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What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

brainpickings.org

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Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#51

Post by aurelwu »

stevekemp wrote: post #24
cgriswald wrote: post #20

Scissors is a bad measure given that many scissors have an inherent handedness.

I have to say that buying proper left-handed (Fischer) scissors was life-changing, when I moved out of home. Finally, for the first time, I had scissors that actually worked.

I'm lefthanded, my well meaning parents bought be left handed scissors for school not realizing that I for some reason use the right hand for scissors. Combine that with a young me not being aware that it was left-handed and what a difference it makes, and you get a small pupil being severly frustrated with it for months until realizing that something is wrong.

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#52

Post by jacobush »

rzzzt wrote: post #39
cgriswald wrote: post #20

Scissors is a bad measure given that many scissors have an inherent handedness.

Yup, you push the blades of a "regular" pair of scissors away from each other with your left hand, and if it is sufficiently loose, it will just bend the material you want to cut instead of shearing it.

I have just learned to twist and bend it just right with my left hand so it works right anyway.

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#53

Post by benj111 »

partnerr wrote: post #42
benj111 wrote: post #33

So they didn't really answer the genetics question. Both I and my partner are lefties, our child and the milkman aren't. Should I be having a conversation ;)

Is your “partner” of the oposite sex?

My '"partner"' is.

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#54

Post by schitzapplebits »

roryrjb wrote: post #2

"For Southpaws themselves — the affectionate term for lefties ", yeah maybe in the US but not where I'm from. Anyway, I write left handed and hold a pool cue left handed (and also I think I'm correct in saying this: I would hold a rifle left handed), but in every other way that I can think of, I am right handed. I've always thought that was weird, I mean at least compared to others. Anyone else have similar experienc…

You should hold a pool cue and a rifle based on your dominant eye, not necessarily your dominant hand.

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#55

Post by southerndrift »

coldtea wrote: post #50
indiandragon wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Carl Sagan once hypothesized that the cultural link between left-handedness and badness arose due to the left hand’s use for hygiene purposes in nonindustrialized countries e.g In India, people eat with their right hand and clean shit with their left; both in bare hands along with water without any tools.

Hopefully with some hand washing involved in between...

How do you clean one hand without the other? If you don't have soap, wouldn't cleaning hands actually increase the risk of infections?

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#56

Post by clan »

lolcat5e wrote: post #48

Does anyone else experience a "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG" emotion when watching someone doing an action with different handedness from the way you would do it? I get very uncomfortable watching someone cut a loaf of bread the 'wrong' way for example.

Absolutely. But it might be a simple habit thing.

When going to the UK I find it easy to orient myself to look in both directions when I cross traffic as I usually do that. Even driving a car as I am highly aware that it is different but I am at least still in control.

But the first taxi ride from the airport when we hit the first roundabout freaks me out every single time!

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#57

Post by tcmb »

EngineerBetter wrote: post #23

Eating "right-handed" has always seemed irrational to me. It dates back to medeival eating traditions when folks only had a knife - therefore, it was held in the right hand as it was the primary and only implement. Fast forward to the present day, and the fork is the primary implement. Hence, to my mind, it makes significantly more aense to hold the fork in one's dominant hand.

My sister and me are both right-handed, but hold the knife in the left hand and the fork in the right. Our parents are also both right-handed but hold the knife in the right hand, so we didn't learn it from them.

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#59

Post by Yetanfou »

lolcat5e wrote: post #48

Does anyone else experience a "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG" emotion when watching someone doing an action with different handedness from the way you would do it? I get very uncomfortable watching someone cut a loaf of bread the 'wrong' way for example.

Not at all but that might be related to the fact that I'm left-handed and as such have learnt to do many things in both left- and right-handed fashion simply because many tools are made for right-handed use, this goes from simple things like scissors to chain saws and rifles. Learning to use them in either fashion makes takes away the idea of 'doing it wrong'. It also makes me more flexible in that I have no problems swapping sides when the circumstances call for it.

Re: What Left-Handedness Reveals About How the Brain Works (2014)

#60

Post by indiandragon »

coldtea wrote: post #50
indiandragon wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Carl Sagan once hypothesized that the cultural link between left-handedness and badness arose due to the left hand’s use for hygiene purposes in nonindustrialized countries e.g In India, people eat with their right hand and clean shit with their left; both in bare hands along with water without any tools.

Hopefully with some hand washing involved in between...

obviously yes, apparently general social consensus here seems it is hygienic than using paper to do the job.

At-least middle class families & above have water faucet to go along with western model toilets; though the concept of using tissue paper for cleaning shit is still alien for majority here.

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