# Lefties **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 4, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075 "2003-05-04T21:27:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jeffmilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jeffmilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffmilles)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/1 "2003-05-04T21:27:44Z")
Cecil mentions that lefties are more accident prone, using power tool accidents as an example. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to believe that these power tool accidents are the result of tools being used by left handed individuals when the tools are designed for righties because most people are right-handed. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/2 "2003-05-04T21:37:41Z")
I imagine he was either kidding or implied the solution you mention. What column was this in? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/3 "2003-05-05T01:09:03Z")
I presume: [Do left-handers die young?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_092.html) Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, **jeff** , glad to have you with us. It’s helpful to others if you provide a link to the column upon which you are commenting… helps to know what Cecil said, so that they can react to your comments, if you follow me. Anyway, welcome! ---
**Author:** ![jeffmilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jeffmilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffmilles)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/4 "2003-05-05T05:29:58Z")
sorry about that… the link is [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_092.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_092.html) ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/5 "2003-05-05T14:49:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jeffmilles \* > \*\*Cecil mentions that lefties are more accident prone, using power tool accidents as an example. Wouldn’t it be more accurate to believe that these power tool accidents are the result of tools being used by left handed individuals when the tools are designed for righties because most people are right-handed. \*\* Actually, what he said was > [@](#): > > …lefties have a higher accident rate… I’d interpret “accident prone” as being clumsy (like me), but “accident rate” as simply describing what the situation is, but not attributing a cause. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/6 "2003-05-06T06:38:19Z")
More data: Left-handers are not more prone to immune deficiency: > **[Left handedness and immune disorders - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2354644/?dopt=Abstract)** > > The Geschwind-Behan hypothesis that immune disorder (IMD) is more common among left than among right handed persons was tested in a sample of 3080 college students. Subjects indicated, for each of a list of IMDs, whether they: (1) had no reason to... The prevalence of an inverted writing position among left-handers varies from culture to culture: > **[Incidence of left-handed writers and the inverted writing position in a...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3736827/?dopt=Abstract)** > > In a sample of 2194 German elementary school children, 6.9% of the females and 9.5% of the males wrote with the left hand. The proportion of left-handers writing with the inverted writing position was much higher than in comparable Canadian samples,... Writing position is not fixed for left-handed children under the age of 10: > **[Incidence of left-handed writers and the inverted writing position in a...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3736827/?dopt=Abstract)** > > In a sample of 2194 German elementary school children, 6.9% of the females and 9.5% of the males wrote with the left hand. The proportion of left-handers writing with the inverted writing position was much higher than in comparable Canadian samples,... Regardless of daft claims made that left-handedness is caused by prenatal or natal injury, there is quite a bit of evidence of heritability: > **[Incidence of left-handed writing in a college population with reference to...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6664484/?dopt=Abstract)** > > Hand preference data were obtained for 1816 university students, 4793 siblings and 3632 parents. Results support the following conclusions. (1) There is currently a 13.8% incidence of left handedness among young adults, representing a dramatic... (among many references) And finally, I’m going to quote an abstract to emphasize a point: > [@](#): > > Claims have been made that left-handedness often arises from pathological causes, and that owing to this underlying pathology, the presence of sinistrality may entail disadvantages for both the length and quality of life. A prime implication of these claims is that left-handers, as a group, should display signs of poorer fitness than right-handers. This poorer fitness might take the form of an increased incidence of illnesses and/or accidents. In addition, it might also be predicted that left-handers would experience a psychological and, perhaps, cognitive quality of life that is inferior to that of right-handers. In the present study, we measured a large sample (N=1277) of older adults on four indexes of lateral preference (hand, foot, eye, and ear), on whether or not they experienced pressure to switch their preferred writing hand, and variables related to psychological well-being, physical health, and cognitive performance. The results revealed that the presence of left hand writing, in isolation, did not predict decreases in quality of life factors; however, in conjunction with left-handed writing, the presence of a hand preference switch report was shown to be important. In particular, one subset of left-handers-those who attempted to change their preferred writing hand but were unsuccessful-was found to have a lower quality of psychological and physical well-being on multiple measures. > **[The effects of hand preference side and hand preference switch history on...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12208004/?dopt=Abstract)** > > Claims have been made that left-handedness often arises from pathological causes, and that owing to this underlying pathology, the presence of sinistrality may entail disadvantages for both the length and quality of life. A prime implication of these... Of course, no amount of science will stop people repeating the lies against left-handedness, but at least there is some real research to counter them. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/7 "2003-05-06T14:41:46Z")
Dogface – While not disagreeing in the slightest that left-handedness has a high degree of heritability, is it not also true that a certain percentage (probably small) of leftyness could be caused by brain injury? There’s an account in “Defending the Cavewoman: And Other Tales of Evolutionary Neurology” by Klawans in which he describes a young woman who was the only lefty in a family of righties, and it also turns out that she had a neurological injury at birth that ultimately led to other problems. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/8 "2003-05-06T18:07:15Z")
Is it not true that a certain percentage (probably small) of right-handedned could be caused by injury but the ignorance, bigotry, and prejudice of the right-handed majority will not let them admit to that possibility? If injury can cause left-handedness in a genetically right-handed person, then injury can cause right-handedness in a genetically left-handed person. Continually carping on isolated cases where injury is implicated in left-handedness and “other problems” only serves to re-enforce bigotry. And, yes, there still is anti-left-handed bigotry. I had an employer who was absolutely convinced that I could not handle laboratory equipment with sufficient facility as soon as he discovered that I was left-handed. ---
**Author:** ![japatlgt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@japatlgt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/japatlgt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/9 "2003-05-06T18:50:47Z")
Lefties are forced to adapt to a right-handed world (no cite - flying on instruments here) whereas righties aren’t presented with that challenge. Hence a greater probability for accidents. It is also a short person’s world. ouch ! ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/10 "2003-05-07T12:09:54Z")
Wow, I’ve never been part of an oppressed minority before. Brother and sister lefties of the world unite! We must join hands around scissor manufacturing plants and other such clearly anti-lefty bigots until they agree to our demands of equal treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Malinthas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Malinthas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malinthas)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/11 "2003-05-07T13:13:30Z")
I think the prejudice against southpaws is a lot less than it used to be. I was born a lefty, but in grade school, the nuns made me use my right hand. Had to sit on my left hand for two years. Nowadays, I’m an odd mix. For fine work, I use my right, but my left has always been much stronger. Also, I normally write with my right hand, and my handwriting is awful. When I broke my right wrist and had to write left-handed, my writing actually improved. In any case, they don’t do those things anymore… even in Catholic schools. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/12 "2003-05-08T15:29:24Z")
My grandmother attempted to force me to change my handedness. I’ve had supervisors who could not be convinced that I could adequately measure liquids because I was left-handed. There is still anti left-handed bigotry. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/13 "2003-05-09T05:59:43Z")
**japatlgt** , I imagine it’s not so much a short person’s world as an average sized person’s world. I imagine short people are constantly just out of reach of things. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![sachfuj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@sachfuj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachfuj)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/14 "2003-05-09T20:55:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Malinthas \* > \*\*For fine work, I use my right, but my left has always been much stronger. \*\* Same here – except I wasn’t forced by Nuns, my mom was trying to make me ambidexterous. (Growing up in the 80s… I never felt pressured or because it was a bad thing.) She’d say “it’ll taste better if you try your right hand” and I fell for it! Now, I write better & quicker with my right hand. All sports (shoot, throw, dribble) with left hand, except right-hander’s batting. BUT I can still use chopsticks with either hand! ---
**Author:** ![USAPatriot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/97f17d/32.png) [@USAPatriot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USAPatriot)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/15 "2003-05-09T21:43:32Z")
There may actually be something to it, though I have nothing to back it up other than observation. My son was a lefty…and do note I said that in the past tense…and left-handedness is not simply a mirror image of right-handedness. In my experience they simply carry themselves differently. Body angle-to-object, foot stance, all seems different from the way a righty would do it, and not just opposite. Different. -Rod- ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/16 "2003-05-11T23:35:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dogface \* > **My grandmother attempted to force me to change my handedness.** My mother told me that when I was little she’d always make me take objects with my right hand… which I’d then switch to my left… so she gave up. 🙂 I haven’t personally felt the strength of anti-left sentiment that you have **Dogface** , but from a few ill-chosen comments (even from friends) I can well believe it exists (hopefully if only in small amounts). To the OP – **jeffmilles** , doing DIY around the house, whenever I pick up a power tool I am often aware that it wasn’t designed for me and try to be extra careful with it – one or two of tools I’ve used over the years (circular saws spring to mind) have been downright scary. ---
**Author:** ![brucemac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@brucemac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brucemac)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/17 "2003-05-12T12:57:35Z")
My mother had the same problem as Malinthas, except that in her days the nuns would whack the left hand with a ruler if she tried to write with it. She would use her left hand for things other than writing. I’m a right-hander, but I learned to cut food on my dinner plate with my left hand. However, if I’m carving a turkey or cutting a roast, I use my right hand. ---
**Author:** ![hyjyljyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/0ea827/32.png) [@hyjyljyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyjyljyj)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/18 "2003-05-13T03:48:56Z")
Dogface quoted an abstract: “Claims have been made that left-handedness often arises from pathological causes, and that owing to this underlying pathology, the presence of sinistrality may entail disadvantages for both the length and quality of life.” * * * Random thoughts… Use of words like “sinistrality” and its sister “sinister” referring to the left hand only intensify and prolong antil-left-handed bias in modern society. Ironically, so does the complimentary “dextrous” meaning deft…because it’s the “RIGHT hand of God” we want to sit at. The LEFT hand can therefore only represent…hmmmm…could it be…SATAN??? No right-handed person would even think of this bias as such; it would conceivably never even occur to them. In fact, some reading this right now are doubtless smirking ‘yeah, sure’ or wondering if it’s for real. Why can’t you just use regular scissors, sissy. It’s like the old crusty white people who can’t for the life of them grasp why any black person could ever object to the term “colored” or “Negro”, when after all there is some color visible there, and negro is just Spanish for black. It just doesn’t dawn on them. Benefits of being a lefty…When driving on the right, getting to keep the dominant hand on the steering wheel while shifting…getting to play first base…sucker punches…pickoffs…still being able to write after shaking hands with a body-Nazi on steroids…propensity for higher IQ, musical and artistic aptitude…not dragging your hand across your words when writing in Arabic… Dick van Dyke was pretty good at _acting_ clumsy, but he is actually quite adroit (rats! French for “to the right”). “Alexander the Great” is seldom referred to as “Alexander the Accident-Prone and Psychologically Disadvantaged”. A lot of people named on tombstones out West likely wish Billy the Kid had been a wee tad more inept with that left hand. Albert King; Jimi Hendrix. Right? Jimmy Connors can whip you at tennis using a badminton racquet. Martina could do it with a fly-swatter. MacEnroe won’t deign to play you. Pele. Now there’s an awkward chap. Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr…Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Got that spectrum pretty much covered. Galieo lived to a ripe old age, judging from one of his later self-portraits, despite spending many of his golden years in a dungeon at the hands of religious fanatics until he “recanted” his belief that Earth was not the center of the solar system/universe. Oh yeah, plus he invented the first parachute, helicopter, airplane, repteating rifle, tank, paddle boat and automobile. Henry Ford, another lefty, perfected that last one a bit, coming up with something called an 8-cylinder engine. Michaelangelo did not BEGIN painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel until the age of 77. Einstein. Marcel Marceau–even though nearly **80** –still positively OWNS an entire physical art form based firmly on being the exact opposite of clumsy. If you can even _name_ one other mime from now until you die (I can’t either), consider yourself in the extreme minority. YOU tell De Niro he’s a klutz. ---
**Author:** ![jeffmilles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jeffmilles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffmilles)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/19 "2003-05-13T18:11:09Z")
Galileo did not invent the first helicopter, hyjyljyj. The inventor’s name is Emile Berliner. The first successful helicopter flight was in 1919. Perhaps you were thinking Galileo had the first idea of a helicopter. Maybe you were thinking of Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci is normally credited with the first design of the helicopter. But it was the chinese in the fourth century who designed the helicopter top toy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075/20 "2003-05-13T19:47:12Z")
> [@](#): > > In my experience they simply carry themselves differently. Body angle-to-object, foot stance, all seems different from the way a righty would do it, and not just opposite. Different. -Rod- The simplest explanation for this, I think, is that some aspects of a lefty’s stance, bearing, etc., are “naturally” left-handed, and therefore reversed from what a righty would show, and some aspects are efforts to copy the righties around them, and therefore not reversed. Take the right combination of “reversed” and “not reversed”, and you can construct nearly any stance or position imaginable. And **hyjyljyj** , I’m surprised that in your list of accomplished southpaws, you make no mention of Cecil, author of the very column upon which we’re commenting. Regardless, though, a list of extraordinary left-handed indivuals does not refute (nor support, of course!) the hypothesis that left-handedness is correlated with pathology. Now, if you could show that the proportion of “great” lefties is higher than the proportion of “great” righties, then that might mean something. And, of course, one should also look at the other end of the spectrum: How many Darwin award winners, serial killers, and deadbeats are right-handed, and how many are left? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lefties/173075.md?page=2)