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[nomad soul]

Is being left-handed a health risk?
By Patt Morrison, 89.3KPCC | Dec. 15, 2011
(Source: http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2011/12/15/21784/is-being-left-handed-a-health-risk)

New research on �handedness,� or the dominance of one hand over the other, shows the following breakdown: 89% of the population is right-handed, 10% of the population is left-handed, and 1% qualifies as mixed-handed (using different hands for different tasks without a dominant side). And it�s not always about the genes.

Twins, for instance, can demonstrate differences in handedness. Researchers in Denmark and Sweden have uncovered evidence that links left-handedness to environmental factors in the womb, particularly stress. Interestingly, being left-handed does not always correlate to right-brain dominance, as previously thought. 70% of lefties are still left-brain dominant, while 30% are either right-brain dominant or show a �distributed pattern� of brain use. Even more interestingly, researchers admit that it�s hard to collect data on the left-handed because differences in brain wiring makes it difficult for them to participate in neuroimaging studies.

So what�s the evidence that being left-handed could be a health risk? Several studies have shown psychiatric and developmental disorders such as ADHD and schizophrenia to be more common amongst the left-handed. For example, despite the small number of lefties in the general population, 20% of schizophrenics are left-handed.

Questions:
Do statistics like these cause you to think of being left-handed as an actual health risk? Would you want to know ahead of time if your child was going to be right- or left-handed? If you�re left-handed, please share your stories of surviving in a world prejudiced toward the right hand.

(End of article)

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I'm not sure I agree with the article. However, I do find it interesting that the US has had quite an unusual number of lefties as President including:

James A. Garfield (1881) 20th
Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) 31st
Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) 33rd
Gerald Ford (1974-1977) 38th
Ronald Reagan (1981 -1989) 40th --- wrote right-handed but was possibly ambidextrous
George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) 41st
Bill Clinton (1993-2001) 42nd --- Independent and later Reform party opponent Ross Perot (remember him?) is left-handed as is GOP Bob Dole, who became left-handed after severely injuring his right hand during the Civil War. (Oops! Make that WWII!)
Barack Obama (2009 - present) 44th --- Coincidently, his 2008 GOP opponent, John McCain, is also a lefty.

BTW, I write and eat with my right hand but consistently use my left hand for opening jars or other physical actions that require strength.
nomad soul

[johnslat]

Dear nomad soul,

As a southpaw, I say pshaw. Being left-handed is not sinister; we are as dexterous as (if nor more so than) righties.

"Possibly some of the most famous left handed people come from the world of sport. Greats like: Babe Ruth; Larry Bird; Pele; Sir Bobby Charlton; Ferenc Puskas; Sir Garfield Sobers; Dennis Compton; Arnold Palmer; Rod Laver; Mark Spitz and �marvellous� Marvin Hagler were/are all proud �lefties�. To be added to this dazzling list are more famous left handed people from more recent times, such as: John McEnroe; Jimmy Connors; Ivan Lendl; Martina Navratilova; Diego Maradona; Marco Van Basten; Jimmy White; Brian Lara and Alan Border.

There are countless numbers of famous left handed people in the world of show business, with legends like: Cary Grant; WC Fields; Steve McQueen; Peter Ustinov; Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire, plus present day actors such as Robert Redford; Tom Cruise; Robert De Niro; Sylvester Stalone; Bruce Willis and Jim Carrey, all favouring the left hand. Not to leave the ladies out, famous actresses include many of the greats: Judy Garland; Greta Garbo; Betty Grable; Marilyn Monroe, they were all �lefties�, as are current screen stars like: Julia Roberts; Angelina Jolie; Nicole Kidman; Emma Thompson and Demi Moore.

From the music industry, famous left handed people are well represented in the shape of: Bob Dylan; Jimmi Hendrix; Sir Paul McCartney; Sting; David Bowie; Phil Collins; George Michael; Marshall Mathers - Eminem; Annie Lennox; Celine Dion; Mark Knopfler; Paul Simon and Ringo Starr.

Some more famous left handed people from miscellaneous backgrounds include: Mr Micosoft himself - Bill Gates; J Edgar Hoover - the former Director of the FBI; Mark Twain, HG Wells and Lewis Carroll from the world of literature; and Prince�s Charles and William. First man on the moon: Neil Armstrong and his co-astronaut: Buzz Aldrin; fashion designer: Jean-Paul Gaultier and The Simpsons cartoon creator: Matt Groening are all left handed, as are/were American Presidents: JF Kennedy; Gerald Ford; Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

Just to show that not all famous left handed people are, or were known for the all the right reasons, there have been a few bad apples in the shape of Billy the Kid; Jack the Ripper and The Boston Strangler.

Finally some of the most famous left handed people from yesteryear, are without doubt some of the greatest and influential individuals who have ever lived. The likes of Horatio Nelson; Leonardo Da Vinci; Michelangelo; Pablo Picasso; Julius Caesar; Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart; Ludwig Van Beethoven; Winston Churchill; Napoleon Bonaparte - and Josephine; Queen Victoria; Alexander the Great; Joan of Arc; Marie Curie and last but certainly not least, Albert Einstein. They all had one predominant feature in common with each other - they were all left handed! It is worth noting that Einstein learned to speak late, had problems in almost every subject in school and was frequently labelled as being backwards! So there is certainly no need for any left-hander to have an inferiority complex!"

http://www.left-at-the-start.com/famous.html

Regards,

Lefty John

[nomad soul]

"Lefty John," when you were teaching in the Mid East, did you experience any negative reactions to your left-handedness from the natives?

[Phil_K]

As a southpaw, the only problem I've ever encountered was the science teacher who insisted we used ink-pens. My book was full of smudges!

I'm kinda proud to be a minority in the world; I always knew I was different from the crowd!

[johnslat]

Dear nomad soul,

Nope - as long as I sat on my left hand at goat grabs . (A smile, but I really used to do that.)

Regards,
John

[Mikalina]

45 years ago, in England, you would be wrapped across the knuckles with a ruler if you wrote with your left hand - so, yeah, it has been known to be detrimental to health......

Habits are hard to break so you would have to sit on your hand, Johnslat. In our teacher training, we were taught to walk around with our hands firmly locked behind our backs - so that we didn't clout the little horrors when all else failed....

[nomad soul]

Years ago while on vacation in Egypt, I took a drop-in, group percussion lesson. As soon as I positioned the drum on my right side, I was immediately "corrected" by the instructor. (I'm right-handed but play percussion instruments like a lefty.) Anyway, after a bit of arguing, the instructor gave in and let me play it my way. He later complimented me on my technique but said that I should work on "my problem" of playing left-handed.

[nomad soul]

Lefties don't fare so well globally. The following shows names left-handers are called or words believed to mean left-handed: http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/lefty_language.html.