Being left-handed means being forced to live in a world shaped for those who follow the traditional saying “things go right”. Therefore, every day, left-handers do everything in reverse! So let’s try to answer the question: why are some people born left-handed and how do they differ from the others?
Once stigmatized and socially excluded
The phenomenon of being left-handed long remained a mystery to science. For many years, left-handers were considered abnormal by an ignorant, full of prejudices society and were forced to write with their right hand by parents and teachers.
The imperatives of the Christian religion say that the faithful must not cross themselves with their left hand. A range of evidence from the religious texts suggests that this group of people is in a “dark path”. In fact, the word sinister, which is the synonym of evil and devious, comes from the Latin word that means ‘left’.
They are 10% of the world population
One in ten people uses their left hand, which means that at least 600 million people see life from a “left” perspective.
In the last years, a rapid increase in births of left-handed children has been noted. According to the Russian Professor of Biology Alexander Dubov,
“The number of left-handers born in 2005 is double that recorded in 1990. Continuing this upward trend, in 2020 it will exceed one billion.”
Is being left-handed a matter of genes?
There are people who are born left-handed and others who make use of both hands. For an unexplained reason, until now, the phenomenon occurs more often in boys.
According to Dr. Clyde Francks, a researcher at the Department of Genetics, University of Oxford,
“the LRRTM1 gene holds an important role in determining the brain areas that guide specific functions. In left-handers, the left brain controls emotions and the right brain is responsible for speech. In right-handers, these are vice versa.”
The outstanding talents of left-handers
In left-handed people, the right part of the brain is prevailing, which is associated with a high perception of sounds and colors. Therefore many of them excel in the areas of art, painting, and music.
Moreover, many left-handed people have an excellent memory and mathematical perception, which pushes them to engage in science and their accomplishments remain on the pages of history as great scientists. It is noteworthy that many left-handers have profound metaphysical concerns and a highly developed intuition.
In addition, three out of five children whose IQ exceeds 130 are left-handed! Also, it is noted that left-handers often reach the top of professional success faster than their colleagues.
The negative aspects of being left-handed
Being left-handed may have a series of advantages, but to complete the portrait all the elements are necessary, even if they are negative. According to research, left-handers live from a few months to nine years less than right-handers, which has to do with the fact that they are more prone to fatal accidents.
Research held in the Abertay University and led by Dr. Lynn Wright came to a number of conclusions: left-handed people feel more embarrassed than others when attending important social events. The embarrassment lies in the facial expressions and body language. Their anxiety shows more intensely: they seem nervous, blush, etc.
During a discussion, they do not express their feelings nor reveal their opinion easily. Also, they are easily hurt by criticism that is why they often avoid saying publicly what they think.
Dr. Lynn Wright argues that all these occur due to the differences between the parts of the brain of left- and right-handers.
“Left-handed people hesitate. We know that the left side of their body receives commands from the right hemisphere of the brain. This is the side that controls the negative aspects of emotion. We have examined 46 left- and 66 right-handers. The first ones gave us responses such as I can’t stand critics, I worry about mistakes, etc. These were obviously pessimistic messages.”
