WINDSOR, Ont. — Kristen Kaploun knows, first-hand, all about the degree of misunderstanding between right-handed people and the world’s lefties.
Her left-handed brother often complained that everything was unfairly designed for the right-handed.
She was told her mother used to come home from school with a reddened left hand, the result of having her knuckles rapped by teachers determined to make her write with her right.
Now the graduate neuropsychology student from the University of Windsor is making it the focus of her research to increase understanding of how “left or right handedness” affects how the brain processes language and words.
The doctoral student, who — for the record — is right-handed, says for years science simply “left out the left-handed” when researching how the brain processes information. It was known right-handed people processed language in the left brain hemisphere. But if the opposite were true for lefties was never studied.
Canada.com (thanks, Tiram)
I’m primarily right-handed (I write with my right) but I also do stuff with my left, texting on my mobile for instance, I simply cannot do that with my right for some reason. I tend to hold things more with my left too. So I suppose that means I use both parts of my brain then?
I knew a girl at school who broke her right arm (yes, she was right-handed) and because she had to continually do her schoolwork writing with her left for a while, she ended up becoming ambidextrous (sp?) because of it.
LC x
Fascinating; does anyone know of any other published papers on the subject?
As a lefty myself, I must agree with her brother! I have to start exercise books from the back as the binding gets in the way, plus writing on whiteboards is a nightmare – I end up rubbing half of the words off as my hand goes across the board. Another example of how we are frankly DISCRIMINATED against (:D) is when I bought an aerobie flying football (one of the squashy ones with fins on the back). Dismayed that I couldn’t throw it properly, I then examined the packaging – ‘must be thrown with the right hand’.
Anyway, this article isn’t really about that…must get back to work.
i’m a leftie but i had to learn to write with my right hand when i broke my left in exam year. Also had to learn to play musical instruments right handed because the tutors were right handed.the victorians used to force lefties to right hand and served beatings if failed.
In my youth I tended to do everything with my left hand. My mom – being a lefty (is it genetic?) and knew the ‘discrimination’ of it – tought me to become a righty. Nowadays I use both hands. So I too see myself as an ‘ambidextro’.
Some thing are easier to handle with my left hand than my right and vice versa. I think that is because I use my right hand for the most daily stuff, like writing, brushing teeth et cetera. So my muscles must have developed a more finely tuned motor skill than my left ones. Maybe that’s why Lady Claire and I use the left hand for relatively big motions like texting.
Those tricky Victorians…. Maybe they knew something we don’t; we are sinister after all
.
Interestingly, my Mother, Grandmother, Aunt and Uncle are all lefties too.
@richard. Haha – ‘ambidextro’ sounds like some kind of lame superhero.
What about left eye dominance?
I write with my left hand… But do virtually everything else as a right hander…
And some stuff – both hands…
Using a Nintendo Wii for the “shooting” game is as equally good in either hand – as an example-
and using a PC and making hand written notes is easy peasy – I can use the mouse with my right, and write with my left hand – What do “normal people” do? Let go of the mouse, pick up the pen, write, drop the pen, use the mouse etc… Wow – What an ache
You wanna trying being a lefty with dyslexia and dispraxia nightmare esp when simple things wont stick in….
I’m left handed but do everything right handed…..
…..it’s true what they say, ‘Left handed people are in their right minds’
@Daniel Seals – stick in where? I’m getting all sorts of pictures here…
Seems ever so simplistic to categorise people as either leftie or rightie. As many of the previous comments illustrate, there’s a whole spectrum of different side-dominances and degrees of sidedness in between.
Silverfin
(writes with right hand, mouses with left, plays musical instruments for which both hands have equal role)
I agree with Silverfin – though I am probably a good example of one of the extremes. I’m a total leftie. My right hand is pretty-much useless for a lot of things. I play tennis and tried to have a go with my right hand for a laugh. Couldn’t even hold the racquet properly. I guess we don’t reallise how much our dominant hand is trained compared to the other one.
What about me?
I write, punch and throw with my right hand, but i kick and play football with my left foot. I also feel i have to change hands with my knife and fork very often to do certain manoeuvrs.
Though getting back to the point of the article, anyone aware of any differences in behaviour / understanding etc? I’ve heard lefties are supposed to be more creative or ‘visual’.
Well the good news is there’s now a left handed Mars Bar, so all that chocolate nougat and caramel goodness isn’t exclusive to us right-handers anymore…
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/af_database/permalink/the_left-handed_mars_bar/
@flapjack – but can you deep-fry a left handed Mars Bar?
I’m primarily left-handed, but write with my right hand. I constantly have people commenting on how I keep swapping hands to do various tasks, which gets annoying after a while.
All this talk about Victorian times reminded me of this comic strip, which I saw the other day – http://www.eatliver.com/i.php?n=4821
i write with my left hand and can write with my right hand if i want to, but do almost everything else with my right, such as texting and using scissors etc. i think the reason for this was that when i was in primary school they had ‘left handed scissors’ which were always blunt, and left handed kids got picked on for using them. as a 6/7 year old, very shy, quiet kid, i just used the right handed ones till i got good at it. same goes for other things as i’ve grown up…. turning on taps, using knives in cooking etc.
People with a split brain do experience a difference .. things on the right can be put out in language, things on the left can not be put out in language but can be put out via drawing it. Ofcourse, those brains were not like that when those people got born (certain epileptic seasures is reason to disconnect both brain halves), so most likely not a real link to this publication.
Is language processing in the left hemisphere due to the the fact that someone is right handed .. that’s ofcourse another way of putting this research, what they want to find out, it probably is a continuing study (as most studies are).
Typing will screw up this research probably …ehehehe ..or it will make it proof less. Oh well, they just study and observe and make notes, and produce a next hypotheses.
In Latin, left is sinistra – they were wary of evil, left-handed people way back then!
errrr, really? guess i must have imagined reading all that research on language localisation for both L & R-handers. The general simplified pattern is:
~95% of RightHanders have language localised in the Left Cortex
~70% of LeftHanders also have language localised in the Left Cortex
~30% of LeftHanders have language localised across both cortical hemispheres
these figures are also quoted in popular, easy to find books:
Mapping the Mind by Rita Carter p78
Left Brain, Right Brain by Springer & Deutsch p130
- both books have references back to original research
easy to read and chock full of pretty pictures – i recommend ‘em both – esp ‘Left Brain, Right Brain’ for all you Sinister folk out there… : )
(at last a degree in neuroscience pays off…)
So how did a Uni overlook this?
though i do like this link under the original article : )
http://www.canada.com/life/fashion-beauty/store+launches+underpants+left+handed/2024757/story.html
I am left-handed/ambidextrous and it can be a bit difficult at times. Many left-handed people become ambidextrous simply because most things, scissors etc are designed for right-handed people. I remember my tennis coach not wanting to teach me, playing with my left hand (don\’t know why??????) and then laughing when I couldn\’t hit the ball with my right hand (nice!!!!). Re: \’JayKay\’s\’ comment, that correct, I saw a movie recently (don\’t remember the name) about the devil etc. Every time someone became obsessed he/she became \’left-handed\’ -when watching this, I thought -thank you very much?!
One of my tutors is a born Catholic, and he was whipped on the hand at school whenever he wrote, because he is left handed (It’s thought to be a sign of being in league with the Devil.)
Apparently, the hand you write with indicates which side of the brain you use more often. People who are right handed have a well adapted left (logical) side of the brain, and tend to be accountants, lawyers, teachers etc. but are not very good at drawing or painting. People who are left handed have a well adapted right (creative) side of the brain, and tend to be artists or musicians, but are not very good with things like maths. Leonardo Davinci is an example of a person with both sides of the brain well developed – both logical and artistic.
It’s strange because my sister is a leftie & when she was younger she actually used to write everything like it was a mirror image! Strange!!
I had an operation on my right hand last year (I’m right handed) and as a solution to the boredom of recovery and being unable to write, I learnt to write and draw left handed and with my feet as well. I’ve discovered that I’m much better at writing with my right foot than I am with my left one…
I remembered there was a research that most babies that undergo ultrasound check up before birth, almost always turn out red-handed. So ultrasound check ups = make babies go right handed?
Those that did not undergo check ups are more likely to be left hander.
as a kid i learnt to write with both hands, because i was terrified of losing one of my arms as a kid (stupid i know) but all the teachers told me to stick with my right, so i mainly use my right hand to write, but i use my left for alot of other things like golf, painting, i hold the bat for rounders in my left hand and tennis in switch from hand to hand and i jump from the left side in high jump, those sort of things. but my friend who is a lefty also does that kind of thing, she learnt to play the guitar with her right hand and jumps of the right side for high jump. i also have friends that are twins and one is right handed and the other left handed, which i have always found werid.
i don’t know why but it’s always amazed me that sort of thing
Hey, im left handed..i do everything with my left hand and most things are made for right handed peeps.
i call that handist..hehe x I love being left handed!!! x
I’m left handed too! Maybe we could start a secret society? The Sinisterati?
But, sadly, being a south-paw has far more disadvantages, than advantages, I feel.
PS I’m one of those sad gets that listens to DVD commentaries; however, I found out a fascinating nugget of information whilst watchIng The Simpsons DVD. The US average ratio for left handers to right handers is 11/10:1. With The Simpsons’ team this ratio sharply falls to 3:1, hence why many characters in the carton are left handed.
I hope this brings some comfort to my fellow lefties living in a cruel, right handed, world.
Thank you fopboy!
I was going to write about what rubbish Kristen Kaploun’s claim that lefties haven’t been studied. I remember reading about it in the 80′s when I took neuropsychology.
cheers,
chris
I like the idea of a ‘secret left-handed society’
, I would like to become a member….. 
I also like the idea of a “secret left-handed society” and I am also ready to be it’s member. So what should I do to become a member??
i write with my left but do everthing else with my right, it\’s wierd how the brain fuctions, its facsinating
To join the left handed secret society, you just need to be left hand (will work out more details for others, such as ambidextrous folk, later)
The first lession is the Southpaw Grip: Our secret hand shake.
Here it is, please don’t share it with the normals.
You approach your fellow member, then you shake their hand: but, not their right hand. This is the secret: you shake their left hand.
I’m honoured to be a fellow member. Just need a theme song?
Oh and a Latin expert that combine: Illuminati with Sinister, please? Sinisterati?
Plus, while on the web, please use the Sacred Southpaw Smiley. Thus: (:
Osu.
Theme song for the Sinisterati? Let’s see….
- I left my heart in San Francisco?
- Since I left you?
- What’s left of me?
I could go on…
Can we have an ambigram too?
Interesting what Taria wrote above that most babies that undergo and ultrasound check-up before birth turn out to be right handed. However, is it not also the case that most babies *anyway* turn out to be right handed? I think we have to be careful how we interpret research.
I’m left handed and I’ve never complained how things are unfairly designed for right-handers. Of course they are! But I’m not too bothered I only need to use my left hand for writing.
Sinisterati Secret Society symbol could be three “S”s within a triangle, not as esoteric, or clever, as anambigram; but still, needs must. (:
I write with my right hand but it is very poor and hard to read,even for me at a later date.
My 5th grade teacher was trying to get me to work on my handwriting and when she asked what I would do when I grew up said that I would have my own business and have a secretary fill out the paperwork. ( I do)
Also same teacher moved my desk over next to a wall in the class which happened to be next to a full length mirror and I took my time and wrote my name and the work out real nice once and i called her over and told her that I looked in the mirror, at my work, as I was writing my work and for some reason it turned out nice like this. She did no know what was going on. I shoot a rifle and also a Bow oppossite from most and I think that this has to do with my left eye being dominate.