Wondering what are the advantages of being left-handed? The personality of left-handers is very different from the right-handers. What causes a person to be left-handed? Read on to know more about famous left-handed artists and people.
We all speak in a unique ‘language’. Through this language, we try to use words to better express ourselves, or to better communicate with the world around us. This communication is known as verbal communication.
However, this type of communication is not the only one. We also have non-verbal communication that includes movements and gestures of the body. It could be a simple hug, a touch, or a handshake. Using our hands is important as any other use of the body parts.
And as we grow older we choose whether to use the right or the left hand more. This hand preference or handedness, according to some researchers is ‘triggered’ by biological, or most likely genetic reasons. They think that being right-handed or left-handed is strongly determined by the difference in the right and left hemispheres of the brain.
Why Only a Small Number Of Lefties Exist?
Research conducted in Western countries shows that there are more right-handed people. It was confirmed that the percentage of right-handed people varies from 85 to 90, and the percentage of left-handed people is only from 10 to 15.
So, the question is: Why there are fewer left-handed people?
Imbalance In The Human Evolution
A new study at Northwestern University confirms that left-handed people are only 10 % of the general human population.
The researchers in this study revealed that through ancient history many lefties were judged, and prosecuted for being left-handed.
The pursuit of the mystery of the lefties helped them to develop a mathematical model. This model showed that lefties are a ‘rare bird’ because there is a lack of balance in human evolution.
Specifically, there is an imbalance between people’s need to cooperate and people’s need to compete.
Professor Daniel M. Abrams and graduate student Mark J. Panaggio were the first, who verified, and later confirmed this model of cooperative and competitive ‘spirit’ in people.
“The most important factor for an efficient society is a high degree of cooperation. In humans, this has resulted in a right-handed majority’’, explained professor Abrams.
It was discovered that this new model can perfectly evaluate how many lefties were in a specific group. They were identified as lefties based on their social behavior and their willingness to compete.
These criteria established the fact that there is a high dominance of left handed athletes in sports like baseball, boxing, hockey, and tennis.
The results showed that more than 50% of lefties were baseball players, and only 10 percent of lefties were in the other sports.
“These simple models can give us insight into the most important aspects of a problem sometimes even shedding light on things seemingly outside the domain of math. It remains important to create understandable mathematical models of the phenomena that interest us, such as the left-handed minority,” concluded professor Abrams.
Even though lefties are a minority thus trait of being a left-hand person makes them a majority in 10 things mentioned below. Go ahead and discover the top ten things lefties are better at.
10 Things Lefties Do Better Than Right-Handed People
1. Lefties Are Better Drivers
A study of 1500 drivers confirms that lefties are indeed more conscious drivers. In the results of the study, it was discovered that lefties have fewer accidents.
The lead researcher in this study Glenn Haversham clarified: ‘’Cars are designed with the right-handed driver in mind. Because we drive on the right in this country, left-handed drivers may be used to a kind of constant revision of their instincts, keeping them more on their toes and ready to react to sudden threat’’.
On the other hand, a study revealed findings that lefties are also more successful in passing the driving test on their first attempt.
So, if studies prove that lefties are better drivers, then who are we (right-handed people) to argue that?
2. Lefties Are Better Artists
Scientists don’t have concrete evidence that lefties are better in doing art. It is hard to determine whether there is a connection between handedness and creativity.
However, research of more than 2000 left, and right-handed people discovered that more lefties tend to choose a carrier-related to art and music.
This research was coordinated by a group called the Left-Handers Club and this group is dedicated to studying the lefties, as a phenomenon. To support this research, a new study was published in the American Journal of Psychology.
The results of this study showed that lefties are more drawn to think outside the box. And they also explore different possibilities in dealing with a problem.
So, I guess it is not a coincidence that the artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, and the musician Jimi Hendrix were lefties.
3. Lefties Are Better Athletes
Lefties are dominant in the sports zone.
The tennis player Rafael Nadal and the boxer Oscar de la Hoya are successful left-handed athletes.
And, being a leftie as a tennis player or a boxer has many advantages. Experts claim that lefties use both sides of the brain, and the connection between the left and right sides in their brains is faster.
Australian researchers also agreed that left-handed people think faster. Their capacity to quickly processing a lot of information is what makes them valuable, and incredible players in certain sports.
So, I think that in this world of right-handed people, we are very lucky to have lefties who are sports legends.
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4. Lefties Are Better Mathematicians
Choosing by using our left or right hand can determine whether we will be good or bad at math. This is confirmed in the study of 2300 students, who were all at the age of six to seventeen who were asked to solve simple and complex arithmetic tasks.
This study found there is a moderate, yet significant, correlation between handedness and mathematical skill, concluded Giovanni Sala, the researcher who directed the study.
But, he also indicated that being good at math is not only determined by our lucky left hand, but also by our age, and gender. The final results showed that male adolescents performed much better in comparison with the children, who failed on most of their tasks.
However, now we know that our leftie friend is not only our solver for love problems, but he is also a solver for our math problems.
5. Lefties Are Better Multi-taskers
Researchers have discovered that their brain is hardwired to think quickly, and it is easier for them to understand large and complex tasks. They are gifted. They are capable of doing multiple tasks in a short period.
That is a great advantage because we are living in this world where we are constantly bombarded with different information, events, and happenings.
And being able to think quickly and efficiently is probably one of the most valuable abilities that lefties have in order to survive in this fast world.
So, blessed are those who are lefties.
6. Lefties Are Better Architects
Lefties also belong in the art of architecture. In 1977 a couple of researchers proved that lefties are indeed better architects. They assumed that the students, who were going to succeed and finish a 6-year long architecture program would be the left-handed students. And, they did.
The left-handed students graduated with higher grades on the design and other academic subjects. It is not a surprise that lefties are better architects. Their brain is more developed, especially in the right hemisphere.
There in the right hemisphere lives their capacity to better understand the relationship between different space objects. And, this capacity, or talent is what pushes them to become better architects.
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7. Lefties Are better Astronauts
Neil Armstrong, a leftie, who flew high in 1969 became the first man on the moon. Later, in 1969, Buzz Aldrin was the second leftie man on the moon.
Was it a coincidence? Or, the left hand could be our helping hand for becoming an astronaut? Becoming an astronaut is a process that includes going through different pieces of training, and passing many exams.
But, being a left-handed candidate can be a real asset in this competition. Lefties are more creative, and more imaginative which is very essential to be an astronaut. Their brain is more developed, and that makes them more original in finding new ways to achieve something. So, good luck lefties, and fly as high as you can!
8. Lefties Are Better Leaders
Although lefties represent only 10 percent of the population, the ‘award’ for being a better leader still goes to them. According to science lefties brain is more symmetrical between the two hemispheres.
This symmetry is their ability to always think with an open mind. And being open-minded makes them more suitable for being a leader of working in a higher position.
5 out of our eight American presidents were lefties. They were Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
And, if their left-handedness made them better leaders then I hope more lefties will lead us in the future.
9. Lefties Are Mentally Stronger
Being mentally stronger is a luxury, that not everyone can afford. But Corinne Bareham, a brain researcher, and her colleagues proved who has this luxury. In their study, they asked right and left-handed participants to relax in a dark room with their eyes closed.
The room screamed of different sounds and tones. Then the researchers inquired them to identify whether the sounds were coming from their left or right side. It was discovered that the right-handers were more likely to be wrong about the side from where the noises were heard.
Quite the opposite, the lefties were more certain and correct in choosing the side of the sounds. Also, the results of the study showed that the lefties were more immune to have a stroke. They are more mentally protected, because of their different brain networks. Â So, this is yet another quality of the lefties that we should be jealous of.
10. Lefties Are Smarter
‘’Left-handed people are smarter, and I’ll tell you why. Left-handed people can deal with more incoming information that doesn’t come in an organized way’’, claims Dr. Oz.
He explains that lefties are capable to use both sides of the brain more easily, and that allows them to deal with more information. A study published in the ‘Frontiers in Psychology’ confirms that lefties might be smarter than right-handed people.
In this research, lefties proved that math can be really their best friend. They successfully solved hard mathematical tasks, while most of the right-handed people failed.
Also, 20 percent of the members in Mensa, the high IQ society, are lefties. So, can we finally accept that lefties are smarter?
Concluding Thoughts,
Lefties are rare because only one of every ten people is a leftie. They are like a buried ‘treasure’ in a right-handed world. And being a leftie in a right-handed world requires a lot of flexibility and adaptation. Lefties need to learn how to adapt to the items, and objects designed specifically for right-handed people.
Fortunately, they are not only fast learners, but most of them are also famous and successful people.
Every leftie has a different story to tell. Every leftie has unique abilities and talents. They could be ‘heroes’ in the fields of sport, music, or art. They deserve to be embraced in this right-handed world. And they deserve the world to be proud of them!
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