Lefty or Righty?

Lefty or Righty?

Being a lefty I always thought that the preferred hand was determined by habit and not genetic predisposition.

Back in the day children growing up as lefties were usually frowned upon,
some teachers were even known to smack left-handed children with rulers claiming left handedness was "the hand of the devil" and was not acceptable.

The left hand in Latin would translate to "sinistra" or "sinister", hence the relation to the devil.

I came across an interesting article about this, check it out:

What causes some people to be left-handed, and why are fewer people left-handed than right-handed?

Researchers who study human hand preference agree that the side of the preferred hand (right versus left) is produced by biological and, most likely, genetic causes. The two most widely published genetic theories of human hand preference argue that evolutionary natural selection produced a majority of individuals with speech and language control in the left hemisphere of the brain. Because the left hemisphere also controls the movements of the right hand--and notably the movements needed to produce written language--millennia of evolutionary development resulted in a population of humans that is biased genetically toward individuals with left hemisphere speech/language and right-hand preference. Approximately 85 percent of people are right-handed. These theories also try to explain the persistent and continuing presence of a left-handed minority (about 15 percent of humans).

full article


So how many devil's children err...hmmm...lefties on the board??


[edit on 29-6-2004 by quadricle]

Im not a lefty, but always wondered why so many more people are righthanded. Personally i think leftys are cool, seems so hard. lol

I'm a rightie, but to be fair, you can train yourself to be ambidexterous...

I'm a lefty, although I think I have some righty influences in certain things.

I do most stuff with my left hand, but I do some things like golf and snow-boarding right handed. I'm totally ambidextrous with a rifle, but slightly more lefty with a pool cue.

There's some things that always seemed strange to me in a mostly righty world, such as why do right handed people still eat with their fork in their left hand?

Lefty here!

Left-handedness used to be a disadvantage in certain trades, though maybe that's not the case now. Sign-writing is one that comes to mind, but I guess that particular trade's died out now. It used to be a disadvantage for those seeking infants/primary school teaching traineeships - writing on the blackboard being partially obscured by the teacher's body.

hey guys, don't forget:

International Left-Handers Day is 13 August



Famous Lefties

Left-Handed U.S. Presidents
Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) 31st
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd
Gerald Ford (1913- ) 38th
Ronald Reagan (1911 - ) 40th
George H.W. Bush (1924- ) 41st
Bill Clinton (1946- ) 42nd

Miscellaneous Left-Handers
Joan of Arc (?), French heroine
Ramses II (?), Egyptian pharaoh
Tiberius (?), Roman emperor
Alexander the Great
Julius Caesar, Roman general
Napol�on Bonaparte (?), French emperor
Fidel Castro, Cuban leader
Henry Ford, automobile manufacturer
David Rockefeller, banker
August Piccard, inventor of stratosphere, bathosphere
Edwin Buzz Aldrin, astronaut
Ted Koppel, journalist
Uri Geller, psychokinetic performer
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
Matt Groening, cartoonist
Jack-the-Ripper, serial killer
Bart Simpson, cartoon character

Artists
Leonardo da Vinci (RH was paralyzed?)

It really depends on the task at hand if I am righty or lefty. The funny thing is the first 30 seconds that I sit down to eat a proper meal. I am constanty switching my knive and fork from and to hand seeing which feels better.

[edit on 29-6-2004 by Jonna]

You know... Baseball is very interesting when it comes to left & right. There are people who bat left and throw right. And vice versa...... Then there's the switch hitters...

The best research on lefties and righties can be done in theworld of sports IMO.

TheBandit795, what you're saying about baseball [a sport I know nothing about] - is that related to hand-eye dominance or cross-dominance?
I'm left-handed & in shooting, am left-eyed, and have heard that cross-dominance can be a problem in certain sports.

We have a Left-handed Shop in my city!

I think I should have been a lefty, Things I taught myself Baseball, Golf etc I am lefty, But things people taught me Writing etc.. I am right.

I do seem to be able to learn things lefty very easy though

I'm an extreme right-hander, but I sight (target) with my left eye.

Any parent who watches their kids grow can tell you quickly that handedness is not something that's taught. We knew from the time she could first reach and grab that our daughter would be left-handed and our son would be right-handed.

Even animals have a preference. I have one cat who's "right-handed" and one who's a leftie.

I am a righty all sports i participate in i use my right side.I tried kicking a soccer with my left foot such a weak shot.

I was born a left handed person, but during preschool parents and teachers made me use my right hand. SO I grew up as a right handed person. I still write with my right hand, but when learning new skills and basic movement I prefer my left.

I'm ambidextrous. Some things I do right and others left. Whatever feels best, I use. If I need or want to change up, I adapt quickly.

I've been watching my son and he still doesn't favor either hand yet at 2 1/2 years old. He usually even throws 2 balls at a time or one right after the other from both hands with similiar accuracy. He hardly ever throws one until he's located a second one for the other hand. I have no idea at what age he would normally start to favor either hand.

What about the 'strange' people who write with their left hand but kick, etc. with their right leg, or vice versa. anyone know wut you call them. I have a cousin like that........strange to me.

jrod> they are called ambidextrous (spelling?)

Cool thread
I'm a born lefty. I do some times right handed, because I was taught by a right handed person: knitting, ironing, using scissors. My right had is my stronger hand. My left hand is more delicate and is my mouse-hand.

We all know what someone else said: only left handed people are in their right mind

So how many devil's children err...hmmm...lefties on the board??

I prefer to think that we can be mcuh more attuned to our inner-self, our spirituality or whatever you want to call it.


[edit on 29-6-2004 by DontTreadOnMe]

the more I look into our left handed "condition" the more facinating it becomes


here are some left handed facts I came accross:

- Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right

- There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed

- Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in left-handers (particularly if they are forced to change their writing hand as a child, like King of England George VI).

- Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.

- Left-handers excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing

- Left-handers usually reach puberty 4 to 5 months after right-handers

- 4 of the 5 original designers of the Macintosh computer were left-handed

- 1 in 4 Apollo astronauts were left-handed - 250% more than the normal level.

- Left-handers are generally more intelligent, better looking, imaginative and multi-talented than right handers ( based on discussions among members of the Left-Handers Club!





The Official Left-Handers Website

Originally posted by quadricle
- Left-handers excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing

Quad, only if they have depth perception, which I do NOT have.

___________
Byrd, interesting you should mention animals be right or left oriented. I am pretty sure my dog is left-pawed. I thought maybe I was making up the idea--glad to hear it exists in other forms of life.