Being Left-Handed

August 13^th was Left-Handers Day. I was not aware such a day existed for me and my south-paw brethren till Lil Sis sent me a greeting. I’ve always been proud of my left-handedness, I feel it’s an extra something that makes me unique, makes me me. So when I researched more into Left-Handers Day, I was surprised that this day, which commenced since 1996, was created to bring light to all the problems lefties face.

Yes we live in a right-handed world. Given left-handers only make up 10%of the total world population, this is not surprising. And yes, my left-handedness has been a drawback in certain situations, but definitely not adverse enough to be seen as negative. I tend to be seated on the left when dining (to avoid the clash of the elbows), I dread can openers, and I hold my pen at an angle to avoid smudges when writing left to right. Being seated on the left not only lets me enjoy my meal, but can also be a conversational ice-breaker when dining with new faces. Speaking of can openers, my father once bought me one designed for lefties but I still prefer cans with ring openings. As for me holding my pen funny, some people, including my mother, often tell me it looks stylish, and one of my best friends who I grew up with picked up my trait even though she is right-handed!

Left-handedness has been of interest for centuries, yet they still haven’t got a definitive answer on what determines a person’s handedness. They say our brains are wired the other way round; righties are governed by the left side of the brain, and lefties by the right.

Being right-brained is believed to make us more creatively inclined. We tend to be more holistic thinkers rather than logical.

It’s therefore not surprising that a disproportionately large number of celebrities in creative fields such as music, drama and the arts tend to be lefties.

Famous Left-Handers:

- Of all the seven US presidents since Nixon, only Carter and Bush Jr. have been right-handed (so could this mean being left-handed increases your chances of presidency?!).

- The left-handed gene runs strong with the British royals. Lefties in this family include the Queen Mother, Prince Charles and Prince William.

- Oprah, my favourite celeb of all time!

- Screen sirens Marilyn Monroe, Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johanasson

- Movie icons Robert De Niro, Amitabh Bacchan (and his son Abhishek), Bruce Willis

- Music maestro Beethoven

- Revolutionary artist Leonardo Da Vinci

- Famous authors Mark Twain, H.G. Wells and Peter Benchley (the author of ‘Jaws’)

- Pop-stars Jimi Hendrix, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber

- Funny people; Jerry Seinfeld and Tiny Fey

- Sought-after designer Jean-Paul Gaultier
 

- Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons (no wonder Bart Simpson is a leftie!)

- And infamous lefties include Osama Bin Laden and Jack the Ripper. Ironically, the gun was also invented by a left-hander (Berthold Schwartz).

Left-handedness is also attributed to genetics. Neither of my parents are lefties. Interestingly, when I was in school, my chemistry class consisted of 9 lefties out of 13, and we all had maternal uncles who were left-handed. Something worth researching? It is also believed that stress during pregnancy, low birth weight and mothers over the age of 40 tend to create lefties.

There are a lot of negative connotations associated with left-handedness:

- Lefties are clumsy: given our brains are wired the other way round, it is no surprise that the world we deal with on a daily basis can be a tad more challenging.

- Lefties die early: This can be attributed to the above; maybe we are more accident-prone. It is also believed lefties have lower immunity levels given our lopsided brain. Some scary stats suggest left-handers die a whole 9 years earlier than their right-handed counterparts.

- Lefties are more likely to be insane: only 10% of the world population is left-handed, yet 20% of schizophrenics are lefties. Scary stats.

- It’s a right-handed world: lefties need to deal with right-handed gadgets all the time. Can openers (my old nemesis), door knobs, potato peelers, knives, driving with ‘right-of-way’ rules, the list goes on.

There is also a lot of cultural stigma attached to being left-handed:

 

- In the East (including the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Africa), it is considered socially unacceptable to use the left hand for anything beyond ass-wiping! People take it personally if you wave, shake-hands or eat with the left hand. Almost like you have fecal matter permanently embedded in this paw.

 

- In Ghana, they believe sleeping on your left side calls in death, and across many cultures the Satan is often depicted to be left-handed.

- Left-handed phobia is not restricted to the East. An age-old Anglo-Saxon superstition involves throwing salt over the left shoulder because that’s where the devil lurks.

- In Scotland, if a person is unlucky, it is said he or she was “baptized by a left-handed priest.”

- Many major languages are also not left-paw friendly. The word "left" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "lyft," which meant "weak." And "sinistra," the Latin for "left," is also where we get the word "sinister." "Gauche," which we use to refer to a social faux pas, is actually French for "left."

- Then there are phrases in the English language which suggest left-handedness is negative. A “left-handed complement” is an insult. A “left-handed marriage” is not at a marriage at all, but an adulterous sexual relationship. Why do they say your partner in crime is your "right-hand man?" Is it to say the left-hand man cannot be trusted?

But it’s not all doom and gloom for lefties. There are many positives too:

- Sports advantage: given most of your counterparts will be right-handed and used to coordinating that way, the left-handed trait gives you an added advantage to take them by surprise.

- Higher IQ: the average leftie has been found to have a higher IQ than the average right-hander. This could be due to the added need to having to use both sides of the brain in a right-handed world.

- Multi-tasking: having adapted to a right-handed world, lefties are more comfortable in multi-tasking.

- Better memory: research shows lefties have a better memory.

- More visual: we tend to dominate the world of art!

- Faster typist: this is an interesting trivia I came across on the web. The QWERTY keyboard allows for 3,400 words by the left hand, and only 450 words by the right! No wonder I type way faster than most people I know (and I never learnt to touch-type)!

- Less time in queues: another interesting observation. Lefties tend to go towards the left queue and righties to the right. Given we are a minority, it’s no wonder we have this advantage!

- Mouse and scribble: I am using my mouse with my right hand, and scribbling notes with my left, a great advantage while writing this blog! (Another example of our multi-tasking skills?)

- Ice-breaker: It’s a habit. I see a person using the left paw, be in the check-out clerk or a new face at a social event, and I start with ‘So you’re a leftie too?’ It always gets the conversation flowing!

 

- Big Sis