# Are Left-Handed People More Violent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 24, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420 "2005-01-24T16:24:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/21 "2005-01-24T23:38:45Z")
\*\*Balthisar \*\*, I am going to assume (for the moment) that you were doing a facetious riff on “lefties are hostile,” but we really don’t want to see any displays of anger **and, particularly, no threats** in **General Questions**. 'K? [/Moderator Mode] ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/22 "2005-01-25T00:52:52Z")
It’s widely realized that left-handedness is the result of diabolical influences, and there exists no doubt that it is the result of the sinful nature of man. However, learned scholars agree that it is doctrinally erroneous to assume that a left-handed person is necessarily evil; while it may be a mark of a contract with Satan, in other cases the mark is left by the sin of the father or mother, and in some sad cases, the mark is born by a child who is the victim of a curse, placed by a witch upon an entirely innocent victim. The influence of Satan is subtle, and he leaves no footsteps when he walks the earth. Many left-handed people suffer their affliction through no fault of their own, and these poor souls must be regarded with pity rather than hatred. Examine the left-handed person’s body for the telltale marks of contracture with Lucifer before condemning him. ---
**Author:** ![Josh\_dePlume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Josh\_dePlume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Josh_dePlume)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/23 "2005-01-25T01:00:54Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Are you asking whether left-handers are more likely to be violent, or whether violent people are more likely to be left-handed? Left-handers are disproportionately violent if and only if violent people are disproportionately left-handed, no? The former does not imply that the majority of violent people are left-handed, but it does imply that violent people are more likely to be left-handed than are people from the general population. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/24 "2005-01-25T01:01:02Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > It has been proposed that the trait of left-handedness thrives in such societies because their advantage in hand-to-hand combat is so great that it is able to offset the numerous disadvantages associated with left-handedness- schizophrenia, autism, ulcerative colitis, migraines, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, stuttering, asthma, dyslexia, etc. In the past, I’ve also read that left-handed people are more likely to die of industrial accidents, with the suggestion that it is attributable to the making of machinery/tools to suit right-handed people. Unfortunately I like a cite for this. Is anyone else familiar with this? As a note, I gotta say as a lefty, while reading your list I was feeling like a “marked” woman who may not make it out of my 30s. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/25 "2005-01-25T02:05:22Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > In the past, I’ve also read that left-handed people are more likely to die of industrial accidents, with the suggestion that it is attributable to the making of machinery/tools to suit right-handed people. \ Darwin lives! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/26 "2005-01-25T02:57:05Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > Left-handers are disproportionately violent if and only if violent people are disproportionately left-handed, no? The former does not imply that the majority of violent people are left-handed, but it does imply that violent people are more likely to be left-handed than are people from the general population If a violent population has a disproportionate number of left-handers, it doesn’t mean that left-handers are disproportionately violent. It means that they are disproportionately successful. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/27 "2005-01-25T03:04:12Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > The New Scientist article fails to disclose what variables the authors of the study controlled for. This diminishes its credibility. > > Furthermore, the very logic of the left-handed affinity for violence is self-defeating. In a violent society that supposedly has 27% left-handedness, right-handed people would be far more accustomed to defending themselves against those irascible and numerous lefties. This would in turn seriously erode the left handed advantage, which in turn ought to depress the homicide rate. > > I am just a left handed fencer and kickboxer, what do I know? Uh, no, it’s not self-defeating. It’s describing the potential forces which would lead for an equilibium of left and right handers. It’s describes the same thing that any other dynamic equilibrium sitation would describe. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/28 "2005-01-25T04:02:37Z")
> [@Zhao Daoli](#): > > If a violent population has a disproportionate number of left-handers, it doesn’t mean that left-handers are disproportionately violent. It means that they are disproportionately successful. Dude: I didn’t post that. ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/29 "2005-01-25T04:48:54Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > > [@jester21](#): > > > > My daughter is a lefty… were as me and her mother are both righties > > > > Proving once and for all that: two rights DO make a left. > > Nonsense. It takes three rights to make a left. So which one of you was seeing someone on the side? actually… SHE was… ☹ …we actually had to get a DNA test done after we split because she wasn’t sure who the father was. :mad: So i guess that actually proves your theory correct :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/30 "2005-01-25T06:00:52Z")
> [@jester21](#): > > actually… SHE was… ☹ …we actually had to get a DNA test done after we split because she wasn’t sure who the father was. :mad: > > So i guess that actually proves your theory correct :eek: Jeez man, sorry! I thought I was just making a joke, didn’t mean to bring up things best left alone. My condolences. On the other hand, it’s always nice to have one’s theory vindicated.b 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jester21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@jester21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jester21)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/31 "2005-01-25T06:07:41Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Jeez man, sorry! I thought I was just making a joke, didn’t mean to bring up things best left alone. My condolences. > > On the other hand, it’s always nice to have one’s theory vindicated.b 🙂 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/32 "2005-01-25T14:03:28Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > \*\*Balthisar \*\*, I am going to assume (for the moment) that you were doing a facetious riff on “lefties are hostile,” but we really don’t want to see any displays of anger **and, particularly, no threats** in **General Questions**. > > 'K? > > [/Moderator Mode] Okay, just for those moderators that don’t know me since I’ve been here in late 2000, yes, it was just me, being silly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/33 "2005-01-25T14:46:05Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > Uh, no, it’s not self-defeating. It’s describing the potential forces which would lead for an equilibium of left and right handers. It’s describes the same thing that any other dynamic equilibrium sitation would describe. Uh, no, because the dynamic equilibrium that is kinda-sorta described in the study is by definition unstable. ---
**Author:** ![Josh\_dePlume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Josh\_dePlume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Josh_dePlume)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/34 "2005-01-25T22:26:00Z")
> [@Zhao Daoli](#): > > If a violent population has a disproportionate number of left-handers, it doesn’t mean that left-handers are disproportionately violent. It means that they are disproportionately successful. Right. Or at least that’s one explanation, and the one that the authors of the study seem to be favoring. But the post that I (not **CynicalGabe** ) was responding to doesn’t discuss that possibility, and the two “alternatives” that it does mention are actually equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![Josh\_dePlume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Josh\_dePlume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Josh_dePlume)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/35 "2005-01-25T22:33:36Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Uh, no, because the dynamic equilibrium that is kinda-sorta described in the study is by definition unstable. Not true. It is, or at lest plausibly could be, a classic case of negative frequency-dependent selection. At 27% lefties, people might be less practiced at fighting against lefties by exactly enough to make up for the health problems associated with left-handedness. This would be a stable equilibrium; if the frequency rose a bit, say to 28%, the fitness of lefties would go down and their frequency would follow, and if the frequency dropped a bit the fitness of lefties would go up and their frequency would rise. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_loblaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@bob\_loblaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_loblaw)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/36 "2005-01-25T22:47:56Z")
from years of school-yard & hockey related fighting experience, i can say that yes, lefties are generally more successful scrappers (all else being equal) though i’ve seen nothing to suggest they are more inherently violent in personality than righties. us ambidextrous folks otoh, you’d better keep an eye on. we’re crazybad mofos. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/37 "2005-01-25T23:35:12Z")
I am calm. I am completely relaxed. I am incapable of violence. **SERENITY NOW!!!** ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/38 "2005-01-26T00:01:34Z")
Being discriminated against in everything from scissors to ATMs to guesbooks, my word this leftie is feeling fucking violent! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420/39 "2005-01-26T02:29:21Z")
> [@Josh\_dePlume](#): > > > [@Zhao Daoli](#): > > > > If a violent population has a disproportionate number of left-handers, it doesn’t mean that left-handers are disproportionately violent. It means that they are disproportionately successful. > > Right. Or at least that’s one explanation, and the one that the authors of the study seem to be favoring. But the post that I (not CynicalGabe) was responding to doesn’t discuss that possibility, and the two “alternatives” that it does mention are actually equivalent. Indeed. I was clearly confused in more ways than one. As a side note, it has been taken for granted in this thread that left-handers suffer disproportionate rates of certain diseases (like those mentioned in the OP). However, the scientific jury is not yet in on whether this is true (with the apparent exception of autism). [Cite](http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,5816,00.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-left-handed-people-more-violent/286420.md?page=1)