Guest guest Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 I've never been a very coordinated individual (hand-eye). I cannot juggle to save my life. I am right-handed in nearly every capacity. However, one of my hobbies is jeeping, including building and maintaining my Jeep. I also do other sporadic shade-tree mechanic-ing. Partially from necessity, and partially from a conscious effort, I have become nearly 100% ambidextrous when my toolbox is open. Working out with weights for many years has resulted in a body that is fairly balanced side to side strength-wise and use-wise, so that I am comfortable handling objects with both/either hands on a regular basis, which I think helps. Another interesting (to me) observation, several months ago I inserted single-legged presses (on a 45deg sled) into my leg workout. Both legs were quite close in strength, but my confidence when lowering the weights was much lower for my left leg than my right, ie, I found myself having to concentrate much more when doing my left leg than my right. Oh, and I can easily pat my tummy/head with one hand while I rub my tummy/head with the other, but I wouldn't try writing different equations with either hand; since passing my PE test, I am rarely in the same room with a big complicated equation. Brett Draper, UT > > The age-old question of why most humans are right-handed often crops up, but > nobody has yet provided a clear answer why this may be so. Why aren't humans > equally competent with both hands (and both feet, say, in kicking sports)? > As a survival feature, surely it would make far better sense if humans had > always been ambidextrous? Why have humans developed over the eons to be so > dependent on one extremity, when injury or fatigue of the dominant limb would > readily render the individual very vulnerable to any attacker? It just does > not seem to make much sense. This, along with eye dominance and hemispheric > speech dominance, appears to be an anti-survival quality and more generally > dependent on genetics than nurture. Why have we apparently been " wired " in > this illogical fashion? > > In my immediate pre-teen years I decided that I could become more competent > in several sports by learning to become left handed or ambidextrous and, > within several months, I could play tennis and cricket equally well with my > left hand. I ended up, as quick bowler, being able to deliver a ball at > close to 100mph and throw it regularly over 100 yards, something that I could > never do as a " rightie. " More recently, when MAC started the mouse craze, > just because my computer mouse competed with my note pad for space on my > desk, I decided that it would be very helpful if I became a left-handed > " mouser " . Now, I find it very strange to use my right hand for the mouse, > even though I can do so fairly competently. As a matter of fact, every > drawing, right down to every line in every graph in my " Supertraining " book, > was drawn with a mouse using my left hand. > > Am I intrinsically ambidextrous? I don't really know, but I do know that I > could never use my left hand efficiently for any tasks until I intentionally > decided to teach my left hand to become more adventurous. What has the > experience of others been in working with both hands or in trying to become > " opposite-handed " ? > > The most stunning example that I had as a recent postgrad physics student of > ambidexterity was my one professor in quantum electrodynamics would sometimes > write down very complex equations with both hands simultaneously on the > chalkboard - just for fun! Now, while it is astounding to witness that with > English as the subject, it is almost unbelievable to see that happening with > some really complicated mathematical symbols and equations. > > How on earth can one ostensibly use both brain hemispheres so separately at > the same time in the same high-level processing task? I can assure you that > this is a little more demanding than balancing on a ball or wobble board! It > is difficult enough trying that favourite parlour game of patting the top of > your head with one hand and rubbing your stomach clockwise with the other - > if you have not tried this before, try it now before attempting to write > different words on different note pads with each hand. > > To other fairly ambidextrous folk out there, have you found that your > competence with a given hand depends on the task? Nowadays, my throwing > abilities, my cricket bowling competence and my serving capabilities in > tennis and are poor with my right arm, but very respectable with my left arm. > On the other hand, I remain a right-handed batsman and right-handed artist > with pen on paper (but left-handed with a mouse!). > > The latter point intrigues me the most - why on earth am I now a left-handed > mouse artist, but a right-handed pen artist and writer? From my personal > experience, it would appear that the specificity of motor action is very > finely specific. Have any others also found this to be the case? > However, I have developed my own personal strategy for teaching myself to use > the opposite hand, a technique that I periodically show to delegates to my > Strength Camps here, so that I can gradually reverse that trend. > > Before you answer these questions, first read the following " Scientific > American " article on this topic. > > --------------------------- > > Why are more people right-handed? > > <http://www.scientificamerican.com/askexpert/biology/biology57/> > > M.K. Holder is an affiliated scientist in the Center for the Integrative > Study of Animal Behavior at Indiana University. She replies: > > In the 160 years in which " handedness " has been studied we have learned quite > a lot, but we still cannot precisely describe what causes humans > preferentially to use one hand over the other, or why human populations are > biased toward right-hand use rather than left-hand use. > > Scientists disagree over what percentage of human populations are > " right-handed " or " left-handed " because there is no standard, empirical > definition for measuring " handedness " ; our criteria vary, and are based on > various theoretical explanations because we are still trying to understand > the mechanisms involved. But I can describe in general terms what we do know. > > Most humans (say 70 percent to 95 percent) are right-handed, a minority (say > 5 percent to 30 percent) are left-handed, and an indeterminate number of > people are probably best described as ambidextrous. This appears to be > universally true for all human populations anywhere in the world. There is > evidence for genetic influence for handedness; however, it is non-Mendelian > and geneticists cannot agree on the exact process. There is evidence that > handedness can be influenced (and changed) by social and cultural mechanisms. > For instance, teachers have been known to force children to switch from using > their left hand to using their right hand for writing. Also, some more > restrictive societies show less left-handedness in their populations than > other more permissive societies. > > Some researchers argue there is evidence for cases of " pathological " > left-handedness related to brain trauma during birth. And many researchers > trace the cause of handedness back to pre-natal, interuterine developmental > processes, back to the time when the fetal brain is first developing distinct > cerebral hemispheres. In the 1860s the French surgeon Broca noted a > relationship between right-handedness and left-hemispheric brain > specialization for language abilities. But the hand-brain association is > neither a simple, nor reliable, correlation. Studies conducted in the 1970s > showed that most left-handers have the same left-hemispheric brain > specialization for language typical of all humans--only a portion of > left-handers have different patterns of language specialization. > > So the bottom line is, we have a good general idea of the causes of > right-handedness in human populations, but we have yet to work out the > precise details, including why the direction is right instead of left. > > Do other primates show a similar tendency to favor one hand over the other? > > The second question (do non-human primates show handedness) is currently a > controversial one. It is important to note the difference between an > individual animal being left- or right-handed, and most of the animals in an > entire population being either left- or right-handed. It is not unusual for > individual animals to show a preferential use of one hand over the other, to > develop an individual hand preference. But there is no consensus among > researchers that any non-human species shows the same species-level > handedness found in humans. > > There are a few researchers who argue for this, but most of these work with > animals in laboratory or captive settings, performing manual tasks that are > very different from how animals use their hands in the wild. > > In addition to studying handedness in humans, I have also studied hand usage > in mountain gorillas (in Rwanda) as well as chimpanzees, red colobus monkeys, > redtail monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabeys (in Uganda). My own research shows > that individual monkeys and apes often develop individual preferences (both > left and right) for manual tasks, but I have found no evidence for > population-level handedness, as seen in humans.> > > ------------------- > > Dr Mel C Siff > Denver, USA > Supertraining/ > > > Modify or cancel your subscription here: > > mygroups > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 When I was about twelve I decided to become ambidextrious. My first attempt was eating cereal with my left hand. This took me weeks. But I got it down such that I can eat with either hand. Also tried to same thing with several other tasks. I still can't write legibly with my left hand. I used to really practice but finally gave it up. Like you, Dr. Siff, I use my mouse-pad with my left hand. For some reason this feels " natural " but writing with my left hand is next to impossible. It is funny that someone who is " right-handed " generally wears his watch on his right hand, so much so that it would feel " funny " or unnatural to wear it on his right hand. What is funny about one arm being dominant is power punching. When I boxed, though I could switch to southpaw, my right hand jab was never as powerful as my left hand jab. It seems that my stronger/dominant arm would be more powerful in all punches. Naturally, there are neural pathways to learn, technique, etc. But the rule is that a boxer's left jab would be more powerful than his or her right jab. If the right hand is dominant, why don't more boxers have equally powerful left jab to right jab ratios? Similar thing too with my martial arts. I always generated more powerful front kicks with my left leg, but more powerful side kicks with my right. My martial arts instructor had us do drills with each leg equally (500 kicks with each leg). A funny thought is, if one leg is " dominant, " then why don't we fall over when we walk? Most of us don't " wobble, " yet one leg is dominant, right? Also, when we type, how come our hands seem to work in unison? Shouldn't my left hand type significantly slower and more erroneously than my right? I apologize for, as always, having more questions than answers. Christian Cernovich Malibu, CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2001 Report Share Posted November 7, 2001 Mel and list, I've been curious about handedness because my daughter is now 17 months old. As of yet, she performs most tasks equally, and handedness seems to be...the hand closest to the object in demand. I have noticed that she throws better with her right, but kicks equally with right and left. She reciprocates equally when climbing, has no lead leg preference when galloping, and no directional preference (clockwise Vs counterclockwise) when rolling or spinning. Although she has no hearing deficit, I am also teaching her sign language. So far, she favors her right with regard to single-handed signs. Because my lifelong hobby, dancing, requires many skills to be performed equally on the right and left, I'd venture to say that nurture (practice) has quite a bit to do with skill execution. On the other hand (no pun intended), I have noticed that most dancers still learn quicker on their dominant side. Zaph town, West Virginia USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 7, 2001 Report Share Posted November 7, 2001 I've always thought of handedness as being partially genetic. Anecdotally, using myself as an example, I'm right and left handed. My mom is left handed and my dad is right handed. I use many utensils with my right hand i.e. pencils, scissors, and forks etc. On the other hand (no pun intended), my left hand is my " sports " hand. I throw, kick, dribble a ball, and shoot with my left hand. I've believe ambidextrousness can be developed. For example, most basketball players need to be able to shoot and dribble with both hands to succeed at a high level. Most young players are only right or left handed players but through practice over the years, their opposite hand becomes an effective tool. Rich Ambrose Paoli Pa > The age-old question of why most humans are right-handed often crops up, but > nobody has yet provided a clear answer why this may be so. Why aren't humans > equally competent with both hands (and both feet, say, in kicking sports)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 8, 2001 Report Share Posted November 8, 2001 Mel Siff writes: > >Am I intrinsically ambidextrous? I don't really know, but I do know that I >could never use my left hand efficiently for any tasks until I intentionally >decided to teach my left hand to become more adventurous. What has the >experience of others been in working with both hands or in trying to become > " opposite-handed " ? I'm strongly right handed. Martial arts and boxing have greatly improved my ability to use my left hand, and I do make a conscious effort to use it more often, but I still learn faster and do most things better with the right. The one thing I do better left-handed is bat in baseball. I was a natural right hander; I simply decided to try batting left-handed one day and found I actually hit better that way, although my power is down a bit. When doing one handed exercises, like kettlebell snatches, I deliberately start with the left to make up for the slight deficiencies I have left-handed. Steve Justus Westminster, CO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 13, 2001 Report Share Posted November 13, 2001 > When I was about twelve I decided to become ambidextrous. My first > attempt was eating cereal with my left hand. This took me weeks. > But I got it down such that I can eat with either hand. Also tried > to same thing with several other tasks. I still can't write legibly > with my left hand. I used to really practice but finally gave it > up. Like you, Dr. Siff, I use my mouse-pad with my left hand. For > some reason this feels " natural " but writing with my left hand is > next to impossible. It is funny that someone who is " right-handed " > generally wears his watch on his right hand, so much so that it would > feel " funny " or unnatural to wear it on his right hand. I'll note that about a third of the members of my juggling club, including myself, are lefties. Lefties get a lot of ambidexterity practice, just because many tools are designed for right-handed people: pencil sharpeners, wristwatches, can openers, shirt buttons, paper cutters.... Learned ambidexterity is pretty easy to come by for lefties. I can switch-hit, there are no weird behind-the-back shots in billiards for me because I'm equally comfortable leading with either hand, I can write (worse) with my right hand, et cetera. > > What is funny about one arm being dominant is power punching. When I > boxed, though I could switch to southpaw, my right hand jab was never > as powerful as my left hand jab. It seems that my stronger/dominant > arm would be more powerful in all punches. Naturally, there are > neural pathways to learn, technique, etc. But the rule is that a > boxer's left jab would be more powerful than his or her right jab. > If the right hand is dominant, why don't more boxers have equally > powerful left jab to right jab ratios? I can break more with my left hand, but jab is a weird punch anyway, sort of the opposite of a power punch. Real punches come from the ground: leg drive, hip/waist rotation, et cetera. Jab's more like a string tied to your fist jerking your hand into your opponent's face. > > A funny thought is, if one leg is " dominant, " then why don't we fall > over when we walk? Most of us don't " wobble, " yet one leg is > dominant, right? Practice, probably. Easy to test with an unfamiliar skill like hacky sack or a new footwork, rather than your FIRST locomotor skill! > Also, when we type, how come our hands seem to work > in unison? Shouldn't my left hand type significantly slower and more > erroneously than my right? Maybe it does. Run a five-minute typing test and see where on the keyboard your mistakes are. Maybe they're all left hand errors. Also could be slower - could be the only reason your right hand is as slow as it is is that it has to wait for the left hand. That would be harder to check, but if you were willing to write two new typing tests: one left hand keys only and one right hand keys only, then you could find out. > > I apologize for, as always, having more questions than answers. Questions are fun, apology declined. More please. Kurland Austin and Chicago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 13, 2001 Report Share Posted November 13, 2001 Handedness > The age-old question of why most humans are right-handed often crops up, but > nobody has yet provided a clear answer why this may be so. Why aren't humans > equally competent with both hands (and both feet, say, in kicking sports)? > As a survival feature, surely it would make far better sense if humans had > always been ambidextrous? Why have humans developed over the eons to be so > dependent on one extremity, when injury or fatigue of the dominant limb would > readily render the individual very vulnerable to any attacker? It just does > not seem to make much sense. This, along with eye dominance and hemispheric > speech dominance, appears to be an anti-survival quality and more generally > dependent on genetics than nurture. Why have we apparently been " wired " in > this illogical fashion? Two things: first, if the cost is large and the benefit is small, why do it? I can write with either hand, but if I'd never injured my left hand, I never would have bothered to learn how to write with my right hand. Second, as you point out in the next paragraph, it's not wired. There may be a natural preference, but with practice, as you said, the difference goes away. > > In my immediate pre-teen years I decided that I could become more competent > in several sports by learning to become left handed or ambidextrous and, > within several months, I could play tennis and cricket equally well with my > left hand. I ended up, as quick bowler, being able to deliver a ball at > close to 100mph and throw it regularly over 100 yards, something that I could > never do as a " rightie. " More recently, when MAC started the mouse craze, > just because my computer mouse competed with my note pad for space on my > desk, I decided that it would be very helpful if I became a left-handed > " mouser " . Now, I find it very strange to use my right hand for the mouse, > even though I can do so fairly competently. As a matter of fact, every > drawing, right down to every line in every graph in my " Supertraining " book, > was drawn with a mouse using my left hand. Sounds more like practice than wiring, neh? > > Am I intrinsically ambidextrous? I don't really know, but I do know that I > could never use my left hand efficiently for any tasks until I intentionally > decided to teach my left hand to become more adventurous. What has the > experience of others been in working with both hands or in trying to become > " opposite-handed " ? It requires a measure of practice, but it's certainly doable. Maybe easier for lefties. Eye dominance is a harder issue, at least for me: I'm right-eye and left-hand dominant, and I can't shoot aimed rifle fire left handed, despite a fair amount of practice. > > The most stunning example that I had as a recent postgrad physics student of > ambidexterity was my one professor in quantum electrodynamics would sometimes > write down very complex equations with both hands simultaneously on the > chalkboard - just for fun! Now, while it is astounding to witness that with > English as the subject, it is almost unbelievable to see that happening with > some really complicated mathematical symbols and equations. That's impressive. Supposedly da Vinci did that, too. Interesting. > > How on earth can one ostensibly use both brain hemispheres so separately at > the same time in the same high-level processing task? I can assure you that > this is a little more demanding than balancing on a ball or wobble board! It > is difficult enough trying that favorite parlor game of patting the top of > your head with one hand and rubbing your stomach clockwise with the other - > if you have not tried this before, try it now before attempting to write > different words on different note pads with each hand. Ten minutes of practice before I could get two simultaneous coherent sentences. Some of the failures were funny, many were interesting. > > To other fairly ambidextrous folk out there, have you found that your > competence with a given hand depends on the task? Nowadays, my throwing > abilities, my cricket bowling competence and my serving capabilities in > tennis and are poor with my right arm, but very respectable with my left arm. > On the other hand, I remain a right-handed batsman and right-handed artist > with pen on paper (but left-handed with a mouse!). During my brief fling with racquetball, I solved my crappy backhand problem by passing the racquet from hand to hand. Opponents HATED this. > > The latter point intrigues me the most - why on earth am I now a left-handed > mouse artist, but a right-handed pen artist and writer? From my personal > experience, it would appear that the specificity of motor action is very > finely specific. Have any others also found this to be the case? > However, I have developed my own personal strategy for teaching myself to use > the opposite hand, a technique that I periodically show to delegates to my > Strength Camps here, so that I can gradually reverse that trend. Practice. Kurland, Austin and Chicago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 Recycling another old discussion from last spring which I didn't have time to read back then... > Anyone 'feel' awkward extending a left hand in greeting another? There seem to be countless cultural 'taboos' against right mindedness. Majority 'rules', you know. There are no biological constraints or imperatives at work here.RainbowI feel better extending my left hand in greeting, even though I'm normally right-handed. I don't feel awkward at all but others sometimes look puzzled when I do this. Is it very rude of me? Inger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 12, 2005 Report Share Posted December 12, 2005 No wonder he didn't become president then! It's all about shaking as many hands as possible, no? :-) Inger Re: Re: Handedness No, although it is hardly the norm. There are some people, such as Bob Dole, who ran for President a while back, who simply cannot shake hands due to individual circumstances.Inger Lorelei <inglori@...> wrote: Recycling another old discussion from last spring which I didn't have time to read back then... > Anyone 'feel' awkward extending a left hand in greeting another? There seem to be countless cultural 'taboos' against right mindedness. Majority 'rules', you know. There are no biological constraints or imperatives at work here.RainbowI feel better extending my left hand in greeting, even though I'm normally right-handed. I don't feel awkward at all but others sometimes look puzzled when I do this. Is it very rude of me? Inger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 I'm very right-oriented and when I was a child I thought the left hand was for doing dirty things like picking your nose (sorry, being honest) or handling something dirty. I must not have gotten that from society or culture because there was no such taboo in mine. I don't have that propensity anymore but I wash my hands after shaking hands with someone (or at least I want to) so I can imagine extending my left hand if I had shaken hands with people as a child (I didn't since hand-shaking is an adult thing). > > Recycling another old discussion from last spring which I didn't have time to read back then... > > > > Anyone 'feel' awkward extending a left hand in greeting another? There seem to be countless cultural 'taboos' against right mindedness. Majority 'rules', you know. There are no biological constraints or imperatives at work here. > Rainbow > > I feel better extending my left hand in greeting, even though I'm normally right-handed. I don't feel awkward at all but others sometimes look puzzled when I do this. Is it very rude of me? > > Inger > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 For me, the right hand feels too personal to let just anyone grab it. The left feels more like 'not me'. Are you sure about not getting the left-hand thing from society? It is only in the very last decades that left-handedness has begun to be regarded as a natural variation rather than as an abnormality that should be corrected ASAP. Many left-handed children were forced to write with their right hand in school (talk about child abuse!). I think this suspicion of left-handedness may have had a religious origin, a too literal interpretation of the term " left-hand path " ? Inger Re: Handedness I'm very right-oriented and when I was a child I thought the left hand was for doing dirty things like picking your nose (sorry, being honest) or handling something dirty. I must not have gotten that from society or culture because there was no such taboo in mine. I don't have that propensity anymore but I wash my hands after shaking hands with someone (or at least I want to) so I can imagine extending my left hand if I had shaken hands with people as a child (I didn't since hand-shaking is an adult thing). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Hmm, maybe I did get the left-handedness thing from society. I remember around the same time a group of us kids talking about being left- or right-handed. I think I was 4 but I was with some older kids who must have been the originators of the conversation. I remember one kid saying, 'I'm BOTH handed!', so I said the same thing, up until then never knowing there was such a thing as right or left-handedness. Maybe it was after that that I began to see that there is a distinction and most people are right-handed. I don't remember being encouraged to use my right hand but I do remember in kindergarten that most of the scissors were right-handed so maybe I picked up that right-handed was more 'right'. I was very sensitive about being different even then so maybe I began to think right is good and left is bad. (It's weird, too, because both my sisters are left-handed.) It also makes me wonder if I took it too much to heart because I can't do much with my left hand--can't write at all! Thanks for making me think on the subject! > > For me, the right hand feels too personal to let just anyone grab it. The > left feels more like 'not me'. > > Are you sure about not getting the left-hand thing from society? It is only > in the very last decades that left-handedness has begun to be regarded as a > natural variation rather than as an abnormality that should be corrected > ASAP. Many left-handed children were forced to write with their right hand > in school (talk about child abuse!). > > I think this suspicion of left-handedness may have had a religious origin, a > too literal interpretation of the term " left-hand path " ? > > Inger > > > Re: Handedness > > > I'm very right-oriented and when I was a child I thought the left > hand was for doing dirty things like picking your nose (sorry, being > honest) or handling something dirty. I must not have gotten that > from society or culture because there was no such taboo in mine. I > don't have that propensity anymore but I wash my hands after shaking > hands with someone (or at least I want to) so I can imagine extending > my left hand if I had shaken hands with people as a child (I didn't > since hand-shaking is an adult thing). > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 Ah, I see! Then it was I who misunderstood YOU. Glad we got that cleared up them. :-) Inger Re: Handedness > > > > > > I'm very right-oriented and when I was a child I thought the left > > hand was for doing dirty things like picking your nose (sorry, being > > honest) or handling something dirty. I must not have gotten that > > from society or culture because there was no such taboo in mine. I > > don't have that propensity anymore but I wash my hands after shaking > > hands with someone (or at least I want to) so I can imagine > extending > > my left hand if I had shaken hands with people as a child (I didn't > > since hand-shaking is an adult thing). > > > > > > > > > > FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and > acceptance. Everyone is valued. > > Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in the > folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 >> : "thinking the left hand was 'bad'" Rainbow: >The Latin word for left is 'sinister', it does have a 'history'. Right. And in esoteric teachings, willfully chosing evil ways is called taking the "left hand path." : > The Romans also believed demons lived on the left hand side of the bed and if you stepped on them you'd have bad luck that day. Thus the origin you "got out of bed on the wrong side". I didn't know that. I wonder where that superstition came from? Inger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I've read that performing an ultrasound on pregnant woman causes brain damage on the unborn fetus and increases the chance of the baby being left-handed. I'm not suggesting that left-handed people are brain damaged! I'll be curious to see if Tom Cruise's baby will be left handed. Tom bought an ultrasound machine to do ultrasounds on his wife in their own home. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 I am both left- and righthanded. I make sculptures in wood and am able to use my tools with one hand and/or the other. Very handy : ) The only thing I can not do with either one hand or the other, is brushing my teeth: I can only do that with my left hand. If I try with the other hand, I start shaking my head in stead of my hand : ) Lida Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 In the chemistry world, you can have molecules that are identical except they are mirror images, like gloves. Those that rotate polarized light to the left are called levarotatory and those to right, dextrarotatory. Same idea for the sugar dextrose. Ken > > > > > > >: " thinking the left hand was 'bad' " > > > > > > The Latin word for left is 'sinister', it does have a 'history' > > > > > > Rainbow > > > > > > > > > > > > > FAM Secret Society is a community based on respect, friendship, support and > acceptance. Everyone is valued. > > Don't forget, there are links to other FAM sites on the Links page in the > folder marked " Other FAM Sites. " > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 >Dan: "...... left-handed people are brain damaged"But, but, but, just putting these concepts together as you did CAN cause a misunderstanding that can grow and last through countless re-misinterpretations. Being of right mind, I object to this, taken out of context you'll say, phrasing! Perhaps your thought might be expressed in a more positive, to one seventh of the population, way?  Rainbow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 >Inger: "'doubtfully right handed'"Ambi = bothDexter = rightambi-dextrous - both-right hands, meaning having two 'right' handsSee: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambidextrous  Rainbow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 21, 2005 Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 So when you can use both you are thought of as having two right hands but if you are clumsy you have two left feet! Another negative idea about the left side. > > >Inger: " 'doubtfully right handed' " > > Ambi = both > Dexter = right > > ambi-dextrous - both-right hands, meaning having two 'right' hands > > See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambidextrous > Rainbow > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 In a message dated 12/22/2005 10:21:03 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, dan@... writes: The bottom line for me is... I get upset at the medical system not even mentioning the potential risks ofdoing an ultrasound to an unborn baby. Brain damage can occur during thisprocedure. A tangible indicator of this damage may be that it causes thebaby to be left-handed. We simply don't know all the ramifications of theultrasound, but it is performed daily without any hesitation. Ultrasounds aren't meant to be used on a single fetus every day. At most they are meant to be used just a few times. Several doctors have come out and warned Cruise about using the machine. I suppose we will find out in a few months what happens with excessive use of those things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 You can call me brain damaged for typing that email. I'm sure I've got brain damage... even though I'm right-handed. The bottom line for me is... I get upset at the medical system not even mentioning the potential risks of doing an ultrasound to an unborn baby. Brain damage can occur during this procedure. A tangible indicator of this damage may be that it causes the baby to be left-handed. We simply don't know all the ramifications of the ultrasound, but it is performed daily without any hesitation. I'm sorry if I offended anyone. Dan > Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 11:00:14 -0800 > From: " Rainbow . " <rainbow@...> > Subject: Re: Handedness > > >Dan: " ...... left-handed people are brain damaged " > > But, but, but, just putting these concepts together as you did CAN > cause a misunderstanding that can grow and last through countless re- > misinterpretations. Being of right mind, I object to this, taken out > of context you'll say, phrasing! Perhaps your thought might be > expressed in a more positive, to one seventh of the population, way? > Rainbow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 I am left-handed, and surely do not like the theories about brain-damage in babies from various, suspect, unverified, sources. I don't believe in viral causes of OCD or autism either. Before making such claims, researchers better produce better evidences than simple immune-system differences. Leif Dan: > You can call me brain damaged for typing that email. > > I'm sure I've got brain damage... even though I'm right-handed. > > The bottom line for me is... > I get upset at the medical system not even mentioning the potential risks of > doing an ultrasound to an unborn baby. Brain damage can occur during this > procedure. A tangible indicator of this damage may be that it causes the > baby to be left-handed. We simply don't know all the ramifications of the > ultrasound, but it is performed daily without any hesitation. > > I'm sorry if I offended anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 >Dan: "A tangible indicator of this damage may be that it causes the baby to be left-handed."Dan, could you please explain this further. I don't see the connection.  Rainbow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 22, 2005 Report Share Posted December 22, 2005 >Leif: "I am left-handed, and surely do not like the theories about brain-damage in babies from various, suspect, unverified, sources."I also am right-minded (left-handed) and am not brain damaged in any respect.  Rainbow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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