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Underground > Laboratory >

Sinestro and Dextro

Sean the frumious Bandersnatch

03:26 / 23.06.05

This was brought up in a class I'm taking in neurology and human physiology- we really don't yet know what makes a person right or left-handed. Does anyone have any theories or links to share on the subject? Certainly there seems to be a social prejudice towards right-handedness, but I doubt that children realise this at whatever developmental stage dexterity is decided upon.

Personally, I think that the reasons are neurological and not sociological. It is possible-and I should remind everyone that I know next to nothing on this- that dexterity is determined around the same time that the left hemisphere is developing linguistic skills. The vast majority of lefties that I know are very good at either linguistics or computer technology and software, which require a fair amount of left-right brain coordination. It would make sense if people who are not right handed had more room for development in their left hemisphere, since the right was dealing with motor functions instead of the left side dealing with learning both advanced motor functions and linguistic comprehension.

Thoughts? Corrections? Stories about the evil prejudices against lefties?

22:49 / 30.06.05

As babies demonstrate their dexterity as soon as they are coordinated enough to reach for something, I can't see how it can be sociological. Left-handed children who are prevented from using their their left hands often develop symptoms such as a stutter. My father had his left hand tied behind his back as a child to force him to use his right- he merely developed ambidexterity,not a stutter, and never stopped using his left hand if given the choice. George 6th however stuttered badly supposedly because of this treatment. How on earth did the idea develop that it was wrong or bad to use your left hand?

01:52 / 01.07.05

from my understanding, some 80-90% of people are right-handed. that is, they express a biological choice to perform intricate manual tasks (such as writing, etc) with their right hand.

this translates in some ways to the hemisphere that dominates this 'preference' and so researchers in our centre, which uses magnetic stimulation to turn off part of the brain, will almost always take only right-handed subjects to ensure the data is consistent. i guess it is hard gettig enough lefties. dunno what they do with prospective subjects who classify themselves 'ambidextrous'. must ask one day...

given the biological preference, i don't see how culture has much of a chance to play a significant role... mebbe a few 'lefties' become 'righties', but presumably these days we are none too sinister about it and fewer of these are extant.

not sure if any of this helps...

Our Lady Has Left the Building

09:55 / 01.07.05

It's quite simple, left-people are evil and sent by the devil to turn us all gay...

Can I just ask where the historic anti-lefty prejudice comes from, at least in Western/Christian culture?

10:55 / 01.07.05

Gah! If only I had my old anthropology notes to hand as I covered this in a very interesting way and I could provide sources. As it was anthropology they tended to stress the social causation of handedness with some theories being that about 10-20% have a strong genetic bias either way and the rest of the population being swung either way by social pressure, though as I said I am unable to provide a source for this. According to wikipedia (good article btw) primates show handedness but populations aren't right hand dominant, which would possibly support this.

17:16 / 01.07.05

I hope this isn't viewed as a thread derail but I'm genuinely curious why I write the way I do.
I write using my right hand but with my whole armed curved inwardly toward my body, my hand being directly above what I am writing. People often think that I'm left handed for some reason because of this.
What's that abaht?

08:47 / 02.07.05

Though I can't explain why you write like that a lot of southpaws write like that to avoid dragging their hand over what they've just written, which leads to smudges and ink-covered hands.

Tryphena Absent

00:49 / 03.07.05

Can I just ask where the historic anti-lefty prejudice comes from, at least in Western/Christian culture?

Well presumably lefties were regarded as unusual and in a minority ad judging by the way other minorities have been treated...

I'm right handed and hold a pen with two fingers and a thumb, which is quite odd but I know it's because it felt more comfortable to do so. Presumably you just found it easier to write like that?

17:02 / 03.07.05

That would be the more sensible and obvious answer yet I didn't even consider it. Thanks.
PS writing this way doesn't help avoid inky hands you just smudge the previous line.

22:32 / 03.07.05

cistern, maybe you're a mirror-leftie?? who were your writing role models, lefties?

23:24 / 03.07.05

I was taught to write pre-school by sister who isn't a leftie and writes normally (if not messily) so I don't think it could have been that astro.
I had considered that I could have been originally left handed (as I can write pretty feasibly with it) and the inward curving of my hand somehow compensated for that.But then again probably not as I'm generally a right hander in everything else.

15:38 / 06.07.05

When I was born I had severe problems determining whether I was left or right handed. I wasn't ambidextrous, more that both my hands were my "off" hand. As I got older I tended to do most things right-handed (write, etc), however there are certain things that I do as though I were left-handed (playing pool for instance).

So what do I count as?

Sinextro? Sinestro's brother.

rising and revolving

16:21 / 08.07.05

Evil Scientist, I have a similar situation - my handedness is task dependant. I write with my right, do sleight of hand with my left, juggle pretty fairly with both, etc etc

09:07 / 13.07.05

I've kind of have the same thing. I write and draw with my left hand, but I'm definately right handed, it's stonger and more dominant. I'll cut veg with my left hand, and playing pool I'm left handed but playing tennis I'm right handed and I bat right handed. I could probably write with my right hand if practiced though and I never choose which hand to use conciously.

I always saw it as if I needed to be precise I'd use my left hand but if I needed strength I'd use my right hand.

And I'm right footed, but my left peg is useless.

13:25 / 19.07.05

i thought it was cro-mags = righties, neanderthalensis = lefties, with homo-sap the offspring of both combined, and social preference historically given to those favouring characteristics similar to the dominant/aggressive cro-mags. basic genetic affiliation to one or t'other likely also explaining one's bias toward left- or right-politics.

proof? err...

Brigade du jour

14:11 / 07.08.05

Like Sylph and Laconic, I'm kind of both. I write left-handed, and I know that it's my stronger hand generally, but I play guitar, eat crisps, hold knife and fork, play drums and do the nasty all right-handed.

In my secret heart, however, I strive in a quite control-freaky way to have equal dexterity on both sides. I'm already equally shit at football on both feet so I suppose I'm halfway there. For the purposes of this post being in the Laboratory thread I shall claim that this is actually a scientific project on my part, seeking to prove once and for all that handedness is, or at least can be ruled by nurture, and therefore science is greater than God, and therefore everything in existence can be explained and controlled.

Believe it or not, I'm only half-joking.