In my recently
released novel, Cailín , the main character of the story,
Aislinn MacAuliffe, not only has red hair, but is left-handed, as well— just
one more thing alluding to the likelihood of her supernatural origins.
Like my character, I
too, was born left-handed. Although, I
was one of the percentage of those subjected to the ‘rehabilitation’ which used
to be so prevalent, having been forced to use my right hand in school at the command
of my parents— good God-fearing people that they are. However, while I do use my right hand to
write, that didn’t prevent the natural inclination of using my left-hand for
everything else— including eating, drinking, carrying things, other manual tasks, holding the phone, and even anything
I do which requires larger body movements, I tend to lead with the left side of
my body.
It wasn’t until I was
an adult— and had a left-handed child of my own— that I researched more about my
left-handed quirk. Interestingly enough, twins run sporadically in
my family (if you are not familiar with this theory, you will read more about
it below), as not only do I have the capability of producing twins (binary
ovulation) and I discovered a couple sets of twins in my family tree, but I also have
a daughter who does have twin baby girls.
That makes the thought that either I or my son could have possibly
originally been a twin conception something quite mystifying to consider.
So, here are some
facts about left-handedness I gathered to share with you. I hope you enjoy them, find them fascinating,
or at the very least, learn something which you were not aware of previously,
particularly if you are one yourself or are close to someone that is. Understanding is always a good thing!
Statistics
· Only
about 10 percent of the population is left-handed, with males twice as likely.
·
About 30
million people in the United States are left-handed.
·
About 20
percent of people with schizophrenia dominantly use their left hands.
·
Less than
1% of the world’s population can be considered truly ambidextrous.
·
Increased
risk for dyslexia, ADHD, and certain mood disorders in left-handed people.
·
Statistically,
the older the mother, the more likely she is to birth a left-handed child.
·
There is
a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed.
·
Although
approximately 90% of all humans are right-handed, dogs, cats, rats, and mice
that show handedness seem to be equally split between right- and
left-pawedness.
·
Researchers
postulate that the proportion of left-handers has remained constant for over
30,000 years.
·
Research
indicates that left-handers are more likely to become alcoholics,
schizophrenic, delinquent, and dyslexic. They are also more likely to have Crohn’s
disease, ulcerative colitis, or mental disabilities. Scholars note that despite these maladies,
left-handers have survived because they are traditionally successful in combat. Here’s why: In man-on-man combat, using the
left-hand is like throwing a curveball. "The
fact that left-handers are less common means they have a surprise effect,"
University of Montpellier researcher
Charlotte Faurie told ABC News. To
dig deeper, Faurie and her colleague Michel Raymond studied nine different
primitive societies. In more violent
societies, they found that lefties thrived (think southpaw slugger Rocky
Balboa’s left hook).
Brain Functioning
·
The gene
LRRTM1 is a strong contributing factor for left-handedness. Scientists discovered the gene during a study
of dyslexic children and believe it is inherited from the father.
·
The left
hemisphere (right handed control) controls speech, language, writing, logic,
mathematics and science. This is the linear sequential mode.
·
The right
hemisphere (left handed control) controls music, art, creativity, perception,
spatial awareness, emotions and other forms of abstract thinking. This is the
visual simultaneous mode.
·
Connections
between the right and left sides of the brain are faster in left-handed people.
This means information is transferred
faster, making left-handers more efficient in dealing with multiple stimuli and
using both sides of the brain more easily.
·
Left-handers
are more able to multitask. One of the
advantages of being left-handed is that it forces your brain to act more
quickly. What this means for everyday
life is that those who are left-handed may find it easier to manage large, more
random streams of information. Researchers
found that connections between the left and right sides of the brain happen
faster in left-handed people. The more
dominant the left-handedness is, the better these abilities appear to be.
·
Lefties
have typically higher IQ’s, seeming to make up a disproportionately large part
of those who are highly intelligent. 20%
of MENSA members are reportedly left-handed. Some
think this genius stems from being forced to use both sides of the brain more
often, allowing left-handers to more easily process a large amount of
information. Some notable leftie clever
clogs include Issac Newton, Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein, as well as 4
out of the 5 original Mac designers.
·
Left-Handers
Remember Events Better Than Facts. They
concluded that the two halves of the brain work together in episodic memory to
help to remember. They also point out that the onset of
episodic memory at around four years of age roughly coincides with the
maturation of the “corpus callosum” that connects the two halves of the brain. More research is being conducted to ascertain
why episodic memory involves both halves of the brain whereas implicit memory
appears to only be processed in one half.
·
Lefties
Hear Speeches Differently: People who
are using their left hands when listening may more easily hear rapidly changing
sounds than those who are using their right hands, according to a study from Georgetown University Medical Center.
·
Left-handers
adjust more readily to seeing underwater. Again, Scientists believe this has something to do with the
different part of the brain being more dominant in left-handers.
Learning
& Creativity
·
Most
people rely on the brain’s left
hemisphere for tasks like language functioning. However, about 30% of left-handers are either
partial to the right hemisphere or
have no dominant hemisphere at all. According
to scientists, having one hemisphere dominate is much more efficient— and
that’s why some left-handers are at an increased risk for learning impairments
and brain disorders.
·
Studies
show that those who have autism are more likely 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
have the upper hand in at least one creative facet — they’re better at divergent thinking, a method of idea
generation that explores many possible solutions.
·
Lefties
Make Better Artists: Southpaws have been
bragging about their creative clout for years. But is it true -- does being
left-handed mean you’re also more likely to be artistic or innovative? According to research published in the American Journal of Psychology, there is
some evidence that left-handed people have the upper hand in at least one
creative facet -- they’re better at divergent thinking, a method of idea
generation that explores many possible solutions. So to determine whether lefties were more
likely to pursue creative careers than righties, the folks behind Left-Handers’
Club (a pro-leftie group dedicated to left-handed research and product
development) surveyed more than 2,000 left-handed, right-handed and
ambidextrous participants. What did they find? Lefties tended to find
advantages and be drawn to careers in the arts, music, sports and information
technology fields. But that may also add
up to lower paychecks: According to the same Wall Street Journal article, left-handers’ salaries are 10 percent
lower on average than right-handers.
·
Many
people who are left-handed draw figures that face to the right.
·
Studies
have suggested that left-handers are more talented in spatial awareness, math,
and architecture. Right-handers tend to
be more talented verbally.
·
When
placed on their tummies, right-handed babies tend to turn their heads to the
right. Left-handed babies usually turn
their heads to the left or they don’t show any preference.
·
Studies
have shown that if a left-hander injures his dominant hand, he has an easier
time learning to use the other hand than his right-handed counterparts.
Medically/Biologically
·
Left-handers
have lower rates of arthritis and ulcers.
·
Research
suggests that left-handers are slightly more prone to allergies and asthma than
right-handers are.
·
Studies
suggest premature babies are more likely to be left-handed. Additionally, infants with low Apgar scores at
birth are more likely to be left-handed than children who have higher Apgar
scores.
·
Babies
can show early signs of handedness
·
Ultrasounds
show that in the womb, 90% of babies appear to favor the right thumb, which
corresponds to population breakdowns of right-handers and left-handers.
·
Research has
shown a link between trauma during gestation or during birth with an increased
chance of being left-handed.
·
Some
scholars postulate that increased levels of testosterone in the womb increase
the chances of becoming left-handed. This
may explain the correlation that seems to exist between left-handedness and
some immune disorders, as testosterone has been linked to immune disorders.
·
Mothers
who are over 40 at the time of a child’s birth are 128% more likely to have a
left-handed baby than a woman in her 20s.
Coincidentally the chances of an older mother conceiving twins are also
higher.
·
Some
scientists have suggested that left-handers were originally in the womb with a
twin that did not survive, or a “Vanishing Twin.” For a while scientists had a
theory that left-handed people started out as twins while in utero. Their belief
was that in a set of twins one is usually right-handed and the other
left-handed.
·
It was
not until ultrasounds, and cameras capable of capturing life inside
the womb, that scientists discovered their hunch was right. They were right in the fact that most lefties
were once twins but it turns out, that's not all.
Scientists now think that an astonishing 1 in 8 people started out
as twins. Of course, as statistics show, only about 1 in
70 people actually is a twin. So what
happens to the other twin? Depending upon how early it occurs, the twin which do not make it pretty much just wither away or sometimes, it will even become part of the surviving twin. If multiple pregnancies are truly this common, it is for good reason. Unfortunately, carrying twins can be very dangerous for the mother, so very few actually make it to full term. Instead, it is just another case of 'survival of the fittest', whereas the fetuses compete for viability early on
in development.
Just another reason for
people to believe lefties are a sinister group of people.
Psychologically
·
Left
handers tend to be more affected by fear. Studies have shown that Lefties were far more likely to show
signs of post-traumatic stress disorder than righties. Apparently
the two sides of the brain have different roles in PTSD, the right hand-side of
the brain seems to be more involved in fear. In a recent experiment, left-handers who
watched an eight-minute clip from the film Silence
of the Lambs showed more fear than right-handers. I, for one, cannot handle even the mildest of
scary movies, and rather than just affecting me for the short time surrounding
the watching of them, their deeply disturbing effects tend to linger with me
for months even.
·
According
to a small study published in The Journal
of Nervous and Mental Disease, lefties are more prone to having negative
emotions. In addition, they seem to have
a more difficult time processing their feelings. Again, this seems to be related to the brain-hand
connection. Compared to righties, left-handed participants in the study showed
an imbalance in activity between the left and right hemispheres when trying to
process their moodiness. Therefore,
Left-Handers get angrier easier and hold onto it.
·
Researchers
have come to the conclusion that lefties tend to feel more inhibited, shy and
embarrassed than their right-handed counterparts. "Left-handers are more likely to
hesitate whereas right-handers tend to jump in a bit more," lead
researcher Lynn Wright, PhD, told BBC
News. When scientists from Abertay University in Scotland gave 46
lefties and 66 righties behavioral tests to measure their impulsiveness and
personal restraint, the left-handers in the group more commonly agreed with
statements like “I worry about making mistakes” and “Criticism or scolding
hurts me quite a bit.”
·
Left-handers
are 39% more likely to be homosexual.
·
Drink
More: excess drinking may be a consequence either of atypical lateralisation of
the brain or due to the social stresses that arise from left-handers being a
minority group.
·
Left-handers
like to color-code things, like to write lists, as a way to alleviate stress. I can certainly attest to this! My husband likes to make fun of me for those
things!
Physically
·
Left-handers
excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing.
·
More
likely to have allergies.
·
More
prone to migraines.
·
More
likely to be insomniacs.
·
Live on
average 9 years less than right handed people.
·
Less able
to roll their tongue than a righty.
·
Nails
grow faster on the left hand than the right.
Cultural Perceptions
on Left-Handedness
·
In
Tantric Buddhism, the left hand represents wisdom.
·
Christians
believe that when judgment day arrives according to custom God blesses the
saved with his right hand and casts out all the sinners out of Heaven with his
left hand.
·
The Incas
thought left-handers were capable of healing and that they possessed magical
abilities. The North American Zuni tribe believed left-handedness signified
good luck.
·
In the
Talmud, the Chief of Satans or Prince of Demons is named Samael, which is
associated with the Hebrew word for left side, se’mol. The angel Michael
sits on God’s right-hand side, while Samael is on his left-hand side. This attribution of evil to the left and good
to the right appears in various forms throughout the world.
·
Among the
Eskimos, every left-handed person is viewed as a potential sorcerer.
·
In Morocco, left-handers are considered to be
a s’ga, a word that means either a
devil or a cursed person.
Sexuality
·
Left-handed
women tend to be more masculine and quite yang women, have been shown to have
higher testosterone levels, and are more sexually active.
·
Researchers
note that on average, left-handers reach sexual maturity later than
right-handers.
Historically
At
various times in history, left-handedness has been seen as many things: a nasty
habit, a mark of the devil, a sign of neurosis, rebellion, criminality, and
homosexuality. On the other hand, (no
pun intended!) it has been seen as a trait indicating creativity and musical
abilities.
·
The word
left in English comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lyft, which means weak or broken. The Oxford English Dictionary
defines left-handed as meaning crippled, defective, awkward, clumsy, inapt,
characterized by underhanded dealings, ambiguous, doubtful, questionable,
ill-omened, inauspicious, and illegitimate.
·
The
German for “left-handed’ is linkisch,
which means awkward, clumsy, and maladroit. In Italian, the word is mancino, which is derived from “crooked” or “maimed” (mancus) and is also used to mean
deceitful or dishonest. In Russian, to
be called a left-hander (levja) is a
term of insult.
·
In Latin,
the word for left is ‘sinistra’,
which is where the word sinister derives.
·
Phrases
in English suggest a negative view of left-handedness. For example, a “left-handed complement” is
actually an insult. A “left-handed
marriage” is not a marriage but an adulterous sexual liaison, as in a
“left-handed honeymoon with someone else’s husband.” A “left-handed wife” is actually a mistress.
·
The next
time you see a coat of arms check to see if it has a strip running diagonally
across it. Most strips are called bends and they run from the top left to the
bottom right. A strip or bend that runs
in the opposite direction is a left-handed bend or a sinister bend.
·
Some
scholars note that left-handers may be one of the last unorganized minorities
in society because they have no collective power and no real sense of common
identity. Additionally, left-handers are
often discriminated against by social, educational, and religious institutions.
Social customs and even language set the
left-hander apart as “different” and even “bad.”
·
August
13th is the official “Left-Hander’s Day.” Launched in 1992, this yearly event celebrates
left-handedness and raises awareness of the difficulties and frustrations
left-handers experience every day in a world designed for right-handers.
·
Even the
word “dexterity” shows a right-handed bias. The term dexter
(Latin) means “right” and refers to being
“right-handed” on both sides.
·
The Devil
is typically portrayed as being left-handed as shown by the many artistic
representations.
·
In
witchcraft texts in medieval Europe, it was the left hand that was used to harm
or curse another person. To affect a
curse, witches were instructed to silently touch the recipient with the left
hand, which would convey the curse. Additionally,
the devil supposedly gives the gathering a benediction with the left hand, as
opposed to the right-handed blessing of the Christian church. He would also baptize or anoint with his left
hand.
·
Both the
Jewish and Christian traditions are strongly right-handed in their nature and
practices. For Catholics, Anglicans, Episcopalians, and other denominations,
the priest must present the communion wafer with the right hand, and the
communicant accepts it with the right hand. All benedictions must be made with the right
hand, and a priest symbolizes the “strong right hand of God.”
·
Medieval
Jewish philosopher Maimonides (A.D. 1135-1204) listed 100 blemishes a Jewish
priest could not have, and being left-handed was one of them.
·
In
Scotland there is a saying used to describe an unlucky person: “He must have
been baptized by a left-handed priest.”
·
The right
hand is mentioned positively 100 times in the Bible, while the left hand is
mentioned only 25 times— all negatively.
·
In many
Islamic countries, people are forbidden to eat with their left hand, which is
considered “unclean” because it is used for cleaning the body after defecation.
Additionally, “public display” or use of
the left hand is against the law in some Islamic countries, including Saudi
Arabia.
·
Left-handedness
has also been called mancinism, sinistromanuality, and cackhandedness. Other colloquialisms for left-handedness
include skivvy-handed, scrummy-handed, kaggy-fisted, cawk-fisted, gibble-fisted,
southpaw, cunny-and ballock-handed.
·
According
to tradition, an itchy left hand indicates you will lose money, whereas an
itchy right hand indicates you will receive money.
·
Left-handedness
runs in families. Lefties in the British
royal family include the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and
Prince William.
·
One in
four Apollo astronauts were left-handers.
·
The left
side, which is historically seen as weaker and “bad,” is also traditionally
considered to be the female side. However,
current scientific data suggests that men are more likely to be left-handed
than women.
·
There are
two divergent theories regarding wearing the wedding ring on the left hand. One theory is that it started with the ancient
Egyptians, who believed that despite the left hand’s supposed flaws, placing
the ring on this hand brought it nearer to the heart. Another theory attributes the origin to the
Greeks and Romans, who wore the rings to ward off evil associated with the left
hand.
Famous Left-Handers
·
Celebrities:
Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Sylvester Stallone, Dick Van Dyke, Robert
Redford, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Jay Leno, David
Letterman, Dan Ackroyd, Tim Allen, Jerry
Seinfeld, Charlie Chaplin, Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Marilyn Monroe, Greta
Garbo, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Fred
Astaire, Richard Simmons
Artists:
Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael (All Great Artists of the Renaissance)
·
Scientists/Geniuses: Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin
Inventors:
Benjamin Franklin
Musicians:
Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan
Composers:
Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Paganini, Rachmaninoff, Ravel
Sports Figures:
Martina Navratilova, Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra. Larry Bird, O.J. Simpson, Dorothy
Hamill, John McEnroe
Political Leaders: Fidel Castro, Oliver North, Colin Powell, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne Horatio Nelson, Ramses II, King of England George VI (movie,The King’s Speech)
US Presidents:
Herbert Hoover, James A. Garfield, Thomas Jefferson, Harry S. Truman, Henry
Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and Barack Obama
·
Inspirational Greats: Helen
Keller, Gandhi
Business Greats:
Bill Gates, John D Rockefeller
Authors: Lewis Carroll, Mark Twain, H.G. Wells, Goethe,
Hans Christian Anderson
Philosophers:
Aristotle, Nietzsche, Albert Schweitzer
Resources
Used:
Huffington Post
Random History & Facts
DailyInfographic.com
Leftyfretz.com
The Week
Uber Facts
Lefthandersday.com
Skeptoid.com
© 2013 Rosalind
Scarlett
