General Chat

My brother is about 80% left handed (eats right handed and used to play tennis with BOTH, which was quite disconcerting), and please let me assure you that he's about as far removed from genuis as you can get. He's also a twin

Hi Norah, My grandmother was left handed. My eldest son and I are also left handed except, he eats with his right hand. A result of an ignorant mother in-law taking the spoon out of his left hand and putting it in his right hand. Babies have a tendency to pick things up with their left hand. In my opinion we are born left handed but taught to use the wrong hand. Some very famous people were left handed.. I think that I will side with your husband. Lindy :-) Stirring The Pot

This is a very interesting thread! I always say that I'm right-handed, in that I write and use scissors with my right hand, but anything else I can do with either hand. I shuffle cards left-handed, but that's because I sat opposite my dad, as a child, as he was teaching me how to do it. I pour tea left-handed and hold my mug of tea or my glass of beer in my left hand. One of my hobbies is painting and drawing, and I can do that with either hand - much to the amusement of onlookers! I get very absorbed with what I'm doing and end up working with either a pencil or paintbrush in each hand! Very useful when working with two different colours - saves having to keep putting them down and picking them up again. Many years ago, I did a Ceramics course which involved throwing pots on a wheel. I didn't realise until it was pointed out to me that I automatically did it left-handed. I have no idea why! So I suppose I'm a bit ambidextrous..........

In our house when I was a chld we were all left handed except my mum. Used to wind her up when we laid the table as the spoons all went the wrong way. My father's side of the family seem to mostly be left handed and some were forced at school to write with their right hands. It affect my Aunt's speech very badly andshe had a stammer throughout life.She had nice writing though. I find scissors and tin openers difficult( but managed to get some left handed ones in the left handed shop.)Some things like using a spoon and fork in a chinese restaurant is also hard. And can't use the video camera properly as all the controlls are on the wrong side. still youget used to it. I changed the mouse controls over so left click does what right click should ... drove everyone mad... KIM

I'm a lefty!! Always struggled with scissors at school and smudged anything written in ink! Also, everyone used to think I would be terrific at rounders just because I was left-handed! I wasn't !! I was rubbish. Driving must surely be easier if your left-handed. I found it really easy! Am grateful that now there are left handed scissors, can-openers etc for lefties, also have a left handers cheque-book, so I can write on the stubs easier!! Steph

Well, have just had a rough count and including relatives that have been mentioned, there are 38 left handed genius's 29 common old right-handers AND 16 AMBIDEXTRIANS ??? Astounding isn't it, that we have so many genius's and double-genius's amongst us. Norah in Hampshire...........a common old right-hander. LOL

I have a book called "Lefthander". Part of my list of recommended reading when I was a counsellor. Speaking from memory, the percentage of left-handers is 13.6 (or was when the author researched). Obviously it is a variable depending on how well the two lots are breeding. It was once thought that lefthanders were sharper than the rest but it now seems that the interchange between the two halves of their brain is faster, because of more massive connections, which makes them only seem more intelligent. Quite a lot of damage is done in making left-handed children into right-handers. Norah - another theory you might expound to your husband (not from the book "Lefthander" but from "The Neanderthal Question") is that left-handers are a throwback to the Neanderthals when they were by-passed, knocked on the head or absorbed by inter-breeding with the more advanced Cro-Magnons about a quarter of a million years ago. Apparently, there is some evidence that Neanderthals were left-handers whereas C-Ms were mainly right. Neanderthals had larger brains (though less efficienT) at about 1700cc to the C-Ms 1600cc. Personally, I am right-handed. Len Ps. Go to a decent book-seller and get a book on the subject

There is a fantastic shop in London called Anything Left Handed. They also have a website. They sell the most amazing things for us lefties, even a clock that goes anti clockwise! Take a look, you'll be surprised at the things they sell! Sue

just saw this thread and laughed....my eight year old daughter natalia is pure genius, and left handed with everything.where as me,my hubby,and two little boyz are all rgt handed....but we have common sense!!!no offense intended but every left handed brain box i know lacks there.haha.xxcherie.

Beat this! I'm a lefty, married to a lefty and both kids are lefties........and the mouse is on the right?????? Saw this test on 'leftness' Left handed?......which hand do you write with Left footed?.......try kicking a ball Left eyed?.......imagine you're using a telescope Left eared?....neighbours are having a barney, which ear do you put to the wall Test said there were degrees of 'leftness' and only very few are 'true lefties' Personally, I'm right eared and eyed!!!

Further to other replies and not wishing to upset anyone, when I worked in a comprehensive school with special needs kids, (for 3 years), almost all the dyslexic kids were left-handed. They had to work harder but this doesn't mean they couldn't achieve because they did. One boy, with real difficulties, got 3 A's at 'A' Level and I was so proud of him!

I am one of 5 and we are all left-handed. Our father is too but not Mum. We are all very musical, and sing, play instruments and Dad too, but Mum is tone-deaf. I reckon the creative left-handedness has made us musical.

I'm left handed to write but ambidextrous to type. :O) I'm a piano teacher so am pretty musical! My dad is left handed too.

John How do you teach a piano?............Sorry..LOL

Norah, That's easy! If the piano is is old and out of tune, I'll tell him/her (not it) to pull him/herself together in a really condescending way. If he/she is a lovely new piano, with a beautiful voice, I'll encourage him/her to project their tone more. House training pianos is much easier than puppies. By the way you can't teach an old piano new pieces (tricks?). Hope that's a comprehensive answer for you. ;-)

Yes John - I like that. Piano's are something more than just wood and ivory aren't they.

Don't want to upset the apple cart lol, but I've watched a programme and there isn't such a thing as ambidestrous. You may be good at using both hands BUT you are either left or right handed. All to do with the brain! It talked about actually not encouraging children to use both hands. The brain needs to form pathways and connections.

So Jay, does that mean that all our ambidextrous friends out there (and there are a lot of them) have got their pathways crossed....Hmm....that explains a lot of the craziness on these boards doesn't it. So............does that mean that as an old 'common right-hander' I might be one of the saner ones? Norah in Hampshire....rofalol!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Bill in Oz Might be bumping into you next year - coming over for a visit!!! However, back to the nitty-gritty. I'm one of the 95% who is right-footed, meaning that when I give Tom a kick, it's with the right foot; however how do I find out if I'm left or right-eyed?????? My one peculiar form of ambidextrousness??? is that when trying new shoes on (oh I do lovvvvvvvve shoes) I always try the left one on first!!! Norah in Hampshire

Dyslexic kids are unfortunate in that in the past so many teachers did not and would not recognise the condition. My family is riddled with school teachers and I have to say that some of them are not the brightest. In some respects dyslexics are exceedingly gifted, particularly with abstract concepts. I know several who have graduated. Len