What it means to be left handed

 

 

Pictured is the hand of Josh, my 25 year old nephew (who also happens to be very good at maths).  What does it mean to be left handed?  Read on...

 

Left-handed people make up around 10 percent of the population.  More men are left-handed than women – 12 percent of men are lefties while only 8 percent of women are.   A possible explanation for more left-handedness in men is the theory that left-handedness can be caused by the foetus being exposed to excess testosterone in the womb.

Left handers have been discriminated against throughout history and in virtually all cultures – they have been refused marriage, beaten, burnt as witches and had their hands tied behind their backs whenever they tried to write using their left hand.  

The unusual exception to this discrimination was with the ancient Incas, who thought being left-handed was lucky!

When different languages around the world figured out a word for ‘left’, the connotations were less than flattering.  The word for left in Latin is ‘sinistre’, from which the word ‘sinister’ is derived.  In Greek, the word for left-handed is ‘skaios’, which also means ill-omened or awkward.  In German, the word for left-handed is ‘links’ which also means weak. 

There is a formidable presence of famous left handed people in world achievement: -  Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Napoleon, Marie Curie, Michelangelo, Beethoven, Frederick Nietzsche, Alan Turing, Isaac Newtown, Henry Ford, Paul McCartney, Bill Gates and Mahatma Gandhi were all left-handed – can you imagine a world without them?   Also, six out of the last eight Presidents in America have been lefties!

Left handed people tend to be risk takers, whether applying it in physical battle (think Alexander the Great) or taking intellectual risks (think Friedrich Nietzsche and Alan Turing).

The left side is controlled by the right side of the brain, so left handers neurologically tend to be right hemisphere dominant.  Studies have proven that the right and left sides of the brain perform different functions.  The right hemisphere manages the visual and spatial aspects of sensory perception.  Architecture is a field renowned for having a large number of lefties.  Having superior visual and spatial abilities can also be an asset in several fields, bringing to mind many lefties who have excelled in these fields:  the visual arts, (Michelangelo), industrial design (Henry Ford), sports (John McEnroe) or on the battlefield (Napoleon).  Napoleon had an uncanny ability to visualize maps!

Recent research into synesthesia has shown that the gift for mathematics and music may be related to enhanced visual-spatial faculties.   

Chris McManus, author of ‘Right Hand Left Hand’ argues that left-handers on average have greater cerebral variability than right-handers do.  In other words, in neurological terms they are risk takers.  The different brains of left-handers is perhaps more reason why they can be expected to be unconventional and pioneers of change. 

Left handed people have to operate in a word dominated by right-handers and have to concentrate harder to work out what to do as the world doesn’t fit them.  This extra step may be one of the reasons why the great left handers of history were such good lateral thinkers. 

Although it hasn’t been conclusively proven, left-handed people seem to have certain traits that make them stand out.  

Intuitive:  they seem to have their own special intuition in solving problems and in the reading of situations.

Empathetic:  While some lefties tend to use their intuition for themselves, others tend to use it to gain knowledge about others.  Lefty Bill Clinton was well known for his empathy.

Visual-spatial ability:  with a usually dominant right hemisphere of the brain, left-handers often have superior visual-spatial faculties.  This ability is often related to gifts in music and mathematics.  Having superior visual-spatial abilities can also be applied practically to the artistic, scientific and military fields.

Lateral thinking:  this type of thinking is about the ability to make unorthodox connections.   Two kinds of lateral thinking are adaptation and transformation.  Lefties have to learn to adapt in a right-handed world, often giving them the ability to be chameleons and change with their circumstances.  The desire for transformation, to completely change something, is enhanced by the fact that the left-hander doesn’t quite fit in a right-handed world.

Hot tempered:  the hot tempers many left-handers seem to have may have something to do with the discrimination they face or the obstacles they have to overcome.  It may also have something to do with the theory that left-handedness can be caused by excess testosterone in the womb.

Solitary:  if you don’t fit into a group, one approach is to isolate yourself and pretend the group doesn’t exist!

Iconoclastic:  the theory is that left-handers are agents of change and march to the beat of their own drum.

Self taught:  many lefties prefer to learn by doing rather than through the reading of books.

Experimental:  many lefties love to pose the question, ‘What if…?’ then experiment.  This is linked to the lefty’s tendency to be instigators of change.

Fantasist:  lefties are often able to see beyond the status quo, making the impossible come true. 

The reference for this article is "A Left-Handed History of the World” by Ed Wright, click on this link to check this book out on Amazon!