Top 6 Myths about Left-Handedness Debunked!
Until today, scientists are still clueless about the cause of handedness and why only one out of ten people (approximately 8-15 per cent of the population) is left-handed. If you’re like most people, maybe you have been interested knowing whether handedness has something to do with intelligence or any other skill or ability of a person. There are many myths surrounding the concept of ‘left-handedness’. It’s time that we uncover the facts behind these false claims.
Left-handers are more introverted, creative and intelligent.
Are people who prefer to use their left hands more likely to become artists? You might ask. There’s a growing body of literature and anecdotal evidence that links left-handedness with creativity and intelligence. But according to psychologist Chris McManus, there’s a very little scientific literature that supports this claim. Studies on handedness and intelligence show no direct link between being a leftie and having high IQ. There was a study however that shows left-handers exceed right-handers by one point in IQ, which according to the authors, is insignificant in their findings.
As to introversion, handedness is not an issue, experts suggest. However, research shows that people with ‘mixed’ handedness, or those who have weaker preference to either hand, are more likely to be introverted.
‘Lefties’ have generally a shorter lifespan.
A controversial study published in 1988 which analysed the death records of baseball players, revealed that left-handers die younger than the right-handers. But Dr McManus argued that most left-handers were born later in the 20 century, a fact that makes the study findings not really accurate in the modern times. In a more recent study (published in 1994), researchers conclude that left-handedness is not, in general, associated with early death.
There’s also a claim that the lefties are more vulnerable to autoimmune diseases. But that’s not true, according to Dr McManus. Together with his colleague, Phil Bryden, he reviewed data from 89 studies involving over 21,000 patients and found no relationship between autoimmunity and left-handedness.
Left-handers are more prone to persecution.
Records show that left-handers have a higher accident rate than the right-handers. But blaming it to their personality or intelligence isn’t really right, not even logical. In most instances, high persecution rates were due to the fact that the world was so-designed for the left-handers. Well, there are many tools that were not ideal for the lefties (like most car models). But a 2013 study found no evidence that left-handers are a stigmatised minority in the young western population. As mentioned, many people look at them as being ‘intelligent’ and ‘creative’ although there was no established basis for these.
Lefties are no better in sports.
Many people think that left-handers are generally not good at sports. But actually, they are disadvantaged in some sports only because of the rules. For instance, in the sports polo, game rules state that the mallet must be held on the right-hand side, regardless of your hand preference. But in other sports such as boxing, wherein left-handers have full control of their hand preference, they actually shine. Psychologists call it the ‘fighting hypothesis’ which states that left-handers are used to fighting right-handed opponents, just as the right-handers are used to facing left-handers.
Left-handers won’t ever get used to using their right hand.
Just as we gain more wisdom and experience as we get older, we also become more used to using both right and left hands in manual tasks, revealed a 2007 study. Here, researchers found that the older right-handed participants (average age of 50) performed just as well in either hand when tested in manual tasks such as line tracing, aiming, and tapping. On the other hand, the younger right-handed participants (average age of 25) performed well in the tasks using their right hand and performed poorly using their left hands.
Left-handers are more prone to language problems.
In most people, language function is normally located in their left hemispheres. This is why a stroke occurring in the left region of the brain normally leads to language problems. When it comes to handedness however, research shows that the 95 per cent of right-handers have left-sided dominance for language as compared to 70 per cent of left-handers. This means that the lefties are less likely to develop language problems than the right-handers.
With all these myths exposed, you should have a more open mind about the lefties this time if you are a right-hander. And if you are a leftie who thinks your hand preference makes you feel deprived, this article simply reminds you there are many things you have to thank your left hand for!
©Copyright 2013 by http://www.NaturalTherapyForAll.com Acupuncture Nottingham - All Rights Reserved.