At any level of competitive baseball, however, a lefty cannot effectively play second base, shortstop or third base.
When I joined the Canadian army in 1989, rifles were made only for right handed shooters - the safety/fire selector and magazine release button were positioned so the thumb of the right hand could operate them. Lefties could use the rifle but it was clumsy. Later versions of the C7 assault rifle have made the weapon ambidextrous, but it sucked for years if you were lefthanded.
And the ejector port is on the right so the hot spent brass flies away from a right handed shooter. For a lefty the hot brass typically doesn’t hit their face. It comes a little close, but it’s usually far enough away, but still…
Many multiple choice exams favour righties, because the answer circles are on the right hand side. Lefties have to reach across the page to fill in the answer circle and move their hand back to read the next question. That slows us down and lowers our scores. Putting the circles on the left slows righties to the same degree. But the lower scores may well keep lefties out of certain schools and programs.
Many crossword puzzle books create a similar problem, with clues on the left page and grids on the right. I have a left handed crossword puzzle book, but it is stupidly designed. So professional crossword puzzle solver may be out.
He didn’t express in a preference for which hand, but Harry S Truman is alleged to have said, “Give me a one-handed economist. All my economists say ‘on the one hand . . .’, then ‘but on the other . . .’”
I get what you’re saying about the trends of tool design in general, but I willl not cease from mental fight until this thread has absorbed the counterintuitive realization, as per post #114 and post #111, that the standard and ubiquitous left-facing electric sewing machine is in fact more efficiently used by those with a dominant left hand.
(Yes, that’s because the original pre-electric version was designed with the hand-turned crank on the right to be more convenient for right-handers. But the fact remains that the modern “normal” type of sewing machine, with an electric motor and no hand crank, unambiguously favors left-hand dominance. One small victory for the lefties, at least.)
On the other hand (), some years ago I read an article which commented that there were more Canadian left-handed golfers on the pro circuits than American lefties, per capita.
One theory to explain it is that if you grow up playing hockey, there is always a need for left-wingers on the offensive lines and the d-lines, so left-handed kids can engage in a popular sport without having to learn to play right-handed. In fact, there’s a demand for lefties on every hockey team.
That makes it easier to transition to playing golf left-handed, because you’ve grown up using your dominant hand in a major sport, and you’re used to using it. You’ve not been trained to emphasize the right hand.
The article was some years ago and I can’t find it, but interesting theory.
ETA: are there any other sports where a team normally has a need for left-handed players? Note that unlike the field hockey example discussed earlier, in ice hockey there are left-handed and right-handed sticks.
Chainsaws are all designed to be used by right handers. Lefties need to swap their dominant hand. Not sure if this impacts the timber industry, I’m a righty and I can’t imagine using a chainsaw with my hands reversed.
Also handball, though in handball the positions are reversed to those in soccer: the ideal right winger is a leftie and vice versa. It makes sense for handball because the throwing hand covers much more of the open goal this way.
Based on the teacher evaluations I used to get, left handed profs (not to be confused with lefty profs) would avoid getting the complaint I got that I was blocking the board while I was writing. I knew enough to stand aside once I finished writing, but c’mon, I can’t make myself invisible while writing. Perhaps it’s the other way around in Hebrew-based classes and such.
The Queen Elisabeth Competition was dedicated to the cello this year, and I ended up watching the players’s right hand as much as their left hand. Bow control (right hand) is a skill that is both essential and incredibly complex. It’s a very unnatural movement when you think of it, but one that is not spectacular so it perhaps look deceptively easy.
That was my take on this subject as well (it’s been discussed before on the board). I suspect that although the work of the right hand isn’t as flashy and obvious as the work of the left hand when playing stringed instruments, it probably requires more fine motor control. The answer to “why do string players use their off-hand for the intricate work?” is that they don’t, it’s just that the work of the right hand slides under the radar a bit.
As to tennis, there have been a few very successful lefties. Rafa Nadal and John McEnroe for two. I seem to remember hearing that the reverse spin makes it more difficult or just different for the other players to return shot. Similar to the punters and lefty QB mentioned above.
An aside, Lefty, aka Phil Michelson, is a natural righty, but he learned golf by facing and mirroring his dad. I’ve always thought that was a neat fact.
The right hand needs to master several parameters simultaneously such as pressure, speed, direction, with an overall movement that is very unnatural (how often do you do something that requires raising your elbow sideways then slowly unfolding your arm ?) whereas the left hand just has to be at the right place at the right time, to caricature a bit.
), some years ago I read an article which commented that there were more Canadian left-handed golfers on the pro circuits than American lefties, per capita.