The Myths and Facts About Left-Handed People

Being a lefty can be pretty rough sometimes in a world that is predominantly populated with people who exhibits right-handedness. I know because I am a lefty. In fact, for every 100 people in the population there are about 10 left-handed people. But that number can vary from a low of 0.7% (roughly 1 out every 100 people) in the Japanese population to a high of 13% (13 out of 100 people) in the Canadian population. I and many other lefties face minor and major challenges every day in our lives because practically everything that is made with a handiness characteristic are made for right-handed people. For starters, the keyboard I used to type this hub page is made for a right-handed person. For example, the numeric keypad is on the right side of the keyboard. When I use the keypad, I have to refrain myself from using my left hand to let my right hand do the key presses on the numeric keypad. The point is we can do everything a right-handed person can do with these right-handed equipments but sometimes it can be a little challenging and awkward. I can go on and on with this, but in this hub I will concentrate on the myths and facts about left-handedness.

Obviously, left-handedness has been around since the existence of primates and so have the myths. When we take a look at the history of left-handed people, unfortunately we come up with a lot of undesirable myths about them. Lefties were often perceived as being evil, sinister and in many cases treated in terrible ways because people simply did not understand why some people were right-handed or left-handed. Children were often spanked, chastised, and in some cases their left hand was tied behind their back to make them write with the correct hand.

For centuries, some cultures often associated left-handedness with evil and sinister beings, especially the Devil. The Devil was often portrayed as being left handed in many images. It is also believed that we see ghosts over our left shoulder and that the Devil watches us over our left shoulder. This belief is often dramatized in cartoons where the figure of the Devil is on the left shoulder and the Angel is on the right shoulder when someone is confronted to make a decision between good and evil. This is also the superstitious reason why some people throw spilled salt over their left shoulder to ward off evil spirits.

There are some myths that say good and positive things about lefties. Such as, the wedding ring on the third finger of the left hand is associated to left-handedness because around 300 BC many doctors believed that a nerve from the heart ended in this finger. Furthermore, the Romans and Greeks wore their wedding ring on the left hand to fend off evil associated with the left hand. The ancient Zuni tribe considered left-handedness as a sign of good luck and they believed the left was the older and wiser.

Most left-handers are male and among identical twins, most likely one of them is a lefty, but not always. Left-handed people are generally high achievers because their brains are wired to widen their abilities. It is the right hemisphere of the brain that controls the left side of our body and this is the side that controls Music, Art, creativity, perception, emotions, and genius. According to research most left-handers are intelligent and have higher IQ scores compared to right-handers. That is probably why a higher percentage of left-handers are found in such jobs and professions as music and arts, and the media. They have a higher level of creativity. Many left-handers generally end up in architectural fields because of their higher level of spatial perception.

However, there are some negative facts about being left-hander also. For instance, most sufferers of dyslexia and speech deformation are usually left-handers. Finally, one of the most interesting thing about left-handedness, every living organism on Earth uses the left-handed amino acid instead of the right-handed counterpart to survive. Furthermore, the organic chemicals in all living organisms rotate polarized light to the left. No organism can use organic chemicals that rotate polarized light to the right.

There are many famous people who are left-handed. Some will surprise you.

• Bill Gates - Founder of Microsoft and multibillionaire
• Lt. Commander Data - Star Trek android character
• Shigeru Miyamoto - Game creator for Nintendo
• Benjamin Franklin - Statesman, publisher, scientist
• Nelson Rockerfeller - Vice President
• Steve Forbes - Businessman, publisher
• Julius Caesar - Roman general
• Helen Keller - advocate for the blind
• Bart Simpson - cartoon character
• Jimi Hendrix - Musician
• Isaac Hayes - Musician
• Michelangelo - Artist
• Tom Cruise - Actor
• Whoopie Goldberg - Actor (The View, Star Trek -Next Generation)
• Keanu Reeves - Actor (The Matrix Trilogy)
• OprahWinfrey - Actor, Talk Show Hostess
• Bill Clinton - 42nd President
• Gerald Ford - 38th President
• Ronald Reagen - 40th President
• Barack Obama 44th President

The list goes on and on...

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