Sure, lefties make up about 10 percent of the population — but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand.
Ethnic differences in handedness are related to geographi- cal differences, with left-handedness generally being more common in White, Asian and Hispanic populations – a differ- ence seen both in the UK, and historically in the United States, where the difference between ethnic groups has grown smaller during the ...
Although the percentage varies worldwide, in Western countries, 85 to 90 percent of people are right-handed and 10 to 15 percent of people are left-handed. Mixed-handedness (preferring different hands for different tasks) and ambidextrousness (the ability to perform tasks equally well with either hand) are uncommon.
A single gene might be passed from parents to children to influence which hand a child favours. If a particular version of this gene is inherited, the child may be more likely to be left-handed, depending on reinforcement and other environmental influences.
In their analysis of 144 handedness and brain laterality studies—accounting for a total of nearly 1.8 million individuals—University of Oxford psychologists Marietta Papadatou-Pastou, PhD, and Maryanne Martin, PhD, found that males are about 2 percent more likely to be left-handed than females.
McManus which found that the Netherlands has one of the world's highest prevalences of left-handedness at 13.23 percent. The United States isn't far behind with a rate of 13.1 percent while neighboring Canada has 12.8 percent. Elsewhere, rates of left-handedness are far lower and China is a good example.
Lefties make up only about 10 percent of the population, but studies find that individuals who are left-handed score higher when it comes to creativity, imagination, daydreaming and intuition. They're also better at rhythm and visualization.
A 2011 study from the American College of Chest Physicians suggested that left handers have significantly higher chances of developing periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD). This disorder is characterized by involuntary, repetitive limb movements that happen while you sleep, resulting in disrupted sleep cycles.
Special or not, lefties are born, not made: Genetics are at least partially responsible for handedness. Up until last year, it was assumed that hand preference comes from asymmetrical genes in the brain—two hands, two brain hemispheres, one is dominant.
But handedness has its roots in the brain—right-handed people have left-hemisphere-dominant brains and vice versa—and the lefties who claim Einstein weren't all that far off. While he was certainly right-handed, autopsies suggest his brain didn't reflect the typical left-side dominance in language and speech areas.
Sometimes people who are left-handed are called “Southpaws”.
Innovators. Billionaire Bill Gates and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg are left-handers.
However, post-hoc exploration of their and other sets of data has shown that there is an apparent tendency for left-handedness to be more prevalent in the period March-July than in the period August-February. The present work tested this seasonal hypothesis prospectively among university students.
In Japan, about one out of every ten people is left-handed. Therefore, left-handed people are the minority in society.
As handedness is a highly heritable trait associated with various medical conditions, and because many of these conditions could have presented a Darwinian fitness challenge in ancestral populations, this indicates left-handedness may have previously been rarer than it currently is, due to natural selection.
Left-handed and ambidextrous people are more susceptible to negative emotions, including anger. A small study published last year in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease found that the brains of lefties process emotions differently than those of righties, with more communication between the brain's two halves.
In India, left-handedness is still often considered a bad omen. People who are left-handed are often not welcome to perform puja ceremonies, and a lefty is often referred to as someone who uses the 'wrong hand' — ulta (opposite) as opposed to seedha (straight and right).
right-handed people as regards the relative advantages or disadvantages of being a "Southpaw." Lefties are a little more likely to say life is much harder for them, but some — about one in 10 — actually think life is easier as a left-handed person.
Left-handers or lefties are often considered unlucky in many cultures, including the Indian culture. We are told to accept prasad with our right hands only, and this hand is preferred for all our rituals, tilak, yagna, etc.
Elon Musk is right handed.
Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed. So were Mark Twain, Mozart, Marie Curie, Nicola Tesla and Aristotle. It's no different today – former US president Barack Obama is a left-hander, as is business leader Bill Gates and footballer Lionel Messi.
Princess Diana was right handed; however, like many Royals, she carried her handbag in her left hand. This was done to keep her right hand free for greeting others.
The Queen herself is right-handed, but this was not the case for her parents. The Queen Mother was left-handed, as was the Queen's father, King George VI, but his father King George V is believed to have made him write with his right hand.
Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and she is also an accomplished guitar player. While she is right-handed, she actually plays guitar left-handed. This is because she started playing guitar when she was only 12 years old, and she was taught by a left-handed friend.