Left-handedness is the preference for the
left handLeft hand may refer to any of:*Left-handedness, a term referring to a person who primarily uses their left hand to accomplish things*Left Hand , a comic book character owned by Marvel Comics...
over the right for everyday activities such as
writingPenmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. The various generic and formal historical styles of writing are called hands, whilst an individual personal style of penmanship is referred to as handwriting....
. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures. A variety of studies suggest that 10% of the world population is left-handed.
Causes
- Hand orientation is developed in fetuses, most commonly determined by observing which hand is predominantly held close to the mouth.
- In 2007, researchers discovered that specific alleles of at least one of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms upstream of the already known LRRTM1
Leucine-rich repeat transmembrane neuronal protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the LRRTM1 gene.LRRTM1 is the first gene linked to increased odds of being left-handed, at least if inherited from the father's side...
gene were linked to left-handedness.
- Twins theory: this theory postulates that left-handed individuals were originally part of an identical twin pair, with the right-handed twin fetus failing to develop early in development. Although Australian researchers have debunked the related Vanishing twin
A vanishing twin, also known as fetal resorption, is a fetus in a multi-gestation pregnancy which dies in utero and is then partially or completely reabsorbed by the mother or twin....
theory, it is yet unexplained why twin children have a high frequency of left-handedness / right-handedness in the pair.
- Long-term impairment of the right hand: people with long-term impairment of the right hand are more likely to become left-handed, even after their right hand heals.
- PreNatal Hormone imbalances may play a role in the gene expression for left-handedness. While the Geschwind–Galaburda testosterone hypothesis is often cited as cause, there isn't any evidence to support the theory. However, more recent research has emerged suggesting that high prenatal estrogen exposure is a plausible alternative to Geschwind. In a study endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), it is suggested that men who were prenatally exposed to diethylstilbestrol
Diethylstilbestrol is a synthetic nonsteroidal estrogen that was first synthesized in 1938. Human exposure to DES occurred through diverse sources, such as dietary ingestion from supplemented cattle feed and medical treatment for certain conditions, including breast and prostate cancers...
(a synthetic estrogen based fertility drug), are more likely to be left handed.
Social stigma and repression
Negative associations of language
Historically, the left side, and subsequently left-handedness, was considered negative in many cultures. The Latin word
sinistra originally meant "left" but took on meanings of "evil" or "unlucky" by the
Classical LatinClassical Latin in simplest terms is the socio-linguistic register of the Latin language regarded by the enfranchised and empowered populations of the late Roman republic and the Roman empire as good Latin. Most writers during this time made use of it...
era, and this double meaning survives in
European derivatives of LatinThe Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
, and in the English word "sinister". Alternatively,
sinister comes from the Latin word
sinus meaning "pocket": a traditional Roman
togaThe toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...
had only one pocket, located on the left side. The right hand has historically been associated with skill: the Latin word for right-handed is
dexter, as in "dexterity", meaning manual skill. Even the word "
ambidexterityAmbidexterity is the state of being equally adept in the use of both left and right appendages . It is one of the most famous varieties of cross-dominance. People that are naturally ambidextrous are rare, with only one out of one hundred people being naturally ambidextrous...
" reflects the
biasBias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
. Its intended meaning is "skillful on both sides". However, since it keeps the Latin root
dexter, which means "right", it ends up conveying the idea of being "right-handed at both sides". This bias is also apparent in the lesser-known
antonymIn lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, up : down, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not...
"ambisinistrous", which means "clumsy on both sides". In more technical contexts, "sinistral" may be used in place of "left-handed" and "sinistrality" in place of "left-handedness".
Meanings gradually developed from use of these terms in the ancient languages. In many modern
European languagesMost of the languages of Europe belong to Indo-European language family. These are divided into a number of branches, including Romance, Germanic, Balto-Slavic, Greek, and others. The Uralic languages also have a significant presence in Europe, including the national languages Hungarian, Finnish,...
, including
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, the word for the direction "right" also means "correct" or "proper", and also stands for authority and justice. In most Slavic languages the root
prav is used in words carrying meanings of correctness or justice.
The
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word
gauche ("left") means clumsy, graceless or awkward, and
adroit (related to
droit, "right") means "dextrous". These secondary meanings have entered English.
In Chinese culture, the adjective "left" sometimes means "improper" or "out of accord". For instance, the phrase "left path" stands for unorthodox or immoral means.
In
PortugueseBrazilian Portuguese is a group of Portuguese dialects written and spoken by most of the 190 million inhabitants of Brazil and by a few million Brazilian emigrants, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, Japan and Paraguay....
, "direito" (right) stands for the doing something correctly as well as for Law School. The expression "acordar com o pé direito" (waking up on your right foot) means that the person woke up in a good mood, while "acordar com o pé esquerdo" (waking up on your left foot) means waking up in a bad mood.
In
HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, as well as in other ancient Semitic and Mesopotamian languages, the term "left" was a symbol of power or custody. The left hand symbolized the power to shame society, and was used as a metaphor for misfortune,
natural evilNatural evil, or surd evil, is a term generally used in discussions of the problem of evil and theodicy that refers to states of affairs which, considered in themselves, are to be avoided and not to be promoted, and for which no agent is morally responsible...
, or punishment from the gods. This metaphor survived ancient culture and was integrated into mainstream
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
by early
CatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
theologians, such as Ambrose of Milan, to modern Protestant theologians, such as
Karl BarthKarl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
, to attribute
natural evilNatural evil, or surd evil, is a term generally used in discussions of the problem of evil and theodicy that refers to states of affairs which, considered in themselves, are to be avoided and not to be promoted, and for which no agent is morally responsible...
to
GodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
in explaining God's
omnipotenceOmnipotence is unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence to only the deity of whichever faith is being addressed...
over the
universeThe Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
.
When it is said that a person has slept on his left side in the
AkanAkan may refer to:*Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire**Kwa languages, a stock of dialects spoken by the Akan people.**Central Tano languages, a stock of dialects spoken by the Akan people....
languageLanguage may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
of
GhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, it means the person is dead. The use of the left hand in everyday activities such as eating, cooking, writing and pointing are strongly discouraged. It is an insult to shake hands or greet a person with the left hand. It is also inappropriate to shake hands with a group of people beginning from the left side and any exchanges between people such as giving or receiving an item must be done with the right hand. The use of the left hand is however encouraged in handling unsanitary items such as a
chamber potA chamber pot is a bowl-shaped container with a handle, and often a lid, kept in the bedroom under a bed or in the cabinet of a nightstand and...
and excreta.
There are many colloquial terms used to refer to a left-handed person, e.g. "southpaw" or "goofy" (USA). Some are just
slangSlang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
or
jargonJargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
words, while other references may be offensive or demeaning, either in context or in origin. In some parts of the English-speaking world, "cack-handed" is slang for left-handed, and is also used to mean clumsy. The origin of this term is disputed, but some suggest it is derived from the Latin
cacare, in reference to the habit of performing
ablutionsWashing is one way of cleaning, namely with water and often some kind of soap or detergent. Washing is an essential part of good hygiene and health....
with the left hand, leaving the right hand "clean". However, other sources suggest that it is derived from the Old Norse word
keikr, meaning "bent backwards". Some Australians use "cacky-handed". An alternative Australian slang word for a left-handed individual is the term
Molly-Duker.
Positive connotations
Among
IncasThe Andean civilizations made up a loose patchwork of different cultures that developed from the highlands of Colombia to the Atacama Desert. The Andean civilizations are mainly based on the cultures of Ancient Peru and some others such as Tiahuanaco. The Inca Empire was the last sovereign...
left-handers were called (and now are called among the indigenous peoples of the
AndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
)
lloq'e which has positive value. Indigenous peoples of the Andes consider that left-handers possess special spiritual abilities, including
magicMagic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
and
healingPhysiological healing is the restoration of damaged living tissue, organs and biological system to normal function. It is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or necrotic area....
.
The Third Sapa Inca — Lloque Yupanqui — was left-handed. His name when translated from Quechua means "the glorified lefthander". However, many linguists fluent in the native Quechua language, commonly translate Lloque Yupanqui as "The Unforgettable Left-Handed One".
In China and Japan, the formula "man left, woman right" expresses the traditional concept that the left is the
yangIn Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
direction and side of the body. The character for "left", , also depicts a left hand attending to its work. In contrast, the character for "right", (
yòu), depicts a right hand in relation to the mouth, suggesting the act of eating.
In Tantric Buddhism, the left hand represents wisdom.
In early Roman times, the left side retained a positive connotation, as the Augures proceeded from the eastern side. The negative meaning was subsequently borrowed into Latin from Greek, and ever since in all Roman languages.
In Russian, "
levsha" (lefty, lefthander) became a common noun for skilled craftsman, after the title character from "
The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea"The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" , The Tale of the Crosseyed Lefthander from Tula and the Steal Flea or simply Levsha , sometimes called The Lefthander, Lefty, The Steel Flea or The Left-handed Craftsman is a well-known 1881 skaz by Nikolai Leskov...
" written in 1881 by
Nikolai LeskovNikolai Semyonovich Leskov was a Russian journalist, novelist and short story writer, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is...
.
Accessibility of implements and skills
People tend to have most strength and control in their lead hand - whether left or right. Because the vast majority of the world population is right-handed, most everyday items are mass-produced for expected use with the right hand. Tools, game equipment, musical instruments and other items must be specially ordered for left-handed use, if they are available at all.
Many left-handers adapt themselves well to a right-handed world. While writing may necessarily remain with most a left handed function necessitating a considerable degree of control, other two handed functions may well be done in a right handed manner (eg: holding cricket and baseball bats, golf clubs, holding both knives and forks when eating). Left-handedness will always be far more apparent in one-handed operation (eg: tennis rackets, table tennis bats, javelin throwing, Ball and shot throwing etc.)
Right-handed tools may be difficult or uncomfortable to use for some people who are left-handed unless they have learned to adjust. For example, (right-handed) scissors are arranged so that the line being cut along can be seen by a right-handed user, but is obscured to a left-handed user. Furthermore, the handles are often molded in a way that is difficult for a left-hander to hold, and extensive use in such cases can lead to varying levels of discomfort. Ambidextrous scissors will mold the handles to be the same shape, but will not reverse the position of the blades. Most importantly, the scissoring or shearing action - how the blades work together (how they are attached at the pivot) - operates correctly for a right-hander, but some left-handers may tend to force the blades apart rather than shearing the target substance. Left-handed
scissorsScissors are hand-operated cutting instruments. They consist of a pair of metal blades pivoted so that the sharpened edges slide against each other when the handles opposite to the pivot are closed. Scissors are used for cutting various thin materials, such as paper, cardboard, metal foil, thin...
require inverting both the handles and the blades if the left-handed user is to fully see the progress of the cut. Right-handed scissors place the thumb's blade on the left side, while left-handed scissors have this on the right side. This ensures the left hand's motion draws the blades together while cutting, ensuring a cleaner cut.
Other handed items which could prove to be inconvenient for left-handers include
cameraA camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
s, train-station
turnstileA turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. It can also be made so as to enforce one-way traffic of people, and in addition, it can restrict passage only to people who insert a coin, a ticket, a pass, or similar...
s,
can openerA can opener is a device used to open metal cans. Although preservation of food using tin cans had been practiced since at least 1772 in the Netherlands, the first can openers were patented only in 1855 in England and in 1858 in the United States. Those openers were basically variations of a...
s, potato
peelerA peeler is a metal blade attached to a wooden, metal or plastic handle that is used to remove the outer skin or peel thus peeling certain vegetables, frequently potatoes, and fruits such as apples, pears, et cetera.There are three main varieties, the Lancashire design involving the blade as an...
s,
corkscrewA corkscrew is a kitchen tool for drawing stopping corks from wine bottles. Generally, a corkscrew consists of a pointed metallic helix attached to a handle. The user grips the handle and screws the metal point into the cork, until the helix is firmly embedded, then a vertical pull on the...
s,
rulerA ruler, sometimes called a rule or line gauge, is an instrument used in geometry, technical drawing, printing and engineering/building to measure distances and/or to rule straight lines...
s, computer mice and
keyboardIn computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
s,
watchA watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
es, chequebooks, spiral
notebookA notebook is a book or binder composed of pages of notes, often ruled, made out of paper, used for purposes including recording notes or memoranda, writing, drawing, and scrapbooking....
s, lever arch
fileFile or filing may refer to:Tools:* File * Filing * Nail filePaper or computer records:* File folder, a folder for holding loose papers* Filing cabinet or file cabinet...
s,
fishing reelsA fishing reel is a "cylindrical device attached to a fishing rod used in winding the line". Modern fishing reels usually have fittings which make it easier to retrieve the line and deploy it for better accuracy or distance. Fishing reels are traditionally used in the recreational sport of angling...
,
boomerangA boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
s,
measuring cupA measuring cup is a kitchen utensil used primarily to measure the volume of liquid or bulk solid cooking ingredients such as flour and sugar, especially for volumes from about 50 mL upwards. The cup will usually have a scale marked in cups and fractions of a cup, and often with fluid measure...
s and
pencil sharpenerA pencil sharpener is a device for sharpening a pencil's writing point by shaving away its worn surface. Pencil sharpeners may be operated manually or by an electric motor.-History:...
s.
Left-handed adaptations have even bridged the world of music. Left-handed guitars are manufactured as an alternative to using a flipped around right-handed guitar. There have even been inverted pianos where the deepest notes correspond to the rightmost keys instead of the leftmost. Inverted
trumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s are made, too. Although most brass instruments' main valves are designed to be operated with the right hand, the prevailing belief is that left-handed performers are not at a significant disadvantage. The
French hornThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
is played with the left hand, and there is no evidence that right-handed performers are at a disadvantage on that instrument.
A left-handed individual may be known as a southpaw, particularly in a sports context. It is widely accepted that the term originated in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in the game of
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. Ballparks are often designed so that batters are facing east, so that the afternoon or evening sun does not shine in their eyes. This means that left-handed pitchers are throwing with their south-side arm. The
Oxford English DictionaryThe Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
lists a non-baseball citation for "south paw", meaning a punch with the left hand, as early as 1848, just three years after the first organized baseball game, with the note "(orig. U.S., in Baseball)." A left-handed advantage in sports can be significant and even decisive, but this advantage usually results from a left-handed competitor's unshared familiarity with opposite-handed opponents. Baseball is an exception since batters, pitchers, and fielders in certain scenarios are physically advantaged or disadvantaged by their handedness.
The vast majority of
firearmA firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s are designed for right-handed shooters, with the operating handle, magazine release, and/or safety mechanisms set up for manipulation by the right hand, and fired cartridge cases ejected to the right. Also, scopes and sights may be mounted in such a way as to require the shooter to place the rifle against the right shoulder. A left-handed shooter must either purchase a left-handed or ambidextrous firearm (which are manufactured in smaller numbers and are generally more expensive and/or harder to obtain), shoot a right-handed gun left-handed (which presents certain difficulties, such as the controls being improperly located for the left hand or hot shell cases being ejected towards the shooter's body, especially the eyes or down the collar or right sleeve), or learn to shoot right-handed (which may be less comfortable, feel "unnatural", and probably less effective). A related issue is
ocular dominanceOcular dominance, sometimes called eye dominance or eyedness, is the tendency to prefer visual input from one eye to the other. It is somewhat analogous to the laterality of right or left handedness; however, the side of the dominant eye and the dominant hand do not always match...
, due to which left-handed people may wish to shoot right-handed, and vice versa.
Lever action and pump action firearms present fewer difficulties for left-handers than bolt action weapons do. Many weapons with adjustable sights allow for left-handed use, but for a right eye dominant shooter it is necessary to adjust. In fact, most weapons adjust well enough that a weapon will not eject shells into a left-hander's eye. However, some
bullpupBullpups are firearm configurations in which the action is located behind the trigger group and alongside the shooter's face, so there is no wasted space for the buttstock as in conventional designs. This permits a shorter firearm length for the same barrel length for improved maneuverability, and...
style rifles, such as the L85, cannot be safely fired left-handed at all, being that the empty cases would be ejected directly at the shooter's face.
Power tools, machinery and other potentially dangerous equipment is typically manufactured with the right-handed user in mind. Common problems faced by left-handed operators include the inability to keep materials steady, and difficulty reaching the on/off switch, especially in emergency situations. A further factor is the relative strength of the lead hand and arm. A left handed person will tend to have less physical strength in the right hand and arm, and vice versa. So while heavy tools may necessarily have to be held in the right hand due to the handed-ness of the tool, there will be less strength in a left handed person to control and guide the tool.
Handheld
circular sawThe circular saw is a machine using a toothed metal cutting disc or blade. The term is also loosely used for the blade itself. The blade is a tool for cutting wood or other materials and may be hand-held or table-mounted. It can also be used to make narrow slots...
s are made almost exclusively for right-handers, with the motor and grip on the right side. If held in the left hand, it is impossible for the operator to see what they are cutting and sawdust will be thrown out to the right towards the face and eyes, rather than away from it. Tool manufacturer
Porter-CablePorter-Cable is an American company that manufactures power tools. The company is known for introducing a number of noteworthy power tools, such as the first portable belt sander, helical-drive circular saw, and portable band saw. It is a subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker.- History :Porter-Cable...
produces a left-handed circular saw that can be purchased relatively inexpensively.
Also, in some countries classrooms and offices are designed to maximize the use of natural light by placing desks so that the windows are on the left. This often creates inconveniences for left-handers as the shadow of their left hand with the pen makes it harder to see the text being written.
One of the few items in common use that is actually advantageous for left-handers is the
QWERTYQWERTY is the most common modern-day keyboard layout. The name comes from the first six letters appearing in the topleft letter row of the keyboard, read left to right: Q-W-E-R-T-Y. The QWERTY design is based on a layout created for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter and sold to Remington in the...
keyboard. Over 3000 words in English can be typed with only the left hand on the QWERTY board as opposed to some 300 with the right hand, and overall, 56% of the keystrokes made when touch-typing on a QWERTY board are made with the left hand.
Handwriting and written language
Because writing when moving one's hand away from its side of the body can cause smudging if the outward side of the hand is allowed to drag across the writing, it is considered easier to write ABC... and other left-to-right-scripts with the right-hand than with the left. Furthermore, it is considered more difficult to write Chinese characters with the left-hand than it is to write Latin letters, though difficulty is subjective and depends on the person in question. Left-handed people who speak Arabic,
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
,
UrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Hebrew or any other right-to-left script do not have the same difficulties with writing. The right-to-left nature of these languages prevents left-handers from running their hand on the ink as happens with left-to-right languages.
Left-to-right alphabets can be written smudge-free and in proper "forward slant" with the left-hand if the paper is turned 1/4 turn clockwise (90 degrees to the right), and the left-hand is drawn toward the body on forward strokes, and left to right on upward strokes (as expressed in directionality of the text). It is also possible to do
calligraphyCalligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
in this posture with the left-hand, but using right-handed pen nibs. Otherwise, left-handed pen nibs are required in order to get the thick-to-thin stroke shapes correct for most "fonts", and the left-handed calligrapher is very likely to smudge the text. Left-handed pen nibs are not generally easy to find, and strokes may have to be done backwards from traditional right-handed calligraphic work rules to avoid nib jamming and splatter. Left-handed people have an advantage in learning 19th-century
copperplateCopperplate, or English round hand, is a style of calligraphic writing, using a sharp pointed nib instead of the flat nib used in most calligraphic writing. Its name comes from the fact that the copybooks from which students learned it were printed from etched copper plates...
hands, which control line-width by pressure on the point.
Intelligence
In his book
Right-Hand, Left-Hand, Chris McManus of
University College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
argues that the proportion of left-handers is increasing and left-handed people as a group have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. He says that left-handers' brains are structured differently in a way that increases their range of abilities, and the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language centres of the brain.
In a 2006 U.S. study, researchers from
Lafayette CollegeLafayette College is a private coeducational liberal arts and engineering college located in Easton, Pennsylvania, USA. The school, founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter,son of General Andrew Porter of Norristown and citizens of Easton, first began holding classes in 1832...
and
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
concluded that there was no scientifically significant correlation between handedness and earnings for the general population, but among college-educated people, left-handers earned 10 to 15 % more than their right-handed counterparts.
Politics
Of the seven most recent U.S. Presidents, four, including
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, have been left-handed, while a fifth is said to have been ambidextrous:
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, who was left-handed by birth, became president after he defeated left-handed candidate
George H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
in the Republican primary election. Four years earlier, Reagan had lost the Republican presidential primary to incumbent left-handed President
Gerald FordGerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
. George H. W. Bush succeeded Reagan and later ran for re-election against left-handers
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and
Ross PerotHenry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...
. Clinton's second term opponents included Perot, and
Bob DoleRobert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
who had become left-handed when his right arm was paralyzed in combat 50 years earlier. Left-handed then Senator Obama defeated left-handed Senator
John McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
in his race for the presidency.
See also
- Chirality (chemistry)
A chiral molecule is a type of molecule that lacks an internal plane of symmetry and thus has a non-superimposable mirror image. The feature that is most often the cause of chirality in molecules is the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom....
- Chirality (mathematics)
In geometry, a figure is chiral if it is not identical to its mirror image, or, more precisely, if it cannot be mapped to its mirror image by rotations and translations alone. For example, a right shoe is different from a left shoe, and clockwise is different from counterclockwise.A chiral object...
- Chirality (physics)
A chiral phenomenon is one that is not identical to its mirror image . The spin of a particle may be used to define a handedness for that particle. A symmetry transformation between the two is called parity...
- Cross-dominance
Cross-dominance, also known as mixed-handedness, mixed dominance, or hand-confusion, is a motor skill manifestation where a person favors one hand for some tasks and the other hand for others. For example, a cross-dominant person might write with the left hand but throw primarily with the right...
- Geschwind–Galaburda hypothesis
- Handedness and sexual orientation
A relationship between handedness and sexual orientation has been suggested but not verified by a number of researchers, who report that heterosexual individuals are somewhat more likely to be right-handed than homosexual individuals...
- Handedness and mathematical ability
Researchers have suggested a link between handedness and ability with mathematics. This link has been proposed by Geschwind, Galaburda, Annett, and Kilshaw...
- Laterality
Laterality is the preference that most humans show for one side of their body over the other. Examples include right-handedness or left-footedness. It may also apply to other animals, or to plants.- Human laterality :...
- Right-handedness
- Situs inversus
Situs inversus is a congenital condition in which the major visceral organs are reversed or mirrored from their normal positions. The normal arrangement is known as situs solitus...
External links