The battle of the lefties and righties

One of the curious quirks of the human race is that most of us prefer to use our right hand, while only 10% of the population use their left. According to various studies, this is one of the ratios that has remained freakishly stable throughout time. The debate whether left-handed people are smarter than right-handed people is also something that has never ceased its existence throughout history.

According to Christian Jarrett, a psychologist and renowned author of Personology, Using the Science of Personality Change to your Advantage, there are a few myths and facts surrounding this interesting topic of discussion. According to Jarrett, there isn’t really a real strict thing when it comes to left- or right-handedness. The weaker hand is not necessarily always the weakest link and the leftie or the righty is always useful for something…

1. Myth: Left-handers are the more intelligent, introverted and creative species.

According to Jarrett, there are anecdotal accounts of artists and musicians tending to be left-handed, an observation given wings by the overly simplistic notion that the right-hemisphere (which controls the left hand) is the seat of creativity. Advocates point to Leonardo de Vinci, a leftie, Paul McCartney, another leftie, and many more. But as psychologist Chris McManus explains in his award-winning book Right Hand Left Hand, “although there are recurrent claims of increased creativity in left-handers, there is very little to support the idea in the scientific literature.”

2. Fact: Left-handers are less likely to be left-hemisphere dominant for language.

Language is the function that is always located in the left sphere of the brain. This is why a stroke or brain injury suffered to the left side of the body, leaves the victim with speech and language difficulties. Among right-handers, left-sided dominance for language approaches upwards of 95% prevalence.

3. Myth: Left-handed people die earlier!

The early death myth originates with a 1988 Nature paper by Diane Halpern and Stanley Coren: “Do right-handers live longer?” The psychologists analysed death records for baseball players and found that those who were left-handed had died younger. But as Chris McManus explains, this is a statistical artefact borne by the fact that left-handedness increased through the 20th century, meaning that left-handers, on average, were born later in that century.

4. Fact: Lefties have an advantage in sports.

Lefties have a disadvantage when it comes to certain sports. In polo for example, the mallet must be held on the right-hand side of the horse. But when we look at boxing or tennis, lefties are at the forefront. They are used to facing opponents that are right-handed – righties aren’t that used to facing the lefties.

So there you have it, a few myths debunked and facts stated. Whether you are a leftie or a rightie, the world needs your wisdom!