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The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

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Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#31

Post by larrik »

rrgok wrote: post #8

I was originally left-handed, but my father made me switch to my right hand because he believed being left-handed was the "hand of the devil." Now, I’ve become ambidextrous, and I instinctively choose which hand to use depending on the activity. Sometimes, when I'm trying something for the first time and I'm unsure which hand is best, I get stuck and have to go through some trial and error before it feels natural.

I'm similar, but no parent or teacher forced me to be so. I do write with my left hand, but so many other things are just easier right-handed that I do both (sometimes switching between them during the same task). Pretty sure my right hand is faster and my left hand is more precise.

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#32

Post by Miraltar »

oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #22
grecy wrote: post #17

Here's a fun test - we're all in socks on a slippery wood floor. I'll give you $500 if you can run and slide further than I can. Close you eyes and really imagine it (or do it right now). Really feel yourself sliding along, that tingly feeling of almost losing control, etc. etc. Going a little further with each try. REALLY run and slide AS FAR AS YOU CAN. Which foot did you have in front? I'm very much right handed a…

Right handed, but I pictured my left foot forward. I guess because I'd expect the power to come from my right foot (I'm right footed).

Same but I disagree on the explanation. When in comes to jumps I usually use my left foot but here it's more about balance than power I think and having played handball for a long time, I feel more stable with left foot in front

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#33

Post by MontgomeryPi2 »

grecy wrote: post #17

Here's a fun test - we're all in socks on a slippery wood floor. I'll give you $500 if you can run and slide further than I can. Close you eyes and really imagine it (or do it right now). Really feel yourself sliding along, that tingly feeling of almost losing control, etc. etc. Going a little further with each try. REALLY run and slide AS FAR AS YOU CAN. Which foot did you have in front? I'm very much right handed a…

An easier snowboard test is to tell someone to turn around and tell them you are going to give them a push. Give them a shove to the upper back and see which foot they put forward first to brace.

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#34

Post by adrian_b »

scriptdevil wrote: post #19
grecy wrote: post #17

Here's a fun test - we're all in socks on a slippery wood floor. I'll give you $500 if you can run and slide further than I can. Close you eyes and really imagine it (or do it right now). Really feel yourself sliding along, that tingly feeling of almost losing control, etc. etc. Going a little further with each try. REALLY run and slide AS FAR AS YOU CAN. Which foot did you have in front? I'm very much right handed a…

Right handed with right-foot-forward as well.

Me too.

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#35

Post by tivert »

oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #26
mannykannot wrote: post #2

"Similarly, you can test your ears: which ear would you naturally use on the telephone?" Well, I'm right-handed, so...

Smart phones confuse this, I think. I bet most right-handers hold their phone in their left hand so they can touch the screen with their right. So it then naturally follows that, to hold the phone to the ear, we'd keep it in that left hand. Of course, sometimes I also use it one-handed, in which case it's in my right hand — on reflection, I think most phone use is probably ambidextrous.

> Smart phones confuse this, I think. I bet most right-handers hold their phone in their left hand so they can touch the screen with their right.

Phones used to be small enough that you could use them one-handed, and I still tend try. The only grips I use are one-handed or equally split between two hands, like holding a vertical video game controller. I never use a phone in the way you describe, except maybe to rarely to hit a single button that's out of reach. I tend to rock it in my hand to reach with my thumb.

Have I ever told you I think all phones are slightly too big now?

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#36

Post by Miraltar »

pclmulqdq wrote: post #28
leejo wrote: post #24

I'm of the generation that were forced to write with the right even though I was a natural lefty. I also broke my left arm when I was 2, which may have made things even more messed up. These days I: * Write with my right, my left is not quite as quick/tidy as my right * Swing/grip with my left (cricket / golf / etc) * Use my phone with my left * Mouse with my right * Cut (scissors) with my right (but we don't have an…

I'm not sure why people have started to make reversed musical instruments. I saw a video with a reversed piano, calling it "left-handed." I am a left-handed person who plays the piano and I had always thought the keyboard was laid out like an ascending scale on paper rather than having something to do with handedness - low notes on the left and high notes on the right. The motions involved in playing music are so wei…

I don't think it matters too much on a piano but on a guitar it does a lot because your hands do very different things.

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#37

Post by Rastonbury »

leejo wrote: post #24

I'm of the generation that were forced to write with the right even though I was a natural lefty. I also broke my left arm when I was 2, which may have made things even more messed up. These days I: * Write with my right, my left is not quite as quick/tidy as my right * Swing/grip with my left (cricket / golf / etc) * Use my phone with my left * Mouse with my right * Cut (scissors) with my right (but we don't have an…

My lefty friends use RH golf clubs

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#38

Post by gsej »

I lost a little faith when I saw the article referred to Neanderthals as "our ancestors"...

Intrigued by the throwaway comment that we know handedness is genetically determined. Is that true? I was under the impression it was a developmental issue (identical twins with opposite orientation being one piece of evidence here).

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#39

Post by lesuorac »

I wonder if this is more a p-hacking phenomenon than a real advantage.

Much like how when you test every jelly bean [1] you'll find one with an unexpected outcome. If you evaluate every "duplicative" pairing in the human body, it seems like you should find at least a pair where one is more effective than the other.

[1]: https://xkcd.com/882/

Re: The mystery of why left-handers are so much rarer (2016)

#40

Post by ttyprintk »

Miraltar wrote: post #16
throwaway290 wrote: post #12

Could it just be that for centuries leading up to now left handedness was considered "bad" to "very bad" (still many languages have the connotation) and before that we have no real data about how common it was?

From the article, "when you compare the number of left- and right-handed Neanderthals, this same ratio of 1 in 10 left-handers that we see today pops out"

I feel we’re giving a lot of credit to Neanderthals by assuming they had no superstitions around something as basic as handedness.
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