Lefties - unique people, no one had any doubt about this. They make up 10% of the world's population, but sometimes it seems that they are forgotten: let's remember all the “right-handed” gadgets, not everyone has conveniently equipped desktops, as well as cutlery that is designed for right-handed use.
What are the reasons for a person’s “left-handedness”?
Scientists do not give an exact answer to this question, but research indicates a close relationship between genetics and a person’s external environment. There is no exact data on the presence of “left-handed” genes in humans, but there is confirmation of the fact that left-handers usually have more “left-handed” relatives than right-handers. In addition, scientists have found differences in the structure of the cerebral hemispheres of left-handers and right-handers.
No matter what makes people use their left hand predominantly, tireless researchers have discovered a number of qualities that are unique to left-handed people.
We bring to the attention of all left-handers, as well as right-handers with “left-handed” and “equal-handed” habits (or with ambidexterity).
Review of facts and myths about left-handed people
1. Left-handed people are more prone to mental disorders
Lefties make up 10% of the population. However, according to research, in a group of people with mental disorders this indicator higher. Recent studies have shown that 20% of people prone to mental disorders prefer to use their left hand.
Researchers Yale University(New Haven, Connecticut) and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas examined 107 patients in outpatient psychiatric clinics. In the group with mild disorders like depression or bipolar affective disorder, 11% were left-handed. However, in the group with severe mental disorders, like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, the percentage of left-handers reached 40%. According to scientists, in in this case interhemispheric asymmetry matters.
2. Health may depend on a more developed hand
According to a study published in 2010 in the journal Pediatrics, left-handed people are more susceptible to dyslexia (the inability to learn to read and write), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and some other neurological disorders. Researchers cannot explain this phenomenon, but associate it with the interaction neural connections in the human brain. Human brain consists of two hemispheres: left and right. Most people (both right-handed and left-handed) use the left hemisphere to master speech.
However, about 30% of left-handers either use partially or right hemisphere, or do not have a dominant hemisphere at all. According to scientists, it is important that only one hemisphere is dominant, which is why left-handers can experience such mental disorders.
But lefties were luckier in other respects. According to a study published in the journal Laterality, left-handers are at lower risk of developing arthritis or ulcers.
3. Left-handers perceive speech differently
According to the study Medical center Georgetown University, left-handed people perceive rapidly changing sounds more easily than right-handed people.
Researchers have found that the left and right hemispheres respond differently to different sounds. Left hemisphere The hemisphere, which controls the right hand, is responsible for recognizing rapidly alternating sounds, like consonants, while the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand, is responsible for recognizing intonation modulations and slowly alternating sounds, like vowels.
According to researchers, when you wave a flag during... solemn speech any politician, his speech will be perceived differently by you depending on which hand you hold the flag in.
This study can provide valuable assistance in curing stuttering or speech disorders.
4. And in the primitive age, left-handers were in the minority
“Right-handedness” is not a trend of our time: people used their right hand more confidently than their left more than 500 thousand years ago.
Researchers at the University of Kansas recently defined "handedness" ancient man on his jaw (which sounds pretty strange, doesn't it?). The study, published in the journal Laterality, found that when our great-great-great-great-grandfathers processed animal skins, they held one edge of the skin with their hand and the other with their teeth. By analyzing the wear of prehistoric jaws, scientists were able to determine which hand our ancestors used most actively. “One tooth is enough to determine whether a person is left-handed or right-handed,” researcher David Freier told LiveScience.
And what is the verdict?
"Prehistoric creatures like modern people, used predominantly the right hand.”
5. Lefties are more sophisticated and artistic
Left-handed people have proudly claimed for years that they are more creative than right-handed people. But is this true? Does being left-handed really mean being more creative and proactive?
According to a study published in the American Journal of Psychology, left-handed people do have at least one advantage in terms of creative development: they are better developed divergent thinking- a way of thinking in which various solutions are simultaneously generated in the brain.
To determine how much more successful left-handers are in creativity compared to right-handers, representatives of the Left-Handers Club conducted a survey of more than 2,000 left-handers, right-handers and people with equal proficiency in both hands. The study confirmed that left-handers are indeed more successful in terms of construction. careers in art, music, sports and information technology.
6. Vote for lefties!
It turns out that it doesn’t matter whether our politicians are “right” or “left”: unexpectedly, the highest percentage of US presidents are on the “left” side - not in terms of politics, of course.
The list of left-handed presidents is quite impressive. Let's take as an example the last four of the seven US commanders in chief - these are Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Gerald Ford (and let's remember in addition James Garfield and Harry Truman). There were rumors that Ronald Reagan was born left-handed, but at school strict teachers retrained him to be right-handed. Is it conceivable that right-handed presidents are simply pretending to be left-handed?
The growing number of left-handed presidents is probably just a coincidence. However, a recent study by Dutch scientists suggests that left-handed politicians have a clear advantage in televised debates. Guess why? Usually simple people associate gesturing with the right hand as “correct gestures”, “gestures of kindness”. Since the television broadcast works as a mirror image, gestures with the left hand are displayed in the eyes of the viewer as movements in positive side(towards the good).
7. Lefties win at sports
Golf legend Phil Mickelson, tennis star Rafael Nadal, boxing champion Oscar de la Goya - you have no idea how many of our sports favorites are left-handed!
If you believe the data in Rik Smits’ book “The Diverse World of Left-Handed People,” left-handed people really do have an advantage in combat sports. But only under the condition of one-on-one competition. For right-handers, the “left-handedness” of an opponent often turns out to be a surprise for which they are not prepared: for the most part, this applies to tennis, boxing and baseball.
8. Left-handers are more likely to get scared
According to the British Society of Psychology, left-handed people are more susceptible to fear than right-handed people.
In the study, participants watched an 8-minute episode from the movie “The Silence of the Lambs.” After viewing, left-handers showed more signs of post-traumatic stress stress disorder than right-handers, and made more errors in describing what they saw.
“It turns out that left-handers, after experiencing stress (even if the stressful situation was in a movie), behave the same way as people after post-traumatic stress disorder,” said the head of the researchers, Caroline Choudgerry. She believes that the reasons lie in brain activity. “Obviously, "that the two hemispheres of the brain react differently to stress, and the right hemisphere reacts more to the fear factor. However, more research is required before we can say anything definitively," she adds.
9. Lefties get angrier
If you have disagreements with your right-handed partner (he may be right about many things), the likely cause may be your left-handedness. According to a rapid study in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, left-handed people are more likely to experience negative emotions Moreover, they tend to worry longer and delay reconciliation.
10. Lefties are easier to discourage
Lefties are much more prone to self-deprecation. Researchers from the University of Abertay in Scotland examined 46 left-handers and 66 right-handers for signs of impulsivity and self-control. It turned out that left-handers react more painfully to statements like “I am afraid of making a mistake” and “I am affected by criticism or ridicule.” The combination of responses from left-handers has led researchers to believe that left-handers are more vulnerable, shy and lacking in self-confidence compared to right-handers.
"Left-handers tend to be hesitant, thoughtful, while right-handers are more decisive and reckless in their decisions and actions," researcher Lynn Wright told BBC News.
11. Left-handed people are more likely to put it behind their collar.
Next time you're stuck at a bar with a tipsy friend, pay attention to which hand he's holding on to his whiskey glass: it'll probably be his left hand.
It has long been believed that left-handers are more prone to alcoholism. There were no reliable facts or convincing evidence on this matter. And only recently, a study conducted in 12 countries with the participation of 25 thousand people, clarified the situation a little. Left-handers do not make up the majority of alcoholics - but they do drink more and more often than right-handers.
According to Kevin Denny, a researcher who conducted a study of left-handed alcoholism, the results of which were published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, main goal The research was aimed at debunking the myth of widespread alcoholism among left-handed people. “There is no evidence to suggest that left-handed people are necessarily more likely to drink excessively,” he says in a press release. “And there is no reason to claim that excessive cravings for drinking are caused by disharmony in the functioning of the brain hemispheres or stressful situations due to social status left-handers as a social minority."
12. Lefties have their own day
Left-handers all over the world celebrate this day, which light hand The "Left-Handers Club" in Great Britain in 1992 became official holiday in order to draw attention to the peculiarities of the lifestyle of left-handers and their problems.
According to a statement on the initiative group’s website, “this holiday is a day when left-handers are proud of their “left-handedness” and try to convey to other fellow citizens all its advantages and disadvantages.”
How can right-handed people celebrate this day? Create a left-handed area: If you're in a business where a narrow left-handed line is possible, do it, design it, even if it's something small like office desks for left-handed employees or left-handed cutlery.
, who is left-handed, mainly uses left hand much more often than the right; A left-hander will primarily use his left hand for personal needs, cooking and similar matters.The hand used for writing is not an accurate indicator of left- (right-) handedness. Thus, many left-handers write with their right hand, but use their left hand to perform most other tasks. 1
Alexander the Great , Julius Caesar, da Vinci , Napoleon, Charlie Chaplin, Lewis Carroll, Michelangelo, Albert Einstein - what unites these people, besides genius?
They are all left-handed.
The percentage of giftedness among left-handed people is unusually high. It is difficult to name an area of art, politics or sports where left-handers have not staked their claim to first place.
In music it is Mozart and Beethoven, in painting - Leonardo da Vinci , Raphael, Rubens. The inimitable Robert de Niro, the charming Julia Roberts, “ toughie“Bruce Willis, charming Tom Cruise, invincible Sylvester Stallone are also from the left-handed category.
All recent US presidents - Reagan, Bush, and Clinton - are entirely left-handed. Even Al Gore, one of the leaders in the presidential race, writes with his left hand.
Famous tennis players Monica Seles and Martina Navratilova hit well with their left hand.
Computer genius Bill Gates, who could not be ruined by recent millions of losses, is also left-handed.
It would seem that left-handers have something to be proud of. One Lefty, created by left-handed writer Nikolai Leskov, is worth it!
But the majority, alas, still have a negative attitude towards them. 6
IN English language In most technical contexts, the word sinistral is used instead of left-handed, and the word sinistrality is used instead of left-handedness.
These technical terms come from Latin word"sinister" - ominous (gloomy). 5
From the very first months of life, children are divided into left-handers and right-handers. Left-handedness is influenced by genetics, pregnancy and childbirth.
There are several types of left-handers.
. Genetic
(9-11%) inherit left-handedness. In 2007, a group of scientists led by experts from the University of Oxford discovered the LLRTM1 gene, which determines whether a person is left-handed. 3
The same gene, according to scientists, increases the chances of mental illness, in particular schizophrenia.
According to Genschwind's theory, high content testosterone in the mother's blood during pregnancy can lead to the birth of a left-handed child.
. Compensatory
(12-13%) are born with unfavorable course pregnancy and childbirth. Their history often reveals birth trauma.
Their number in developed countries ah in Lately is increasing, as sociologists suggest, due to an increase in the number of late births. If a mother gives birth after age 40, the chances of being left-handed increase to 128% compared to those aged 20. 4
According to some data, in Russia the recent increase in the number of left-handers (up to 25-30%) is associated not only with the cessation of retraining at school, but also with high percentage(up to 70%) complications during childbirth.
. Forced left-handed
(2-3%) were injured right hand, and they have to develop the left.
Left-handedness began to be actively studied after the First World War, when a huge number of people lost an arm or hand in battle. In 1918, the Frenchman Albert Charlet published a book addressed to disabled people returning from the war, “How to Write with Your Left Hand.”
In 1919, the American military administration began distributing the brochure “How to learn to write with your left hand if your right hand has been amputated.”
. Imitative
(about 1%) most often appear in families where parents are left-handed. Kids just copy them. This is the only category of left-handed people who, after carefully weighing the pros and cons and consulting with a specialist, it makes sense to retrain. 3
According to statistics, people using pure form the right hand - 40%, and the left - about 1%...
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Some scientists believe that the ratio of left-handers to right-handers has remained approximately the same at all times. Interestingly, cave paintings depict people doing something with their right hand. On the walls of caves and Egyptian pyramids There are plenty of such images. Moreover, the tools and products of ancient gunsmiths that survived from the Paleolithic era were clearly intended for the right hand.
But there are works proving that in the Stone Age there were an equal number of right-handed and left-handed people, and in Bronze Age Two-thirds are now right-handed.
It is curious that in this sense equality reigns in the animal world. Although a number of studies convincingly prove that monkeys prefer to reach for food with their left hand and perform various manipulations with their right. That is, old functions are controlled by the right hemisphere, and new ones by the left.
By the way, if you observe newborn children, you will notice that they grab more often with their left hand. Even 100% right-handers perform some functions, in particular static ones, with their left hand.
In general, there are many theories regarding the origin of left-handedness. From semi-fictional to completely scientific.
Right-handedness was explained by the right-sided location of the liver, shifting the center of gravity of the body, and left-handedness by the heart, forcing the warrior to hold a shield in his left hand and a sword in his right. It is believed that there are more left-handed people in the north than in the south.
There are hypotheses that the number of such people fluctuates depending on historical period. Some experts tend to see left-handedness as a consequence of birth trauma and even pathology.
One of latest theories is associated with the existence of a right shift gene, that is, right-handedness. This gene is inherited in a certain way, while the left shift gene appears as a random variant. Even the position of the fetus during pregnancy can play a role. 6
The first country to ban the retraining of left-handers was Australia. IN late XIX century on this continent, left-handedness was noticed in 2% of the population, in 1910 - in 6%, in 1930 - in 9%, in the 1960s - in 13.5%.
In 1914, a symposium on “How to Treat Left-Handed Students” was held in Philadelphia (USA); left-handedness was recognized as a congenital feature, and relearning was considered dangerous for the child’s psyche. When the United States stopped re-educating children in schools, from 1932 to 1972 the number of left-handed Americans increased 5 times. 2
Ambidextrous - this tricky word is used to call those who are equally skillfully controlled by both the right and left hands. Ambidexterity is believed to be an innate trait. Children under 5 years old use their right and left hands equally often.
However, a person can become “two-handed” as a result of training, although subconsciously he will still prefer the hand determined by physiological characteristics
brain
.
Ambisinister (from Latin - “both left”) is a person who has difficulty using both hands (the antipode of ambidextrous).
In the 19th century, it was believed that by subduing both hands, a person would master both hemispheres perfectly.
brain
and almost turns into a superman. The fashion for artificial ambidexterity quickly passed, since research revealed that “two-handed” people are no better than right-handers or left-handers.
Modern scientists also refuse to single out one of these three extremes (left-handedness, right-handedness, ambidexterity) as correct or perfect. 2
Left-handed people have certain problems when using certain objects.
For example, when writing ballpoint pen everything just written can be blurred by the same hand.
Using scissors is also not very convenient - in the left hand they block the view of the cut site, so cutting out a shape is not at all easy...
Lefties get out of this situation as best they can: they get used to it, remake it, modify it...
During the development of the brain
brain
at
person
there is a division of functions between the left and right hemispheres. Right hemisphere of the brain
brain
is responsible for specifically imaginative activity (recognition of objects by smell, color and visual perception).
And the left hemisphere is responsible for speech functions, reading, writing, as well as mathematical, logical and analytical thinking. That is why the left hemisphere is called dominant or predominant.
Both hemispheres of the brain are involved in body movements.
brain
. The left hemisphere controls the right arm and leg. And the right one, respectively, with the left hand and foot.
U person many paired organs. Eyes, ears, kidneys, lungs, ovaries, testes are symmetrical and perform the same functions. Having lost one organ, a person can get by with the help of a backup.
In this sense, the cerebral hemispheres brain are an exception. They will never replace each other.
So what is the difference between the work of the head brain left-handed and right-handed?
Researchers have been conducting experiments for a long time, clarifying the differences in the activity of the brain brain left-handers and right-handers, trying to understand which areas work in a particular action.
For example, the difference between “left” and “right,” according to some researchers, lies in the perception of the surrounding reality. The left hemisphere of right-handed people breaks down the picture of the world into details and builds logical chains of cause and effect. It analyzes information, searches memory similar, works slowly.
Right leading hemisphere brain Left-handed people capture the entire picture of the world, without details, figuratively, and do it much faster.
Left-hemisphere right-handers are more rational, reasonable, and emotionally restrained.
Most left-handers do not have a clear left-right connection in their heads, so they often get confused. Right-hemisphere left-handers tend to imaginative thinking, more emotional, vulnerable.
Today, three approaches are accepted in the scientific world.
I - right-handers and left-handers have no advantage over each other.
II - left-handers have nothing to be proud of; their cute feature often accompanies such mental illnesses as epilepsy, schizophrenia, and contributes to hereditary alcoholism.
III - left-handers have higher rates of neuropsychic activity and greater adaptive capabilities than right-handers.
It is believed that left-handedness should not influence the choice of profession, but there are still areas of activity in which a left-handed person will be less successful.
For example, there are very few of them among pilots: all aircraft controls are designed for right-handed people. According to doctors, in stressful situation Left-handed pilots may experience spatial illusions and errors inherent in mirror perception of the world.
Dental clinics have also become a left-handed zone.
In many sports, being left-handed is considered an advantage. But this is especially obvious in boxing. Left-handed boxers win 35-40% of gold medals at major international competitions. They are awkward and unpredictable opponents.
In the 1970s, during research it was found that the advantage of left-handers is not in the speed of performing strikes with each hand separately, but in the overall speed of reaction.
Speed motor functions left-handers are generally worse: for example, the time to avoid a blow when bending the torso is 270 ms for left-handers and 230 ms for right-handers.
But for left-handed people there is practically no difference in the movements of the right and left hands. This also applies to the accuracy of strikes: for left-handers, the work of the right hand is the same as for right-handers, but the left hand is much better. 2
The headquarters of the International Left-Handed Association is located in Topeka, Kansas, USA. The association released the “Left-Handed Bill,” which emotionally poses the question: “Why should left-handed people live in a world where they are obviously placed on unequal conditions with others?”
The British Left-Handed Club took the initiative in 1992 to introduce world day left-handers, which is celebrated annually on August 13th. This day was first celebrated on August 13, 1976 (according to other sources - August 13, 1992). 1
Since then, every year on this day, activists strive to draw the attention of designers, manufacturers and sellers of goods to the need to take into account the convenience of left-handers when using various items, and also encourage right-handed people to spend this day using only their left hand...
10. People with psychosis are more likely to be left-handed.
For a long time, left-handers were viewed with suspicion and distrust. Science has recently proven that there may be a good reason for this. In 2013, Yale University researcher Jadon Webb conducted a review of patients with various types mental disorders, including schizophrenia. Study participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire asking which hand they used to write. The results were amazing.
Researchers found that approximately 40 percent of those who suffered from psychosis were left-handed. This is a large number considering that only about 10 percent of the planet's population is left-handed. Researchers believe that being left-handed is a kind of biomarker that may indicate a tendency towards mental illness, especially schizophrenia. But in studies conducted with other groups suffering from such mental illness, as depression, no similar correlation was found.
9. Our ancestors also had a society with a minority of left-handers.
We tend to think of right-handers and left-handers in terms of modern culture, for example, with which hand we write or use a computer mouse. But it turns out that the first people were divided on this basis even in the Stone Age. Researchers studied Neanderthal tools and found that the wear on the vast majority of their tools indicated right-handed use. Many tools that were primarily used for skinning were scraped on stones, and the direction of the scratches indicates which hand was used. In most cases it was the right one.
There were, of course, left-handed people. Today, left-handers make up approximately 10 percent of the population, which is entirely consistent with the findings of Neanderthal researchers. This supports the theory that they are much more like us than we previously thought. Even other animals that are fairly close to us on the evolutionary tree, gorillas and chimpanzees, are only about 5 percent more likely to be left-handed.
8. The connection between left-handed people and human speech.
No other living creature has such a large number of left-handed people. So why people? It is thought to have something to do with speech. For most people speech center located on the left side of the brain, more precisely in Broca's Center. It is the place where we not only generate thoughts, but also transform them into speech that others can understand. Because left side The brain controls the right side of the body; the prevalence of right-handed people is a sign of the dominance of the left hemisphere of the brain.
However, it has recently been discovered that some people develop language skills on the right side of the brain. These people are left-handed. The more a person uses one hand, the more strong connection he has the opposite part of the brain. If people use their left hand for almost everything, there is a high chance that they are right-brain dominant. Additionally, those with a strong history of left-handedness have a language processing center in the right hemisphere of the brain, suggesting that we became left-handed and right-handed when we began to develop language.
7. Left-handed spiral staircase.
It is known that in many medieval castles spiral staircases were used as protection. The spiral staircase, which twists clockwise, gives the guard better freedom of movement. The guard can place his left hand on the railing for balance and wield the sword in his right hand. This assumes that guards must be right-handed, and this is a real problem for those who are not. What should a lord do if he is left-handed?
Ferniehirst Castle in Scotland is the family home of the Kerr family, whose ancestry can be traced back to their arrival in Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066. Their ancestry is rich a large number of lefties. According to history, many of Kerr's houses and castles, such as Ferniehirst, were built with spiral staircases, which are twisted counterclockwise instead of the traditional way. This allowed the left-handed clan to improve their defenses, making fighting easier, while creating a problem for anyone who tried to take their castles by force. Early lords discovered the great advantage of left-handed fighters, and it became a tradition to train all guards and soldiers to fight left-handed.
6. Fear of left-handed people can be innate.
People have been suspicious of left-handed people for centuries. They were retrained and even punished for using the “wrong” hand. Science now suggests that this is not simply a desire to force people to conform to a certain standard. According to University of Utah researchers, anything related to our left side is considered strange and scary. For the experiment, the researchers gave the example of various threats coming from the right or left side. For example, in one case, participants were told that an earthquake could occur on the left or right side of their city and asked whether they would evacuate residents because of the risk of tremors. The earthquake on the left side seemed much more dangerous, and more people made the decision to evacuate.
Similar results were found when the threat was changed to a radioactive disaster; even though the source on the right was closer, the one on the left was seen as more dangerous. People also felt more disgust towards objects on their left side. This was illustrated by how they got around fake poop. There are a few various theories about why this happens, including our brain's tendency to favor things on the right side and how most of us feel more able to protect ourselves from the stronger, right side.
5. Biblical warriors are left-handed.
We've already talked a little about why a southpaw might have an advantage in a fight, and this has of course been known throughout history. Even in the Bible there is a mention of left-handed warriors, which has led to an interesting debate. In an attempt to free Israel from Moabite rule, God sent Ehud, a left-handed killer, to commit one of the Bible's most gruesome murders. Ehud is far from the only left-hander mentioned in the Bible. There are also left-handed warriors who came from the Benjamit tribe.
They were incredible warriors with unprecedented skills. One theory states that the Benjamites were predisposed to being left-handed, like the aforementioned Kerr family. Another theory is based on the translation of historical records. The phrases "left-handed" and "right-handed" are often associated with Benjamites. Some think this translation hints that the tribe retrained right-handers, giving them an advantage in battle. It is also possible that the Bible addressed Special attention to the left-handed use of the Benjamites due to the comical nature of their name: "Benjamin" translates to "son of my right hand", so the Benjamites were ironically "right-handed lefties".
4. King George VI and the retraining of left-handed children.
The rejection of left-handed children has led to some rather unusual measures. Even in the 20th century, British children had their left arm tied to their torso to force them to use the “right” one. British child psychologists who supported this method argued that children who use their left hand exhibit and develop selfishness and disobedience, and this should be corrected as soon as possible.
Even kings couldn't be left-handed. The tutors struggled to get the young Duke of York (later King George VI) to start using his right hand instead of his left, along with permanent job over his famous stutter. Many children began to stutter after such retraining, giving rise to the idea that stuttering and left-hand use were somehow related. A large number of medical studies have examined this issue and ultimately found that switching dominant hands leads to a struggle for dominance between the two hemispheres of the brain, which in turn provokes stuttering. This theory led to a revision of the very idea of retraining, and the practice began to die out.
Nowadays, it is believed that there is another reason for the appearance of stuttering. It is now believed that stuttering in retrained left-handers is due to the stress they are exposed to during this process.
3. Theories of Cesare Lombroso.
Lombroso was a physician who practiced at the end of the 20th century. We might expect him to take a more professional view on left-handed issues, but he once said: "The achievements of mankind belong to right-handers." A very ambiguous statement.
Lombroso believed that there is a “higher” part of the brain, which is associated with logic, and a “lower” part, which is responsible for managing a person’s beliefs and emotions. It is this “lower” part that dictates the lifestyle of left-handers, as well as criminals, crazy people and in general evil people. He believed that being left-handed did not necessarily mean being bad, but it was one of the traits that was present in "the worst of humanity." Lombroso pointed to long history distrust of left-handed people in support of his theory, which was considered medical fact at the time. Strange, but his ideas are still alive. Scientists in the 1990s used his work as a basis for research, eventually concluding that left-handed people are more susceptible to genetic disorders and have a shorter life expectancy.
2. Debunking the myth of more short duration life.
When talking about the myth that left-handers live less than right-handers, everyone pays attention to statistics. According to a study of 2,000 people published in the early 1990s who lived and died in southern California, left-handers died on average ten years earlier than right-handers. Researchers then decided that the cause of death had something to do with living in a world designed for right-handers; statistics stating that left-handed drivers are approximately five times more likely to die in a car accident supported this theory. They also looked at other types of accidents that involved left-handers.
But this theory has been debunked. Of course, the numbers may have been correct and the method may have been theoretically correct... so where's the discrepancy? Throughout history, left-handed people have been forced to become right-handed, a practice that has only recently begun to disappear. So when researchers looked at how many people died, their results were skewed. To collect data for the study, scientists asked relatives of the deceased whether their loved ones were right-handed or left-handed. And if you pay attention to the age of the surveyed relatives of deceased left-handers, you can see that their average age 10-20 years less than relatives of right-handed deceased. What follows from this? The conclusion is quite simple. Older generation, is embarrassed by the fact that their relatives were left-handed, and they are still under the rule of outdated public opinion that lefties are outcasts. As it turned out later, 10 percent of the right-handers from this survey were retrained left-handers and they died even later than the average right-hander.
1. Lefties can survive the apocalypse.
The end is near, society is collapsing, civilization is falling apart. No one has advantages except those who do not have a trump card in their hands. This trump card can be connections, influence, money and unusual biological advantages, which can be safely attributed to the dominant left hand.
Left-handed people on our planet account for approximately 10 percent of total number, but in some societies the number is much higher. In the Venezuelan Yanomani tribe, approximately 23 percent of the population is left-handed. In Indonesia, 27 percent of people are left-handed.
A study conducted by the Institute of Evolutionary Sciences of the University of Montpellier shows that in cultures where there is a large number of left-handed people, left-handedness increases. internal tension, which leads to an increase in the number of murders. But on the other hand, this means that it is a society with dominant left-handers that will be able to change the course of development human civilization. And perhaps in a few decades, left-handers will dominate over right-handers and using the right hand will be considered “abnormal.”
And this is worth remembering:
- "left" - left - the second meaning of "throw"/"leave"
- "right" - right - the second meaning of "rightness"
The attitude of humanity towards everything “left” is immediately clear.
Material prepared by GusenaLapchataya, Administrative site - translation from listverse.com
If you want to try to create a society of dominant left-handers, you can try it in computer game. For example, the game Tropico 5 allows you to create a society very similar to reality with a developed economic and political system.
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August 13th is International Left-Handers Day. The holiday has a global scale, so most developed countries celebrate it. On this day, it is customary to give left-handed people gifts designed specifically for left-handed people.
Most people have no idea how many left-handers there are in the world, since many of them were retrained in childhood. It is the holiday that helps people from both sides unite and have fun.
How and since when is the holiday celebrated?
Left-Handed Day has a rather interesting but confusing history. Here are some facts:
On this holiday, the heroes of the occasion are traditionally given specialized gifts adapted for the left hand.
How many left-handers are there in the world - in numbers and percentages?
It is known that there are about 500 million left-handed people living on the planet. This is about 10% of the total population of the Earth! Moreover, the number of left-handed people is growing steadily. Already in 2018, according to statistics, left-handed people made up 15% of the world's population, and by 2020 their total number will exceed a billion.
Soon their number will exceed a billion
Interestingly, among left-handed people there were:
- Alexander the Great,
- Gaius Julius Caesar,
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
- Leonardo da Vinci,
- Ivan Petrovich Pavlov,
- Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky,
- Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein and many others.
Have you ever wondered why in the past such children were often retrained? The fact is that previously left-handed people were perceived differently from all “normal” people. Writing with the left hand was considered a deviation. Often this only concerned the use of cutlery and writing. The harm from retraining can be irreparable, as it deals a strong blow to mental health child. For example, retraining can lead to diseases such as epilepsy and depression.
The myth that left-handedness is a deviation spread and gained force in the CIS countries during the existence of the USSR
Left-handed features:
- Scientists have found that all left-handed people have an active right hemisphere of the brain, responsible for creativity. They often have some extraordinary talent, or even several. Examples of this are the brilliant scientist Albert Einstein, the surrealist Pablo Picasso and the writer Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy.
- Such people know how and love to absorb knowledge entirely, without stopping at any point. Unfortunately, this is more of a minus than a plus, since due to their restlessness they constantly change hobbies and interests.
- Left-handed people are incorrigible dreamers and romantics who may have problems with logic.
- Left-handers also tend to be more flexible in their thinking than right-handers and have better short-term memory.
It is known that the center of anger and happiness is located in the left hemisphere of right-handed people, while in left-handed people these zones are located in the right hemisphere. That is why different kinds therapies may not produce results in left-handed patients with schizophrenia and vice versa. Knowing this can help when choosing the appropriate treatment option, as not all options are equally good for left- and right-handed people.
It doesn’t matter whether you are left- or right-handed, because the holiday unites both. The thinking patterns of right-handers and left-handers are noticeably different, but this is not a barrier, because you can learn from each other!
If you were born left-handed, you already know the difficulties they have to face since childhood. For example, desks at school were clearly made to make it easier for right-handed people to write. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Scissors, pens, musical instruments, even styluses - all this is made for right-handers, although for the sake of fairness it should be said that many are now appearing necessary tools and for left-handers. But the lives of left-handers can be poisoned not only by inconvenient school supplies. It also has to do with which part of the brain is dominant in a person and also influences personality type.
We offer you 10 facts about left-handed people that may come as a surprise to you. Let's start.
1. Lefties make up only 10 percent of the population
That's right, only one in ten people is left-handed. That makes them very special, doesn't it?
2. Lefties have their day
August 13th is the official left-handed day, so if you're in the top 10% of the population, you might want to start planning what you'll do on this special day.
3. They associate the word “left” with the meaning “good”
While right-handers associate the right side with something positive, for left-handers the opposite is true. In a world ruled by right-handers, left-handers feel out of place, even if they don't realize it. Everything happens on a subconscious level.
4. Lefties are easily frightened
A study conducted by researchers at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland, found that left-handers were more likely to show signs of post-traumatic stress after watching scary clips. Researchers explain that the fear responses that are responsible for Right side brain (it is dominant for left-handed people), are more common in left-handed people.
5. They May Have a Higher IQ
According to statistics, there are more left-handers in the world with an IQ above 140 than right-handers. Plus, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin were also left-handed, so if you also rely more on your left hand, you're in good company!
6. Lefties are more likely to be embarrassed.
According to the BBC, left-handers are more likely to succumb to feelings of self-consciousness or embarrassment. This is due to the fact that the right side of the brain is responsible for such emotions.
7. Being left-handed may depend on the condition of the mother during pregnancy.
According to ABC News, women who feel stressed during pregnancy are more likely to be left-handed. In addition, if a woman is over 40 years old at the time of the birth of a child, she also has more chances give birth to a left-handed person (128%) than at the age of 20 years.
8. Lefties are more likely to be creative people
Left-handers have more developed divergent thinking. This means that they are able to come to several conclusions based on a certain set information. This feature makes left-handed people creative.
9. There are a lot of lefties in the royal family.
Prince William and his son Prince George were born left-handed. IN royal family there are many other left-handers, including Queen Victoria, King George VI, and the Queen Mother.
10. There have been eight left-handed American presidents
James A. Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama are the famous left-handed presidents in American history. Although this number may be significantly higher, since in the past it was customary to hide such a feature, because left-handed people were frowned upon.