Point of View

Lefty in a Right World

Unless you are left handed you probably do not realize what a right-dimensional world we live in. The desks in school are set up for right-handers’, the writing on a pen will be inverted if held by a left-hander, and even a coffee cup’s handle is for right-handed use. I am one of the select few that were blessed a “south-paw.” My left handedness has come up in recent weeks while working with my drum instructor. Because I have always favored my left hand for most activities; writing, throwing a ball, and eating, to name a few, we are having a difficult time perfecting some of my drumming movements. I do have a certain degree of ambidexterity which makes this all the more difficult to over come. I play guitar as a right hander and bat right handed. For the most part, my drums are set up for a right handed player. There is a saying for left-handers’ which claims they are the only ones in their right mind.
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All this left-handed business started me thinking about what I took for granted my whole life; being left handed, and prompted some research on this “condition.” It is estimated that 7-10 percent of the adult population is left-handed. I was surprised to learn that left-handedness was looked at as more of a “condition” rather than merely an inherent trait.  In reading a 1998 study; performed by Raymond, M.; Pontier, D.; Dufour, A.; and Pape, M. (1996). “Frequency-dependent maintenance of left-handedness in humans", Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, 263, 1627-1633; it found that most left-handedness was discovered in identical twins, males, or those suffering from some form of mental illness such as epilepsy, Down's Syndrome, autism, mental retardation and dyslexia. Great, so on top of being left-handed, I am now considered to be a head-case as well. I guess that explains so much in retrospect.
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Some “causes” or as I would describe them; theories for left-handedness were discovered to be related to a gene, pro-longed right handed impairment, testosterone, or the ultra-sound theory. The gene LRRTM1, or Leucine-rich repeat transmembrane neuronal protein 1, is the first gene linked to increased odds of being left-handed. The researchers also claim that possessing this gene slightly raises the risk of psychotic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. As the name implies, its protein product is a transmembrane protein, which contains many leucine rich repeats, that is present in neurons.
Those that have lost the ability to use their right hand have been found to favor their left hand even after the injury has healed. During the fetal incubation period it was discovered that a greater introduction of testosterone could lead to a left-handed child. Testosterone is typically introduced into the right hemisphere of the brain, which controls the left side of the body, thus the increase in right-hemisphere activity. Of course, this right-hemisphere dominance may be responsible for auto-immune disorders, learning disorders, dyslexia, and stuttering, as well as increased spatial ability. The ultra-sound theory claims that ultrasound scans may affect the brain of unborn children, causing higher rates of left-handedness in mothers who have ultrasound scans compared to those who do not. This theory rules me out, being born prior to the use of ultra-sounds. I am none-the-less astonished by the social stigma left-handers are subjected to in our society.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Historically, being left-handed was cause for concern and considered a “curse. The left hand was rarely used “socially” such as greeting with handshakes. Some cultures including our own “force” the left-handedness out of their children like some demonic exercise. Politically speaking, being left-wing means radical beliefs while right-wingers are more “rational” or conservative. People are put on the “right” path or the path of the righteous while the word sinister is the Latin word meaning “left.”  In China, being on the “left path” stands for illegal or immoral means and I found similar references in other cultures from the ancient Romans to the Norwegian’s. Having “two left feet” typically refers to a person’s clumsy dancing ability, as is the meaning of the Portuguese word “canhoto,” or clumsy.
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For me, learning to write was cause for concern as I was forced to curl my hand around the pen or pencil thus, all my words would inevitably become smudged from my trailing hand moving across the paper. It would not be until later in life that I discovered a slight tilt of the paper would produce the desired cursive slant common in right-handed writers, but the damage was done; I have poor hand writing and prefer to print when using pen and paper. Other left-handed obstacles in this right-handed world were the use of a pair of scissors. Often the handle is molded for right-hand use making it uncomfortable to hold. During my time in the Marines, I had to force myself to shoot the M-16 as a right hander as the bullet casings were ejected out the right side of the weapon. Holding it left-handed would cause those hot casings to be ejected into the side of my face. I did manage to score rifle expert through out my military service if that can be considered a plus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~    So, if you are left handed you are probably feeling pretty low about now. I am actually considering putting a bullet in my head as I sit here but I wondered if there were any up-sides to being a south-paw and continued my quest. My personal experience with left-handers has always been positive. My son, a fellow left-hander, is a self taught pianist and exhibits no signs of mental illness aside from some of my awkward inherent traits of tidiness.
In his book Right-Hand, Left-Hand, Chris McManus of University College London, argues that the proportion of left-handers is rising and left-handed people as a group have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. He says that left-handers' brains are structured differently in a way that widens their range of abilities, and the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language centers of the brain. In 2006, researchers at Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins University in a study found that left-handed men are 15 percent richer than right-handed men for those who attended college, and 26 percent richer if they graduated. The wage difference is still unexplainable and does not appear to apply to women. This doesn’t apply to me as I am neither rich nor a woman, but it is interesting. I have also heard rumored that a large majority of medical people are left-handed but again, it is just rumor as most of my family works in that field and none are left-handed. I was not very interested in that profession, but my son is studying to become a doctor.
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For me, my left-handedness has caused little grief and I feel an advantage to my right-handed counter-parts both in the way “we” process information and for the simple fact that I am an original. The Marine Corps slogan has always been, “a few good men.”  I guess that applies to me all the more as a south-paw. 

Reference: Online source, Wikipedia 
Left-hand friendly web-sites:
http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left.html
http://www.lefthandersday.com/
http://www.lefthandedstore.com/