of Gabon, Inuit people and the Eipo people of Irian Jaya, New Guinea. Charlotte Faurie and Michel Raymond compared homicide rates (which includes murders and executions) and the frequency of left-handedness, and found they appeared to be linked.
The Dioula were found to have a homicide rate equivalent of one hundredth of a death per 1,000 people per year, and a left-handedness rate of just 3%.
| The suggestion that left-handers have an advantage in combat is not new. It has long been thought that, in the days when arguments were resolved by hand-to-hand combat, being left-handed gave people the benefit of surprise against a right-handed opponent. This advantage, however, would only have persisted if left-handers remained in the minority. Otherwise, right handers would soon get accustomed to fighting with left-handed opponents. |
But the Eipo had around three homicides per 1,000 people and a left-handedness rate of 20%.
Dr Faurie said "We have found a direct correlation between the level of violence in a given society and the proportion of left-handers. This indicates that fighting can be an important selection pressure in the evolution of left-handedness."
The researchers admitted that a homicide rate that includes executions and gang murders is probably not an accurate measure of one-to-one fights in society, but it was the best measure available. "This result strongly supports the fighting hypotheses. More generally, it points to the importance of violence in understanding the evolution of handedness in humans." she said.
Chris McManus, a professor of psychology at University College London who has made a study of the pros and cons of left-handedness, detailed in his book "Right Hand Left Hand", said it was true that left-handers did have an advantage in a fight - "It's the same advantage as you see with tennis players, baseball players and cricketers".
But he added: "The question is whether that advantage in fights then goes on and dominates the rate of left-andedness in societies, and I think the answer is 'no it doesn't'. The explanation must be much more complex than that."
There must have been an advantage for a minority of people to be born left-handed, but trying to find out what this advantage is remains unclear, he said. "The theory I've put forward is that despite the drawbacks of being left-handed, there are advantages in terms of creativity and other positive aspects," said the professor, "and society needs a subgroup who are different."
He added that the French study had also examined too few people, raising concerns over its conclusions. "The sample sizes were small and the methods they used were not as reliable as they could have been. I'm far from convinced" he said.
Left-Handers Club Comment: The suggestions that left-handers have good combative skills is not unreasonable, and has been proven many times by the high number of successful left-handers in combative sports such as fencing, tennis, and boxing.
What is interesting in this study is the suggestion that the instance of left-handers increases in a more violent society. There is no suggestion that the left-handers are the perpetrators of the violence, only that they are good fighters. Perhaps this is the key to their success, since they will have a kudos and elevated position in society, as well as longevity, enabling them to breed more successfully and pass on the left-handed genetic trait to more offspring.
Even if this were the case, however, the random nature by which left-handedness passes through generations (as detailed by Prof. McManus) would inhibit left-handers becoming the majority of the population, and thus losing their combative advantage.
Whilst this is an interesting hypothesis, the size and nature of the study do, as pointed out by Dr Chris McManus, undermine its credibility and a more controlled study on a far wider range of societies would be most welcome, to provide more reliable results.
Handedness develops in the womb (July 2004 )
Source: New Scientist Print Edition, 22 July 2004, Laura Spinney, Lisbon The hand you favour as a 10-week-old foetus is the hand you will favour for the rest of your life, suggests a new study. The finding comes as a surprise because it had been thought that lifelong hand preferences did not develop until a child was three or four years old. A team led by Peter Hepper of the Fetal Behaviour Research Centre at Queen's University, Belfast in the UK reached this conclusion after studying ultrasound scans of 1000 fetuses. In one study, nine out of 10 fetuses at 15 weeks' gestation preferred to suck their right thumbs. Hepper's team followed 75 of those fetuses after birth, and found that at 10 to 12 years old all 60 of the right thumb-suckers were right-handed, while 10 of the 15 left thumb-suckers were left-handed and the rest right-handed. At 10 weeks old, even before they suck their thumbs, fetuses wave their arms about. A second study found that most prefer to wave their right arm, a preference that persisted until 24 weeks, after which the fetus is too cramped to move. Hepper reported the findings at the Forum of European Neuroscience in Lisbon, Portugal, earlier in July.Reflex arc
Hepper is quick to point out that these observations do not show that the fetus can control its movements at such a young age. Nervous connections to the body from the brain are not thought to start developing until around 20 weeks' gestation. In addition, at the same stages of development fetuses that lack a brain cortex, a condition called anencephaly, move their limbs in a similar way, also favouring their right arm over the left. "There is no evidence that the brain has any control over these movements at this stage," says Hepper. "It's most likely to be a local reflex arc involving the spinal cord." He speculates that the fetus may have a preference for one side of its body simply because that side develops slightly faster. The findings challenge the favourite theory of how handedness in humans develops. According to that theory, it is a side effect of brain lateralisation, in which one side of the brain predominantly handles certain functions, such as language. As the fetal scans show that handedness appears long before the brain has any control over limb movement, that theory cannot be correct.Sensory connections
Instead, Hepper speculates that the reverse may be true: the fetus's body movements may somehow lead to the development of an asymmetrical brain. He points out that the sensory connections from the body to the brain develop before the connections that allow the brain to control the body's movement. But Stephen Wilson, a developmental biologist at University College London, is sceptical. "The movements you see in a fetus don't have to be influencing brain asymmetries." It is more likely, he says, that in the early fetus there is already a difference in gene activation between the right and left sides of the brain and that this leads to lateralisation.Hair Growth Clue to Handedness
| Researchers have discovered that you can tell if someone is right or left-handed literally off the top of your head - by checking which way their hair grow out of their scalp. Right-handed people tend to have hair that swirls clockwise, from the whorl or crown (the place at the back of the head where hair appears to grow in a spiral). People who are left-handed or ambidextrous, however have no such pattern - the hair can coil in either direction. Amar Klar of the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, surreptitiously inspected people's pates by spying on them in airports and shopping malls - ignoring the long-haired and the bald. More than 95% of right-handers' hair whorls clockwise on the scalp, he found. The locks of lefties and the ambidextrous are equally likely to coil either way. |
BBC Test the Nation - Lefties have upper hand in IQ test
Left-handers across the UK edged ahead in the intelligence stakes this week, when the nation took part in the biggest IQ test ever undertaken. The British were all tuned to their TV sets on Saturday 11th May, as more than 90,000 people took part in Test the Nation hosted by quiz show presenter Anne Robinson on BBC1. Everyone had to complete 70 questions to assess their language, perception, memory, maths and logic in what the BBC called a 'light-hearted way of gauging Britain's brain power' An IQ score of 90 to 110 indicates average intelligence, while anything over 110 points is in the highest 25 per cent. Anyone with 130 or above can consider themselves in the top 2 per cent of the population. The results revealed that left-handed people on average scored 109, slightly higher than the right-handers at 108. Smokers, scoring 108 were shown to be brainier than non-smokers with 107. 'Silver surfers' topped the hair colour stakes with 113 over brown hair at 108, blonde at 107, red 106 and black 106. Blue eyes beat brown with 109 over 108. However, the overall highest scorer, Keith Jowett from Surrey did not fit into the stereotypes, being a right-handed non-smoker living nowhere near the cleverest city dwellers of Leicester. Any budding Einsteins who would like to increase that left-handers lead can still take part, as the BBC's Test the Nation website will run the test for the next 2 weeks and results are constantly being updated with new figures. Visit www.bbc.co.uk/testthenation to find out more. Americans may also soon be brushing up their brainpower, as it is rumoured that presenter Anne Robinson, well known in the States for her hostile hosting of 'The Weakest Link' has held talks with a US television company about taking the idea to the USA.[Updated August 2026] Worth flagging: a 1-point gap in a one-off TV quiz (109 vs 108) isn’t a reliable measure of anything — it’s well within normal statistical noise. The proper scientific evidence on this question, from a 2018 meta-analysis of over 66,000 people, finds essentially no meaningful IQ difference between left- and right-handers. Fun TV moment, not real evidence — see our full article on left-handedness and intelligence for what the research actually shows →
Ultrasound scans and left-handedness
Controversial new evidence suggests that ultrasound scans on unborn babies can not only make them more likely to be left-handed, but may cause mild brain damage, particularly in boys. In the most comprehensive study yet on the effect of ultrasound scanning, doctors have found that men born to mothers who underwent scanning were more likely to show signs of subtle brain damage. The implications of the study are to be raised at an international meeting of scientists being held in Edinburgh. The work of the Swedish scientists, which has been published in the journal Epidemiology, backs up earlier research which was conducted in the 1990's suggesting ultrasound scanning affected unborn babies. Previous research had suggested subtle brain damage could increase the risk of conditions ranging from learning difficulties to epilepsy, as well as causing people who ought genetically to be right-handed to become left-handed. This conclusion is based on a theory that if the right-handed brain is in any way hindered from developing to become the dominant half of the brain, the left-hand brain will take over to compensate - in itself a theory still under investigation. The Swedish team from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm compared almost 7,000 men whose mothers underwent scanning in the 1970's with 172,000 men whose mothers did not, looking for differences in the rates of left and right-handedness. The team found men whose mothers underwent scanning were significantly more likely to be left-handed than normal. The most significant difference was found among those born after 1975 when doctors introduced a second scan later in pregnancy. These men were 32% more likely to be left-handed. There are strong indications that, normally, left-handedness is genetic. The likelihood of two left-handed parents having a left-handed child has been put as high as 35%, while for two right-handed parents it is thought to be only 9%. Reporting their findings, the researcher warned that scans in late pregnancy were now routine in many countries. "The present results suggest a 30% increase in left-handedness among boys pre-naturally exposed to ultrasound" they wrote. "If this association reflects brain injury, this means as many as one in 50 male foetuses pre-natally exposed to ultrasound are affected." It is important to stress the "if" in this statement, as much research still needs to be undertaken to clarify whether any hindrance in right-brain development does lead to the left-brain taking dominance to compensate. According to the Swedish team, the human brain undergoes critical development until relatively late in pregnancy, making it vulnerable to damage. The male brain is especially at risk, as it continues to develop later than the female one. Professor Juni Pamgren, a member of the team, said "I would urge people not to refuse to have ultrasound scanning, as the risk of brain damage is only a possibility - but this is an interesting finding and needs to be taken seriously." Dr Francis Duck of the British Medical Ultrasound Society will chair a discussion of the results at the International Meeting of Ultrasound Experts being held this week in Edinburgh. "When the first study suggesting a link came out, it was possible to ignore it, but now this is the third", he said. "What it demonstrates is the need to investigate the link further, and to look at possible mechanisms." Dr Duck cautioned, however, that ultrasound scanning has saved the lives of countless babies: "This research must be seen in context, and it should not deter anyone from having an antenatal scan. British obstetrics professionals have also tried to quash potential fears, saying the findings should be met with "extreme caution". One critic of the research, Gordon Stirrat, Emeritus Professor of Obstetrics at Bristol University, notes the study was done in the 1970's when powerful, unsophisticated ultrasound was used. "Today's ultrasound is much more sophisticated," he said. "There's no comparison." And even more significantly, in the 1970's ultrasound was reserved for pregnancies already suspect. "The males in the study might already have had abnormalities or a tendency to left-handedness before they had the ultrasound," said Professor Stirrat. "I think we can be confident today's ultrasound is very safe." We will keep you informed of any further developments, but it must be stressed that this study focuses on only one of many situations that can result in a person being left-handed and is still in the very first stages, and needs further work to reach definite conclusions.Left-Handers Remember Events Better Than Facts
Members of a family that is dominated by left-handers tend to be better at remembering events than facts, according to research published yesterday, in the journal "Neuropsychology". Dr Stephen Christman and Dr Ruth Propper, of the University of Toledo in Ohio also think they may have a clue as to why few of us can remember things that happened in our lives before we were four years old. Dr Christman and Dr Propper studied two types of memory -episodic (the recall and recognition of events) and non-episodic (factual memory and implicit memory, which concerns things people "just know"). They concluded that the two halves of the brain work together in episodic memory to help to remember events because left-handers and those with left-handedness in their families recall events better than facts. They also point out that the onset of episodic memory at around four years of age roughly coincides with the maturation of a structure called the "corpus callosum" that connects the two halves of the brain. More research is being conducted by the team to ascertain why episodic memory involves both halves of the brain whereas implicit memory appears to only be processed in one half.Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Recent research has shown that left-handers are twice as likely to suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (also known as Crohns disease or ulcerative colitis) as right-handers. This was how the story was reported in the Cardiff Western Mail in July 2001
See our archive pages of left-handed research
Comments 100
I believe that being left handed is the result of your mother approaching you
From your left side when you were a baby in your crib or bed.
This would create a respond with your left.
Some say that it my be iredatry, but wouldn't a left handed mother approach a crib
on here right side to administer drink or food with her left hand.
By,
John Hardie.
parents are both right handed
3 male children 1 female child
all 3 male children left handed
female child right handed
birth order of children:
first male
second male
third female
fourth male
noticed left or right handedness when the child was old enough to eat finger foods
male left handed children almost exclusively used left hand to feed themselves
right handed female used left and right hands but more the right hand
over time the right handed female used more and more the right hand in feeding and other activities
Anecdotally, I have observed a couple of famous lefties with what appear to be premature grey hair: Bill Clinton and Steve Martin.
Left hand or not to left hand, that is the question!
Recently discussing with my wife some of the anomalies of my 3 children.
It came to me that Left handedness could be caused in the first days and week of life,
by the relative position of the baby to the approaching mother or carers.
Example. Approach and attendance from ether right or left side of the infant.
It would be interesting to ask a few parents wether the infant in the cot had there left or right side away from the bedroom wall!
I have asked one of my daughters who's son is left handed and she remembers attending him from his left side.
I think that the Logic is quite compelling and would deserve further investigations.
I was required to shoot right-handed.. and failed to qualify.
Also I feel that one of the reasons for Sporting success is a highly developed spatial awareness. Therefore architects as well as sportsmen would be included. That sort of thing. Is there any evidence of this or is it my personal experience?
It was interesting nevertheless.l
I was hoping you could answer a question that I have been trying to understand for a while.
I am a lefty. When I was a baby and my parents realized that I was a lefty my father wanted to tie my left arm behind my back. Thank goodness my mother said no.
Years ago I worked for General Electric. We manufactured guns for military fighter planes. A lot of the work involved machine tools. However, in my case, it was not so, I worked at the end of the line in the packaging department. It was pretty technical but not machine oriented.
Anyway in my department there were 17 employes 13 of which were lefties.
Two times a week I attend an Al-Anon meeting. It's a 12 step program for family members who have loved ones with addiction problems. I've been attending meetings for 16 years now. Two years ago, after a meeting, 6 of us went to a nearby café for lunch. Someone wanted to sit at the end of the table because she was left handed . We quickly realized that 5 of the 6 people there were left handers.
Since then, every once in a while, I ask if there are any left handers in the meeting. Usually there are 3 - 4 , and keep in mind, We usually have no more than 10 people attending a meeting.
Can you explain why we get clumped together?
Many Thanks, Dave
I would also be interested to learn if there is any relationship between left-handedness and club foot or other foot abnormalities in baby's. My daughter (who is right handed, whilst I am left) and her partner (who is left) (my mum is left too) are expecting a baby girl who has been diagnosed by ultra scan as having a degree of club foot in the left foot. We are told it is "mild". Do any other lefties have information or experience about any link?
All right handed people will need to switch the words 'left' and 'right', and 'invert' accordingly. Top marks to those who can do it flexibly. You'd make good right brainers!
I see right brainedness as an alternative reality operating system similar (using computer analogy) to Linux or Mac. I see left brainedness as Windows.
My world is a world of pictures before words, non linear time, and an understanding of reality not being permanent, therefore there is no reason to be ideologically bound to anything in this world. I see the left brainers as people who live in a clunky linear sequential 2D world of facts, filing cabinets, indexes and systems; whereas I'm in a 4D world of events, episodes, feelings, intuitions and the systemic overview.
I love the anarchy of my strange alien brain, and would like to do some autodidactic research on the unique abilities and capabilities of left handed people.
We have only been studied by right handed academic reductionists. I feel like I experience a different reality to the right handed majority, and think there is a lot which is not known about the potential of left handed right brained people. I think we really are 'outside the matrix'.
Any feedback on this would be appreciated. :D (left handed smile)
The issue here should be the brain, and how and why this works.
It should be what the effects of this asymmetrical brain has on the left-handed person.
My (right-handed) friend recently tried to find out how left-handed people do things and how things are different for us. She was quickly disgusted by the petty whining of people who's scissors faced the wrong way and went on to research something else entirely.
Thank you, Niall for posting interesting and different comments- I hope more people decide to utilise their supposed "greater creativity" to come up with interesting discussion topics that don't revolve around their statistical baseball prowess.
It is true that lefty's are better at tennis but I think it's only because their opponents are not used to playing against lefty's. I think that goes for other sports as well.
There is something different in the way lefty's see things and in the way they perceive things. I'd love to be part of some research if it would be helpful to learn more about it.
The part of being part of a twin that I've read below is disconcerting.
I am a teacher and after reading about the connection, checked with the twins I came across over the years in the school. Almost all the twins were left and right handed. It was as much as 9 out of 10 id. twins I asked. I have only come across one pair of id. twins who were both right handed.
Among the population at large, singleton left-handers are thought to be the surviving left hander of twins, one of whom didn't make it to birth. Its the best theory I've come across and I've read a fair number of theories about why left handedness exists. How many of you out there are id. twins or have twins in your extended family?
I am an archery coach and when first entering the sport and taking an interest in how archers performed, it was generally accepted that approximately ten percent of the population were left handed. However I would suggest that the ratio is closer to thirty percent if not higher, it’s just that we notice handedness more than we do another possibly more significant indicator of natural handedness. For generations, instructors of all sports and other activities have simply asked the pupil what their handedness is and taught them accordingly. Over the last three decades however most of the leading coaches of archery have taught their pupils on ‘eye dominance’ and not on what the pupil believes to be their handedness, simply because they have been taught other skills right handed and have come to accept that as their natural handedness. In other words they are now ‘Cross laterals’, they perform certain actions as right handed although their brain wants them to do some things left handed. Evidence that training on eye dominance is more efficient than on adopted handedness in archery, manifests itself most significantly when a cross lateral taught to perform archery right handily with a patch over their left eye is starting to approach their maximum potential. For it is at this point, when the technique is becoming an autonomous action controlled by the subconscious mind, that things start to fall apart. The body virtually refusing to perform the movements required with any consistency or fluidity. However, by switching the pupil to the opposite hand and allowing the dominant side of the brain and eye to take command, everything drops nicely into place, the archer resumes and often exceeds their previous performance levels and continues more effectively than before. The reason I suspect there to be more naturally left handed people than previously suspected, is that over the last decade or so of checking eye dominance and teaching accordingly, there have been three to six out of ever twelve pupils per class that have benefitted from being taught left handed. As a result I now wonder if many other problems, such as dyslexia and similar conditions, may be related to natural eye dominance over trained handedness, causing the brain to become confused?
And righties, the reverse? I'm a lefty, found the comment about color especially interesting.
byw, heavy into the arts in my younger years, but ended up teaching secondary school physics. Go figure!
Also, is it possible that the diagnosis of dyslexia is, in fact, the failure to recognize left-handedness in a child? I would welcome answers.
I didn't have any 'left-handed support' at school - used the same scissors etc as all the right-handed children (and was fine with them). There was no particular mention made of my handedness, and I never percieved of it as anything other than something that made me a bit different, and even a little special! I have neat writing, but I don't write particularly fast - this has always been so.
There are quite a few left-hander 'traits' that I probably follow. I'm more creative than I am scientific. Sometimes, I have to pause when thinking of which side is left or right, and have a terrible sense of direction. I've always liked the arts, and my IQ tested higher than 96% of population once. Also think I have a bit of a melancholy side. Genius and madness!
Anyway, at the risk of being a bit controversial, I have concerns about the need for 'left-handed' adaptations and aids, like scissors and writing equipment, and wonder if it's just a marketing ploy to create a niche when one would otherwise simply adapt.
My thoughts are, that whenever anyone, regardless of which hand is dominant - first learns to hold or use a piece of equipment - it ALL feels awkward and new. Once you practise and master it, then it becomes natural. For instance - a qwerty keyboard has different letters all over the place, so your brain and fingers are all 'learning' new skills, independent of each other when you type. Each hand does different things anyway, so whichever side is dominant doesn't matter. Same with holding a guitar etc. The hand that picks and strums does something differnt to the one that holds the chords. Whichever way the guitar faces, BOTH hands will have to learn new skills, so why not just learn on a so-called right handed guitar, instead of 'needing' a special 'left-handed' one made (if there is such a thing, I don't know).
Pens - the only problem I come across is smudging of ink - just use a biro! There is no need to use fountain pens, and then have to have them especially adapted. I really don't get the 'ergonomically designed' left-handed rollerball pens you see advertised on these sites either. To a left handed person, holding an ordinary pen in their left hand feels as natural as a right-handed person holding a pen in their right hand. It's only a right-handed person that would maybe need help on how to a pen in their left hand, surely. Why would lefties need an ergonomically designed pen to help us grasp it properly?
So, I think a 'disablist' attitude, seeing 'problems' from a right-handed perspective, is more disabling than being left-handed in the first place. My argument would be, that 'support' is more about acceptance of how lefties brains are wired a bit differently - i.e. if we want to be creative, help us be creative - let us be who we are, give us opportunities to create. It's not about marketing special equipment in order that we can function properly in a right-handed world. Also, until the day when Left-handers exceed 50% of the population, it will always be a minority - therefore any 'special equipment' we come to be reliant upon with always be in shorter supply - why not just adapt to right-handed scissors etc - instead of limiting our abilities to only being able to use specialist tools?
I'm quite proud of being a left-hander, left-handers can, have, and do, change the world.
That doesn't seem like a bad thing if you rarely write. But if you write a lot, which I do there is a LOT of wear on your fingers. I have calluses on the edges of my fingers from the constant pressure of pen against finger...and it is painful, more so the thicker the ink as it makes one push even harder to work.
When I changed to a left handed pen after 30 years of writing? I finally have gotten the callouses to go down to where they are nearly gone! And my hand no longer aches.... that to me is worth it.
I have lived most of my 44 years using my right hand for a majority of things as left handed items haven't been readily available. I have had to compensate and rework items to work for me. Turning the spiral notebook over and working from the 'back' to the front...so that my hand and wrist don't get sore from the spiral.... I am not complaining, but I am sick and tired of having to hurt or be in pain just to fit into a right handed world.
As long you, yourself don't suffer, it is easy to pass judgement on those who, for once, would like to breeze through life and not struggle. Why should only right handed people have it easy? Why shouldn't we lefty's have items that are actually useful and functional for us too? Why MUST I continue to conform to doing things backward and against my brain? I shouldn't anymore..and I wont. And I shouldn't have to justify it either. Or be made to feel guilty for it.
But There are things I can't do with my right hand and for which may natural hand is the left one. Especially play cards (deal and play), distribute papers and leaflets, fasten my trousers belt, undo my laces (only with the left hand).
I also use the mouse of the computer left handed (for I find it more convenient for writing and eating) and I have got used to it without any difficulty.
I can play darts as well with the left or the right hand.
There are also things I naturally do with my left hand such as scratch an itch, hold my nose when I sneeze, wipe my face with a cloth and other things.
I aslo noticed that when I read, I naturally turn pages with the left hand but it might not be relevant.
I don't know what one can call that. And if many right handed person are like that.
My sister is left handed.
Thanks and regards
Cheers and thank you for your response.
Things I cannot do left-handed:
1. Throw a ball.
2. Swing a baseball bat, (if this matters - who knows) since both hands must be used to
swing a bat.
3. Throw a Frisbee.
4. Light a lighter.
5. Use keys to unlock the front door to my home.
6. Use keys to unlock a deadbolt.
7. Stirring foods in pans I am cooking with.
8. Light a match.
9. Drink from a glass or cup.
10. Use a napkin on my face.
11. Comb or brush my hair.
12. Use a sewing needle.
13. Use a syringe to draw and administer Insulin.
14. Scratch an itch.
15. Open doors in shopping mall entrances.
I'm sure I could make the list longer if I pondered further but I won't do that; I don't want to give you the wrong impression that I'm a bore.
I am creative in many ways with the exception of drawing in art form. I feel my creativity lies with descriptive writing. I graduated high school with a major in Journalism. I have always been interested in language and its proper use. In the 8th grade I always won Spelling Bees until one day I was voted out, by my classmates of course, who had informed me that I was too much competition for them. LOL!
... Like "what's a spell check?" Funny, I have never had a need to use a spell check utility in my life. Many words in the English language sound identical, such as "who's" and "whose", or "there", "their", and "they're". You get the idea, right? The one thing I will immediately notice, and I have seen this mistake (typo) if you will, in personal letters and in books, the common mistake people make while writing: using the word "there" instead of the word "they're".
Example: "They phoned me to let me know that there not stopping by..." (this sentence is written incorrectly).
The correct way to write the same sentence would be the following:
"They phoned me to let me know that they're not stopping by..."
Now we all know that this has absolutely nothing to do with being left-handed unless one writes the sentence with his left hand... right?!!!
Okay, so I got a little sidetracked, I apologize :=), and no, I'm not anal, just a comical left-handed perfectionist who is trying to bring interest to my audience.
Anyone bear these traits as well?
I also can't do many things with my left hand other than write. I play the guitar right handed, throw a ball right handed and so on just like you.
I read that this is called mixed-handedness and we are about 1% of the population. Pretty Cool.
When I worked in a jail (as a nurse) doing intake physicals, I noticed that a lot of inmates signed with their left-hand. (I am living in the US). This leads me to believe, that they did not get the right kind of recognition and support during their school years.
thanx
Women, if you took a fertility drug while pregnant, it might influence the outcome of your infants handedness. It is interesting, because it is the first time I have seen in research that oestrogen (or estrogen USA spelling) may play a role in brain lateralization.
https://www.cdc.gov/des/consumers/research/recent_psychosexual
Many thanks
Sarah Girvan
My only left-handed relatives/ancestors are a great-grandfather (on my father's side) and a great-great-grandfather (on my mother's side). This makes me think that other factors (eg. testosterone in womb?) may have been strong factors in why so many of myself & my siblings were left-handed. Of us six siblings, myself and my left-handed brother are the only ones who have had any learning difficulties (I was midly dyslexic).
The hair swirl thing sounds interesting - however, myself & my left-handed siblings have hair that swirls clockwise (like 95% of right-handers, and the rest of my family).
I'm currently doing research on left handedness for my Psychology degree Thesis which is based on different learning abilities between right handed and left handed adults. Since left handers are 10% of the population I am finding it extremely hard to find sufficient lefties and would be extremely grateful if you could participate(this is an online study which can be done in the comfort of your own home with the chance to win £100, funded by Goldsmiths). The link for the website is:
https://www.inlab.co.uk/test.php
Please have a browse before participating. There is a questionnaire which needs to be filled in(you just need to click on the box and a few tests which are accessed the same way).
Thank you for reading and I hope you are able to participate.
cheers guys
Must be a left handed thing....
;-)
Chrystal
thank you! more power to you guys
But if it is more a question of either having no preference or developing a right-handed preference then it can explain our situation a bit better. Maybe one or both of my parents had the 'random' genetic pattern and so the development resulted from learned processes rather than a predisposition to one or the other.
once one of my teachers observed this behaviour and he just aswell as i found it very intresting.
is there any known reason for this behaviour?
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