Left Handedness

For a Right Hander*, I have what might be an unhealthy obsession with Handedness. The first thing I often notice about people is which wrist sports a watch, or which hand picks up the pen. For whatever reason, I feel like I have a better window into an individual’s personality once I know which hand they prefer.

I guess what I’m really trying to say here is… Ambidextrous people make me uncomfortable. seriously. Pick a side people.

Is this a normal thing? do other people do this?

*Hander? Is that a word?

22 thoughts on “Left Handedness

  • 3/30/2006 at 10:51 am
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    Ha!

    Prepared to be even more uncomfortable!

    I’m a right hander in just about everything (except basketball, where I’m a lefty).

    But I’m a left-footer in all kick and slide related activities.

    My left eye is also my dominant eye.

    Maybe that doesn’t make me ambidextrous. Maybe it just means I’m weird.

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  • 3/30/2006 at 1:10 pm
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    I’m a left handed person who happens to be your sister. Handedness is extremely salient in my life. You may be familiar with the disadvantages of being left-handed in today’s society: scissors, can openers, gravy spoons, the coin deposits to ride the T, scantron tests… but there are also some advantages: mainly: TOLL BOOTHS.

    I did a research project last year on handedness. Some popular knowledge suggests that left handed people die earlier, and that we’re more “whole brained”. The only neurological difference I found that is reliable is we tend to have smaller ventricles, which are basically the empty spaces in your head.

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  • 3/30/2006 at 2:16 pm
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    I use my right hand for small detail work, but my left hand for heavy lifting. I can write left handed, but it looks like a 3rd grader wrote it. I guess I’m not exactly ambidextrous, but I’m probably close enough to make you nervous.

    Do you ever take note of which way people fold their arms? hands? legs? My right arm goes on top, my left thumb goes on top, and my left leg goes on top.

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  • 3/30/2006 at 2:20 pm
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    When I eat fried chicken I use my right hand, but when I eat hamburgers I use my left hand. Wierd!

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  • 3/30/2006 at 2:49 pm
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    you eat hamburgers with your left hand because your right hand is holding the fried chicken.

    you disgust me.

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  • 3/30/2006 at 3:38 pm
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    so. At least I have tasty tasty food, and you got nothing. NOTHING!!!!

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  • 3/30/2006 at 6:52 pm
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    I’m right-handed but I confuse the hell out of people (apparently) by wearing my watch on the right wrist. To me, it’s always seemed the natural side if I was right handed, but people seem to disagree.

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  • 3/30/2006 at 10:35 pm
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    Funny, I refuse to pick a side. It is actually a goal of mine to learn or at least enhance my left hand writing abilities this summer. I’ve noticed I have very confused brain when it comes to which side is dominant for me. I kick lefty, bat lefty in baseball, eat lefty, and use the mouse for my laptop with my left hand. On the other hand (no pun intended. ha ha.) I play golf righty, throw righty, play hockey righty, write righty, and play the drums as a right hander would. So no mikeD, I will NOT pick a side. Instead I well remain extremely confused just to perplex observant people such as you. And if you’re really up for a challenge, I challenge you to complete a blog using only your left thumb to space and see how much more time it takes than simply using your right thumb would.

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  • 3/31/2006 at 8:37 am
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    Weird. I only use the right hand thumb.

    More strange is perhaps that I only use the Right handed SHIFT key. That means if I have to type a capital U, it’s a stretch every time.

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  • 3/31/2006 at 8:39 am
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    my appendiges follow yours for all folding! is this true for all right handers?

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  • 3/31/2006 at 8:40 am
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    The Kung Fu folks mentioned that many well trained individuals feel more confortable using their less dominant leg for precision kicks because the muscles developed specifically for kicking, as opposed to the right leg which had bonus muscle before training. This makes the right leg pretty great to use as a battering ram roundhouse maCHINE.

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  • 3/31/2006 at 8:42 am
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    smaller ventricles? Strange! I would never have thought that there’s a common neurogical difference between your kind!

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  • 3/31/2006 at 9:16 am
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    I follow all stated folding conventions with the exception of legs: I am an ambi-folder. Also, when wearing a messenger bag, I wear it on my right shoulder, which is VERY uncommon for right-handed folk.

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  • 3/31/2006 at 10:09 am
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    But it’s so much more convenient to switch shift keys as appropriate! I couldn’t live using only one shift key. If they took one away, I might cry!

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  • 3/31/2006 at 10:19 am
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    I would be surprised if he WASN”T double fisting food.

    That’s just how he rolls.

    Because he’s too FAT TO WALK!

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  • 3/31/2006 at 10:23 am
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    no, my left arm goes on top, right thumb on top, and I usually cross my right leg over my left, though I am right handed

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  • 3/31/2006 at 10:59 am
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    I am left handed and never use my either thumb to press the space key, I just press the index finger of whichever is closer at the time. Having said that I have noticed that whilst typing this I have touched the space key with my left thumb a few times.
    I also only use the left shift key!

    As for leg crossing, it is my left leg on top, my left arm on top when folding arms and left thumb on top when crossing hands.

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  • 3/31/2006 at 5:00 pm
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    Mike,
    I’m surprised you don’t train yourself to do more things with both hands. It just seems very like you to take on such a trivial yet difficult task. I can’t make fun though, since I dedicate some minutes of nearly every day to exactly that end.

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  • 4/9/2006 at 9:16 am
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    I’m basically righty, but lefty for golf and cricket bat (grew up in UK) – throw righty. I do archery (pastime, not real seriously) and draw the bow righty, but was told I had left eye dominance -archery instructors test for it – and should switch. I tried but it was too awkward! But an instructor said he was like me, forced himself to switch, and shot better. I haven’t the patience – also, would need to switch my beloved old Bearcat bow –$$$ . . ..

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  • 4/9/2006 at 12:18 pm
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    My grandpa is right-handed, but his dad (my great grandpa) taught him to swing a baseball bat left-handed, because he figured that being 18″ closer to first base could be the difference between being safe and out.

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  • 4/25/2006 at 5:13 pm
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    I use which ever hand I first pick something up with. I kick right footed write left handed, use a right handed mouse on one of my computers and a left handed mouse on the other. Play tennis with right or left and the same with ping pong, Golf right handed, but putt left handed. Eat left handed but drink right handed. Can change hands if something is easier with the other hand.

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