I write with my left hand so if the topic of handedness comes up, I usually describe myself as left-handed. Actually though, I do plenty of things with my right hand (hey! get your mind out of the gutter.) I would even say it is about 50-50. But I am not at all ambidextrous. It either feels natural to use my left, or natural to use my right - I can’t really do anything equally well with either hand. Is anyone else like this?
In general, if a tool is designed to be used right-handed I will use it that way - computer mouse, guitar, scissors, can opener - I use right-handed with no problem. I know there are left-handed versions of these tools, but I couldn’t use them well if I tried.
But if the tool doesn’t favour right-handedness, I will do things the left handed way - write, play pool, hammer, chop with a knife - because there is no advantage to either lefties or righties in these cases. I generally can’t do these things right-handed well at all.
Then I have a few quirks like throwing and batting right handed, maybe because my right arm is a little stronger. And playing tennis and playing drums were super confusing for me at first - I had some strange mix of left/right handed styles and had to force myself to be right and left handed respectively.
So is anyone else a freak like me? Not ambidextrous but nevertheless not clearly right or left handed? From a bit of Google research it seems somewhat common but I am wondering about dopers mixed-up handedness.
I write with my left hand. I’m ambidextrous in some things. I tend to use my right hand for most hand-related activities, though, perhaps because I was a natural born southpaw forced to grow up in a backwards world. So I guess I’m a freak like you.
I am primarily right handed. But…when I learn to do something new, it’s often easier to do it left-handed. Regarding guitar-playing and fencing, I had to switch to right handed early in order to accomodate teachers who claimed they couldn’t teach me left-handed. At work, I do certain things with my left hand that would be harder to do with my right hand, now that I do it automatically with the left. That intrigues me: is it ACTUALLY harder to learn something with the non-dominant hand, once the other has proven dominant in that area? Does the brain change a little? Or is it simply a matter of comparison, and practice would equal them out, but I’m too lazy? It’s always kind of fascinated me, and I make a now subconscience point to do as much with my left hand as I can.
Otherwise, it’s the usual for me: Right hand throws faster, but left more accurately. Right hand is for offence, left for defense, etc.
and I will never, ever, EVER learn to carry a purse on my right shoulder. It simply cannot be done. If I ever lose my left arm, I’ll switch to backpacks, I guess.
I can write with my left hand, but usually don’t. It would take practice to do it well. On the other hand, I find it difficult to use a computer mouse with my right hand. I always use my mouse left-handed. I pour my coffee left-handed. I cut my meat with my right hand, but eat it with the left.
So I’m predominantly right-handed, but I do so much with my left hand that I chose the second option.
I was born cackyhanded, and was forced to supress that ‘evil beast’ that is sinistrality. So now, I’m ambidexterous (to varying degrees) with most things, but still stubbornly left- or right-handed with others. I never really got the hang of using knives etc, and I put this down to confusion, and not learning how to do it properly one way or the other.
I’m right-handed, but I eat with the fork/spoon in my left hand. I also deal cards left-handed. For some reason, I cannot do it any other way. I’ve tried dealing with my right and I’m extremely slow and drop them all over the floor.
Someone told me that I put my belt on like a lefty, but I didn’t even know there was such a distinction. I thread it around clockwise. Apparently this is strange.
I think this is something a lot of people use their non-dominant hand for.
I’m pretty damn left-handed. The only other things I do exclusively with my right hand are use a mouse, wipe myself, and bowl. I often use thev virtual keypads for debit card readers right-handed but that’s because so many have the wands tethered so far to the right it’s nigh on impossible to use with the left hand so I’m not sure that counts.
chizzuk, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a left-handed way to put on a belt. I re-string necklace pendants to change which side the chain’s clamp goes on, so I guess it could be similar.
Left handed, but I do quite a bit with my right hand. I can use a mouse equally well with either hand, which is nice because if my hand gets tired after working on the computer all day, I can switch. I play guitar and swing a golf club or baseball bat right handed, though I throw with my left. Used to be able to switch hit when I was a kid, but can’t anymore. I can swing a golf club left-handed well enough to punch myself out of trouble, though. Playing hockey is weird. I’m a lefty if I’m in the net, but a right-handed skater.
I asked a similar question in a thread a couple of years ago and was introduced to the term cross-dominance to describe people who do some things with one hand and other things with the other hand. That’s what I am - I do things like the mouse with my left, write with my right, and so on. Pool I can shoot reliably with either hand, which is nice, since I never did learn how to shoot with the cue behind my back. Cards I deal left-handed.
Comes in handy when I’m cooking pasta - I can stir the pasta with one hand and the sauce with the other, simultaneously.
I write with my right hand but when I first picked up a guitar I held it left-handed. Generally if I’m using a one-handed tool - a mouse, knife, pen, etc - I’ll use my right hand, but two-handed tools - cricket bat, violin, pool cue, flamethrower - I’ll use left-handed. I apparently use my knife and fork the “wrong” way round, and on drums I have no clue what I’m doing. I’m reliably ambisinister
There are still times, and I expect it to happen through all my life, when I pick up the fork and knife and it doesn’t feel right. Switch hands, it doesn’t feel right either. Aaaaargggh! Conversely, there have been times when someone remarked on how I had used the spoon on my left for the soup but was using the fork on the right for the salad - I don’t have a problem with that so long as they don’t turn their observation into a three-ring circus.
I might have been less sucky at sports if my teachers hadn’t insisted on treating me as right-footed; I’m very definitely left-footed.
I’ve been accused of cheating for switching hands at pool. I have about zero hand-to-eye coordination so stop fretting, Mr. “You can’t switch hands!”, I’m not going to win anyway… now let’s see if I can at least shoot one in… ;) (<-that’s me trying to aim)
I’m definitely right-handed, but years of playing the violin/viola proved that my left hand can also be quite dextrous. And a few years ago I was getting “mouse elbow,” so used the mouse with my left hand for a while. It worked for most things, but not for delicate Photoshop editing.
Mainly leftie here, but like many others I usually use right handed tools the “right way” I have one pair of GOOD left handed scissors (Have had them since home economics sewing class in Grade 8 almost AHEM! years ago) but if I don’t have those I use righties.
I can give a needle left or right handed. I give suppositories right handed usually but that is because of angle if the patient is on his or her left side. (I’m a nurse! I do not generally employ this skill anywhere except at work.) I am having troubles with manual can openers, because although I always used them right handed, since my wrist was fractured two years ago it doesn’t like doing that turn. I might break down and buy an electric can opener soon. I write lefty but could write with my right if I needed to.
I’m a southpaw, but I do a lot of things right-handed, like play guitar, shoot pool, shoot guns and a lot of minor things that are made for right-handers, like measuring cups, etc. It’s their world, I’m just living in it.
I’m mostly a hard leftie that is virtually incapable of even printing with my right. The only major exception I can think of is using a mouse - I’ve taught myself to mouse right-handed from the first computer I owned and prefer it.
WEird thing though… my father is right handed in the sense of writing, throwing a baseball, swinging a tennis raquet, and stuff. But anything he does with two hands, he swings LEFT-handed - swinging a bat or a golf club or a hockey stick.
My mother is the opposite but more so; writes lefty, and throws lefty, but swings all sports equipment, even one handed ones like tennis racquets, righthanded.
