I am generally considered to be an intelligent, articulate, and creative person. I did extremely well in school. But I still can’t tell right from left without thinking, “O.K., this is my right hand,” and then actually pointing that hand toward the right. Apparently, I’m not alone, because at least nine other people in this thread have the same problem.
When I’ve been criticized or laughed at by friends and co-workers (“come on, you’re just being lazy;” “what do you mean, you can’t tell your right from your left? Everybody can do that”), I’ve always responded that it’s something in the brain, probably related to dyslexia (which I don’t have, at least not in any other form). But the truth is that that’s just a WAG.
I’ve searched the net, the SD archives, and the SDMB archives for the answer without success (although I did learn a lot about the meaning of “right” and “left” in a political context.)
So what’s the Straight Dope? Does anyone know why I and my fellow sufferers can’t seem to process this simple piece of information?
Mrs Dr H has the same problem, although she is undoubtedly tremendously intelligent (compared to me, at least). Classic line: “Is that the right hand side of the fridge for me looking in, or as if I were the fridge looking out?”
Her suspicion (and mine) is that she is actually ambidextrous but was coached to be right-handed by school teachers as a child (despite having a sinister parent). Her handwriting is dreadful (she’s a doctor Dr), but it’s no worse with her left hand than her right.
It worries me a little bit that she makes the decisions about which kidney to take out, though …
I don’t think Mrs Dr H has a problem. Everyone who learns to read radiographs has to get used to imagining themselves on the other side of the film (inside the light box looking out through the film) so that one can refer to structures on the left (e.g., the heart) as being on the left, even though they are on the right as you face the radiograph. This can lead to confusion in some other settings.
As for left-right confusion, I found a number of papers about it but I couldn’t find any explanation except when it occurs along with agraphia, acalculia, and finger agnosia. Then it is called Gerstmann’s Syndrome and is associated with lesions of the dominant angular gyrus.
As I said, I found several articles, but you will probably like this one best:
Storfer MD. Problems in left-right discrimination in a high-IQ population. Percept Mot Skills 1995 Oct;81(2):491-7
Storfer studied 2,720 adult members of Mensa and Intertel and found that 7.2% of the men and 18.8% of the women evaluated their left-right directional sense as poor or below average. Relatively ambidextrous subjects reported problems more often did those who were more strongly left- or right-handed.
Some other papers:
Hannay HJ, Ciaccia PJ, Kerr JW, Barrett D. Self-report of right-left confusion in college men and women. Percept Mot Skills. 1990 Apr;70(2):451-7.
Harris LJ, Gitterman SR. University professors’ self-descriptions of left-right confusability: sex and
handedness differences. Percept Mot Skills. 1978 Dec;47(3 Pt 1):819-23.
Yeah– Interesting bit of data about the gender difference in Storfer’s study. I started a thread about this but it sank like a stone. I had heard that women are more likely to mix up left and right, while men are more likely to mix up east and west. The idea relates to possible gender differences in how the sense of direction is manifested in the brain.
So I ain’t the only one. Well I figured it out when I read that thread, but it makes me feel much better. I do have to say “Okay, which hand do I write with? Right- good…this is the right side” every time I tell the two apart. And yeah, I too am bright, creative, and generally adorable- so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not being able to tell right and left apart right away. We get there eventually, right? Also I don’t think I have dyselxia either…but I’m sure this problem is more common. Just that people are embarassed about admitting to it…
Thanks, Yeah. At least I know I’m not alone. But I still want to know why this happens. I’m fairly certain that I was never a lefty – I’m very strongly right-handed.
malden - I don’t know why the search engine didn’t bring up your thread. I find it interesting because I’ve always been told that men have a much easier time with NSEW designations, while woman prefer to have directions given using landmarks (“turn left at the Burger King”). NSEW directions mean absolutely nothing to me. I don’t mix them up, I just don’t understand them at all (unless I happen to be standing on the edge of an ocean). If you really want me to get where I’m going, you have to use landmarks and then point me toward them. (“Go three blocks to the Burger King, then turn toward the Burger King. You’ll see a store with a red sign, turn that way…”)
I still remember the day my former boss asked me how to get to the bank when we were inside the office. I said, “You go down the street and turn that way,” and pointed. He said, “If I go that way, I’ll be in the middle of the Bay.”
Unless the testers were b.s. me, I have a damn high I.Q.
I’m a leftie, but only for writing and playing guitar. It’s impossible for me to use a pair of scissors or a can opener with my left hand. And those school chairs made for left-handed persons, I cannot use 'em either.
And I always have to think before telling where iit’s left and where it’s right.
Ooh! Ooh! Here’s another one as well! Thanks for starting this thread, SV!
Had this problem all my life. I’m right handed, but everyone on my mother’s side is left-handed, as was my paternal grandmother and her sister. Apparently, my left eye is dominant and I use my left hand for a lot of things such as eating and sewing. If it’s not urgent, I can remember which is which after a second or so, but if I’m driving and someone says “Go left here!” then I’m screwed. (Um, I’m female and my IQ is pretty decent as well; too bad it’s not that evident in my posting style. sigh)
I’m looking up agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia and Gerstmann’s Syndrome on various search engines right now, and am learning things that were past due for me to learn. As much as I enjoy this message board, this is one of those times I wanna hug it and squeeze it and pat it on the head and call it “George”…
Sorry, not much to contribute to the OP, just wanted to thank those who already did.
Beth
It’s not an accepted scientific classification, but apparently “dyslexia”, taken as a generic term, may include agraphia, acalculia, etc. in various combinations or alone. People have different prevalences in their arms, eyes and legs. Some people can find any place very fast, whether driving or walking. Some are “spacial idiots”…
Though a righty in all other things (and hopeless with my left hand), I decided when I learned to play guitar that “left-handed” would be easier. And it has been, for me at least.
My evidence is only anecdotal but I do have a lot of it – always, always getting directions.
I’ve always thought there is a marked difference between the sexes, women are good at a whole range of things but left and right isn’t one of them. No idea why, I’ve just assumed it’s some genetic hunter-gatherer thing although, strangely, I still automatically check which is which by half-forming a boy scout salute in my hand (that must have been the way it first became ingrained in my head, I suppose). Last time I sang Ging Gang Gooly (spelling ?) was about 30 years ago.
This is exactly right (correct). At least in my case it is.
I had a small dot on my left palm from a beesting that I got when I was about 5 years old. I used to glance at the dot to determine left from right. This habit continued long after the dot had faded away. I even used to do it while driving at night, when I couldn’t have seen the dot anyway. The most interesting thing is that I didn’t ever look at BOTH hands. I only looked at my left hand. Obviously, some part of my brain knew which was which, because I knew which hand to look at. It’s just that the information didn’t get fully processed.
By the time I got to college, I broke myself of the habit. However, I still often hesitate before I make the determination between right and left.
I have the same problem with East and West…I KNOW where E and W are, but when listening to the radio and I hear there is a crash on “The Eastbound 401 beyond the DVP…” I have to stop and think about which side of the city that is on…
It take a fraction of a fraction of a second…but still long enough to make ya feel like a dope for not knowing right away.
I have a lot of trouble as well designating my left from my right, but no trouble telling east from west. I am left handed in writing and kicking but I throw, bat, and shoot a gun with my right. I fairly well divide down the middle with most other things. I always thought that it was because when I was young I was taught to throw right handed instead of left handed. Also, when I (like most people) am shown how to do something it is from the right handed perspective. I think that it is this that causes the confusion. I used to have to right my name in the air with my left hand and then with my right to decide which was which. I couldn’t write it correctly with my right so I then knew which hand was which. I know that this really doesn’t help the OP but it is nice to share.
I can tell my right from left because the right side, umm, feels right. But I think it has to do with the way it was taught to you … and possible when.
You see, I have never mastered “Port” and “Starboard”. I always have to remind myself with this trick: “Starboard has more letters than Port; Right has more letters than Left”.
The thing is, I learned Port and Starboard when I was in my teens, while I learned Left and Right when I was very young. I’m sure there’s a connection.
It comes naturally to me, as said above, right just feels right, and left feels left. I was left-handed until I started kindergarden, and my teacher made me write right-handed, that doesn’t seem to have affected me.