Southpaws

[keikiwai]

Are you a lefty or a righty?

Share your thoughts on the southpaw, its causes, its definition (I throw righty but write lefty... am I a lefty), is there a "southpaw personality", do famous lefties have something in common, etc.



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Today I asked someone at work to help me with something on my computer. She came over, sat down in my chair, and promptly got really confused because the mouse was on the left hand side of the key board.... then when I told her that to "left" click she had to click the right hand button on the mouse it became completely hopeless.

I thought it was pretty funny, and it reminded me of how much society is set up for right handers in certain ways.

About 8 to 15% of the population is left handed. Being left handed offers some advantages, some disadvantages, and is not necessarily clearly defined.

I've noticed that many "left handers" are actually more or less ambidextrous, while most "right handers" are hopeless with their left hands. Probably because left handers have to be more flexible to fit in, or is there another reason?

For example, I write with my left hand, and draw with my left hand, but I throw a ball with my right hand..... but I throw darts with my left, and I bowl with my left. I cut with both.

My grandmother most probably would have been left handed, but when she was going to school, it was frowned up to be left handed..... to put it mildly, so she was forced to learn to write with her right hand. Now it seems more acceptable to be left handed.... for example, no one ever tried to convert me....

In sports it is often advantageous to be left handed. For example in self defense, most people train against righties so they're used to defending against righties and not lefties..... this means that even lefties will often handle an attack by another lefty worse than an attack by a righty.

This is also true for fencing, and tennis, and other sports.


Driving is probably safer for southpaws in places where people drive on the left, since, in an emergency you instinctively veer to your dominant side.... so that would be off the road in Australis, but into the middle in the US for a lefty.

However, for things like the computer, where every flippin' one is set up w/ the mouse to the right and the buttons the way they are, it's a pain to re-route the wires and change the button settings.


There are meny well known south paws:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...-handed_people

The causes of left vs. right handedness is unknown afaik... but theories about testosterone exposure and such have been put forward.

I don't know if there is a certain personality that goes along with being left handed, but I have noticed that many of my friends are left handed.... and generally, when we became friends we didn't know each others handedness.... definitely more than 15% of my friends are left handed. In fact, I've only had 4 "serious" girlfriends..... and each and every one of them was left handed. For 3 of them, I had no idea they were left handed before we started dating. For the 4th, I had no idead she was left handed before we became good friends.

[kidcolin]

Weird.. I had this exact conversation with physical therapist today. I'm generally right handed.. I write right, eat right, kick right, throw right.. but I do some stuff left handed, too. I bat lefty, shoot a basketball left handed (though prefer shooting lay ups and floaters with my right). I constantly switch which hand I bowl with (because I suck). I toss a frisbee really well with both hands.

I think I was supposed to be lefty.. my mom tells me that before school I always picked up crayons and markers left handed. I think I just saw all the kids writing right handed and followed suit.

Re: sports. I definitely found it advantageous to be lefty/ambidextrous in basketball. I could put it up with either hand in the paint with confidence. Being a strong dribbler with both hands at a young age is a huge advantage. Stuff like that.

As for personalities.. meh. I've known a few lefties.. didn't seem any different than the righties for the most part. I think all of my friends are right handed.

[nubs]

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My grandmother most probably would have been left handed, but when she was going to school, it was frowned up to be left handed..... to put it mildly, so she was forced to learn to write with her right hand. Now it seems more acceptable to be left handed.... for example, no one ever tried to convert me....

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I used to be ambidextrous up until the second grade. Sometimes I would begin writing with my left hand on the left half of the page and then swap to my right hand to finish the right half. Yes I know, horribly inneficient. Then for some reason my teacher made me choose. I am now hopelessly inept with my left hand.

[daryn]

i'm left handed for most things but not using a computer mouse. i'm not inept with my right hand, don't really do anything with it, but can. for instance naturally i throw a ball w/ my left hand but i can throw right handed probably about 80% as effectively. i do play hockey righty and swing a bat righty, but i don't really think those things have anything to do with "handedness".

[pushpushshove]

I write, bat, use scissors, play tennis, and do most other things left handed. I throw right handed, though, and it feels like my right hand is my dominant hand.

When I was a kid my dad taught me how to play golf right handed even though I'm naturally a lefty. It was due to some misguided notion that his father had passed onto him when he was a kid. I can golf both ways now and am only about 10 strokes worse golfing right handed. It's great for prop bets.

[Catyoul]

I'm right-handed and use my right hand for almost everything. I always open bottles, cans, etc. with my left hand though.

My dominant leg is the left one, though I believe that's normal when you're right-handed, what's yours as a southpaw (do you even have one) ?

[nath]

I'm REALLY left handed. There are exactly three things I can effectively operate with my right hand, and oddly enough, I really can't use my left for them at all:

1)Computer mouse
2)Steak knife
3)Frisbee

That's it. Everything else is lefty. And yes, it makes jamming on friends' guitars or going golfing with them a total bitch.

[MrMon]

I'm a lefty, and I've studied this a bit. I don't have a lot of time right now to go into it, but in short, people are either right-dominant or neither dominant. Left dominant is virtually unknown. What this means is, lefties choose to be lefties, but they can also choose to be righties. Which is why most lefties are somewhat ambidextrous and most righties are hopeless with the left hand. The exception to the righty rule are those who are "hidden" lefties, those who chose or were forced right. A lefty who can do little with the right hand is rare.

I'm not sure if science has determined why the brain is wired this way, but there's definitely a genetic component involved, as leftiness is a family trait. Definitely more common in boys, and yes, the brains are somewhat different.

More later.

[ScottieK]

IThe only thing I do with my left hand is drive. I can type with both hands, and I can do a few other things. My right leg is dominant, but I can use my left one almost as effectively. Taking dancing lessons also helped my left hand, since that's the hand you lead with.

My best friend is a lefty and does most things lefty, but he golfs righty.

Being a lefty is a huge advantage in baseball, esp. for pitchers. I'd also think that being able to dribble and shoot layups with both hands is an advantage in basketball, as kicking with both feet would be in soccer.

ScottieK

[blackize]

I write and eat left handed. I kick left handed. I throw, bat, golf, use a mouse, jack off, all with my right. I play tennis with either hand. Being so ambidextrous really helped me in lacrosse.