| There's no such thing as being left-handed.
This is like living in a world in which there's no such thing as "gay,"
only "straight" or "bi-sexual." See, on a genetic/developmental level,
there is apparently nothing that assigns left-handedness the way there
is for righties. The majority of the world (i.e., 89% or so) uses
their right hand to the exclusion of most else. By contrast, "lefties"
aren't lefties at all; they use whichever hand happens to work best.
This is not to be confused with ambidexterity.
The word "ambidextrous" has a muddled meaning. It is usually taken
to mean that someone can use either hand for the same task.
However, this ability is rare since few devote the time to practicing a
given task such as, say, writing with either hand. On the other hand
(if you'll pardon the pun), "left-handed" individuals are a walking collection
of right- and left-handed tendencies, some exhibiting more of a preference
one way than the other. This is usually referred to as mixed-handedness
or (less often) cross-dominance.
In my own case, I'm very much a mix of
both handednesses. I compiled the following lists of various handed
activities to see how they fell out, and they were about even. However,
this isn't completely bias-free nor are all things equal, at least from
several other reasonable perspectives we might consider. Specifically:
Time vs. task. These
lists do not reflect proportions of time employing either hand in a given
activity. For example, I have spent many hours of my life writing
and eating. The sum proportion of my life engaged in these mundane
activities probably dwarfs almost every other activity on the list.
By this measure, I am perhaps overwhelmingly left-handed, but if you took
at each item as a singular decision regarding which hand to use, you can
see that preference is more evenly divided.
Forced handedness. Many tasks
are inherently right-handed, as dictated by the ergonomics of the devices
required to perform them. For example, golf-clubs are right-handed
unless one goes out of his/her way to obtain a left-handed set. Similarly,
many power tools (e.g., chainsaws, circular saws) are all but impossible
to operate except in the invariably right-handed configuration in which
they're designed. My ever-present camera places the grip on the right
side, but when I am not actively taking shots, I default to my left hand
and hold it by the base/lens.
Switch hitting. For many activities
where handedness is independent of the implements involved, a lot of the
time I switch as needed, for example due to fatigue or simply because the
angle may be more appropriate (e.g., hammering something near an obstruction
or close to a corner). However, since it is almost impossible to
go 50/50 on any of these, I filed activities by their preferred hand, but
those where I "switch" easily, I marked with an asterisk.
Okay, so the lists?
Left
Write
Eat
Drink*
Pour a drink
Brush my teeth
Shave
Pee (right hand gets the clothes out the
way)
Sign (I can finger spell and only a little
else)
Talk on the phone (usually)
Carry a camera (usually by the bottom
of the body rather than by the right-handed grip)
Swords
Shoot a pistol (usually; this doesn't
quite get an asterisk)
Throw a paper airplane
Carry Alphasmart
iPod (controls)
Computer/Atari joystick
Hammer*
Drill*
Jig saw
Wrench*
Violin (tendency; I actually use it right-handed
because that's the way almost all are made/strung)
Trumpet (tendency; I can't actually play)
Tennis racket (again, not that I play)
Throw a Frisbee*
Bowling (though I initially tried --unsuccessfully--
right-handed)
Right
Guitar
Floss (both hands are required, but the
right leads)
Taking my contacts out (but put them in
ambidextrously; left for left eye, etc.)
Using keys/opening doors
Opening jars
Hand saw/tree saw
Screwdriver
Shoot a rifle or shotgun
Swing a bat
Throw a (foot/base)ball (overhand; underhand,
less so)
Punch*
Computer mouse
Calculator
Dial phone (held with left, push buttons
with right)
Shoot a camera (note: dictated by the
ergonomics)
Golf (again, not that I actually play)
Masturbate
Some items are surprising (and not
just that I included masturbation; I'm trying to be scientific), such as
that I usually shoot a pistol with my left hand while using my right for
long-guns, even those that do not feature preferentially-handed loading
mechanisms such as bolt-action. In effect, I am performing essentially
the same task requiring similar components of coordination, but I change
hands due to the medium employed in that activity, not the end it achieves.
Similarly, I use a joystick with my left hand and yet the mouse is always
in my right (which could conceivably be incredibly advantageous if I were
a gamer). Also, as mentioned above, I put in my contacts with
my left hand, but take them out with either (i.e., left eye w/ left hand).
I use a screwdriver right-handed, but tend to use a drill left-handed when
I have a screwdriver bit in it. In all cases: Same end, different
means.
I had a hard time categorizing some of
the more complex tasks like using my wallet. It's in my left pocket,
but I dig through it with my right hand. I'm not sure which is the
preferred approach in this case. And who can tell which hand you
need to tie shoe laces? I need both, and I'm not sure either is the
dominant one since it's the shoes that are getting tied up, not the fingers
(Bondage joke; try to keep up).
Further reading
See Stanley Coren's The Left-Hander
Syndrome: The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness, one of the
most exhaustive (but thoroughly readable) books on the subject.
|
|
