I put this here because I believe if I put it in GQ it will get moved here pretty quickly anyway.
Is it possible, through deliberate and sustained conscious intervention, to either remove hand-dominance from your own mind so that you become truly ambidexterous… or… switch it so you change from left handed to right handed? (or vice versa - but who would want to? except maybe a sportsman)
I asked because today is a self-imposed right-handed day. My left arm is sore from RSI so I’ve been using it as little as possible… and I gotta say it’s becoming slightly more comfortable to use my right arm than it would normally be.
The best example I can think of is playing a musical instrument. With most instruments you need to be fairly ambidextrous, and with a string instrument all the intricate fingering is done with the left hand.
Sure. Lots of people with strokes learn to use the other hand.
I’ve taught myself to use chopsticks with my non-dominant hand and I can write okay as well. Probably with not too much more practice it would feel more fluid. I can do most things with both hands, which wasn’t true in my childhood.
My grandfather was a natural lefty, but back in the bad old days lefties were often forced to use their right hands. Sometimes this was successful, sometimes not. However, this was done when the lefties were kids, just starting to write.
For me? Sure. For somebody else? Maybe.
As you might expect, hemispheric dominance isn’t all that simple. I am what most people call ambidextrous, and some people call cross dominant or mixed dominant. I switched to writing with my right hand when I broke my left wrist as a child. My impression is that the strength of hand dominance could could be plotted on a bell curve, with different folks having different degrees of dominance (and conversely flexibility).
There is little doubt that people can learn to perform tasks with the non-dominant hand, though, particularly where the dominant hand (or dominat hemisphere) is injured or disabled. Amazing what we can do if we have to. And it probably results in some neurological changes, but I would not expect any significant changes in that area unless it were sustained for a long time.
I can play the violin somewhat, but I can’t do anything else requiring that sort of coordination with my left hand.
Hmm, I need to do some research…
While it’s possible to use your non-dominant hand enough to be fairly ambidextrous, I’m not sure that you can get rid of the instinct to use your dominant hand. Let’s say that I’ve suddenly thrown something at your face - which hand do you reach out with to stop it?
Oh my, there is a lot of published material on this subject.
Here’s a really ugly link that will get you started, if you want to know more…
I had my right hand in a cast for 6 weeks and I did pretty good. I think, given enough time, I could have mastered it.
I’ve known two people who were forced to, because of paralysis. One lost the use of his right hand, to polio, when very young. He was perfectly able to transfer. The other was in an accident in her late teens. She’s still struggling with it, but improving all the time.
Years ago, people were often made to shift. IIRC, there was a high incidence of speech defects acquired by those people. I googled around for this a bit, but every article I ran into wanted me to log in/pay, so I gave up.
Yes, it is possible, although the older you are, the harder it will be. When I was a child, I was very much a lefty. I did everything from batting to shooting pool to writing left handed. When I went into Kindergarten, my teacher was a throw-back to the stoneage when left-handedness was a mark of the debbil and she would smack the fuck out of my hand if I so much as wiped my nose with my left hand. I was trained through violence and verbal abuse to never use my left hand for anything while in her presence. Of course, I was very popular during PE being the only left-handed pitcher/hitter at the whole school, but that didn’t help her to see the light.
While I do sometimes absent-mindedly pick up a pen/pencil and start writing left-handed, it is rare. It always ends when someone says “OMG, Litoris! I didn’t know you’re left-handed!” I still shoot the most difficult pool shots left-handed, can bat right- or left-handed (am better left), and many other things that were much more ingrained than writing at the tender age of 5. As a general rule, though my right hand does have dominance due to that 9 months of torture. (Trust me, it was more than the handedness – that teacher was EVIL) Funny enough, I skate goofy-footed, even though I didn’t learn to use a skate board til high school - it just felt more natural that way.
That’s interesting, if you find a cite, I would love to read it. Part of my other issues with this teacher was that I was forced to take a “speech” class for a lisp that I developed due to missing my 2 front teeth. Or at least that was always my justification for it! Funny if I could blame the lisp on her instead!
My dad was a born lefty, but he went to a super-strict religious school where that wasn’t “allowed” so now he’s a righty, with some ambidextruos abilities (ie he cannot comfortably write with his left any more)
I am a righty predominantly but I do a few things lefty, like swing a baseball bat (because my brother taught me when I was too young to know a difference, and he’s lefty).
As far as adult switching, I had to learn to mouse left due to severe RSI on the right, and its a pain but after a while its not so bad (never fully ambidextrous at all tasks, just that one). IF it works for your RSI, you might also consider a vertically-oriented mouse and a “activeclick” - type program that clicks for you. Tablets and roller balls may also be choices, depending on your specific injury. Speak to your Physical/occupational therapist about it. For a while I used both a VOM and a lefty normal mouse (because I had RSI in both arms and had to vary, fun stuff that).
Young Jesse Trevino was a talented artist from childhood. But he was sent to Vietnam & returned to San Antonio with a hook where his right hand used to be. So he began art classes at community college & learned to paint with the other one.
His style is impeccable photorealism.
Well, I have taught myself to be pretty adept at masturbating with either hand.
I’m naturally strongly left handed. Because of the predominance of righthanded tools, there are some things I do righthanded. Using a mouse is a big one. I’m actually better at using a mouse righthanded then lefthanded. It’s all about practice.
I’m a natural lefty who was taught to do everything righty by nuns. Today I do most things righty (write, throw), a few things both (bat, kick), and some things lefty. The one thing I cannot overcome is my left eye dominance. It is hard for me to even close my right eye while keeping my left open. I can only shoot a rifle lefty, and I’ll never be able to change that.
I’m a righty, but I can use most tools almost as well left handed. Sometimes one hand will fit into a tight space much better than the other. I could probably learn to write lefty with enough practice.
I don’t think the OP is talking about losing your dominant hand, but about training the weak hand to be as proficient at all tasks as the dominant. Obviously, in different tasks, it is possible. Batters in baseball learn to switch hit. Basketball players learn to dribble, pass, and some even shoot with both hands. Musicians may have to be technically proficient with both hands, but how many could play an instrument just as well if they were given a mirror image of what they usually play? I think a drummer could fare better here than a guitar player, for example.
Obviously for specialized tasks, it’s possible. For simple tasks (using the remote control, drinking out of a glass) it takes all of one or two attempts to be proficient. Eating, handwriting, using basic tools take a bit more work, but are pretty easy. If the OP is asking what I think he is, then how feasible is it for a normal person, with full use of both hands, to completely train the off hand to be as strong as the dominant at all tasks and skills you perform throughout the day. People with catastrophic injuries obviously are forced to learn by using the weak hand 24 hours a day, but people who are doing this voluntarily are going to have a tougher time.
I think to become completely, truly ambidexterous in every task and skill that you do, you are looking at a few years minimum, if you really dedicated yourself to doing it.
My grandad was the same way. He says they used to beat his hand with a ruler (ah, the good old days). He wrote with his right hand but did everything else with his left.
As others have mentioned, it’s not too difficult to change your dominate hand. But it’s next to impossible to change your dominate eye. If, for example, a new rifle shooter is left-handed and right-eyed dominate, it is advised the shooter learn to shoot right-handed (vs. trying to use the left eye).