There’s no question that our world is overwhelmingly geared toward right-handed people. Whether it’s the shape of school desks, right-handed shaped scissors, or right-handed baseball mitts in gym class, lefties can have it a bit rough. Making up only 10% of the world’s population, this unique group of right-brained folks has a lot to offer. That’s why August 13 has been dubbed “International Left-Handers Day!” Also, a Left-Handers Club that began in 1990 hosts numerous events dedicated to lefties such as left vs. right sports matches and a left-handed tea party, and encourages all sorts of objects geared toward lefties.
What Causes Left-Handedness?
Researches have not come to any definitive conclusions just yet as to why some people are born with an innate preference for their left hand over their right. There is some indication that there are different brain capabilities between lefties and righties. Lefties tend to have higher odds of dealing with dyslexia or speech impediments due to the differing brain structures. However this same brain structure discrepancy allows lefties to be more adept at processing language, spatial relations, and emotions.
Righties vs. Lefties
While all people can have different strengths and abilities, the odds of righties or lefties having stronger traits thanks to their brain structure is well documented. Right-handed, or left-brained, people tend to be strong when it comes to logic, analysis, computation, remembering song lyrics, thinking in words, facts, language, math, and sequencing.
Left-handed, or right-brained, people tend to have stronger abilities in creativity, daydreaming, visualization, non-verbal expression, arts, rhythm, intuition, imagination, and expressing feelings. This list may make it seem that lefties are more creative than their right-handed counterparts but this is not actually the case. They simply approach creativity in a different and unique way.
Famous Lefties from the Past and Present
Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton were all left-handed. President Barack Obama is left-handed. Well-known inventors Benjamin Franklin and Henry Ford were also known lefties. Artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, da Vinci, and Renoir were all left-handed as well. What’s even more interesting is that famed geniuses Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla were ambidextrous, meaning they were adept at using either hand. This is notable because they must’ve had strength in both halves of their brain, explaining their ability to innovate in a way that others couldn’t.
Today there are numerous well-known celebrities who are left-handed, such as Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogan, Keanu Reeves, Oprah Winfrey, Mark Wahlberg, Hugh Jackman, and Prince William. It’s not surprising, given a right-brained person’s tendency toward creativity, arts, and rhythm, that there would be a significant number of actors in this group.
So why not take some time tomorrow to celebrate the left-handed people in your life? Lefties offer a unique perspective in the world that shouldn’t be overlooked even if they are tripped up by binders and spiral notebooks.
