Handedness

[Arkady]

Out of curiosity what is the handedness of people here? Almost half of modern presidents have been lefties, compared to 10% of all people. Several recent elections involved all lefties (e.g., Clinton, Bush, Perot). There are some theories about this, including lefties having higher IQs, and being more resistant to social pressures due to living in a world set up for righties. The current election is rare in the modern era for having no lefties among the finalists. I'm not sure if that means anything politically (like this year we were drawn to low-IQ conformists), but I find it interesting.

For what it's worth, I'm a mix: left for writing and drawing, right for throwing and guitar, ambi for pretty much everything else (shooting, batting, etc.)

 

[Max R.]

Left-handed here. Handedness was my major paper when graduating college; "Bilateral Dominance". Animals have handedness too. People have dominant eyes and legs too.

Although I'm left handed, I'm right eyed and right-legged. I'm not sure of the eye thing is natural or the fact I live in a right-handed world where all cameras and many other tools are built for right-handed people.

 

[BobbyT]

Out of curiosity what is the handedness of people here? Almost half of modern presidents have been lefties, compared to 10% of all people. Several recent elections involved all lefties (e.g., Clinton, Bush, Perot). There are some theories about this, including lefties having higher IQs, and being more resistant to social pressures due to living in a world set up for righties. The current election is rare in the modern era for having no lefties among the finalists. I'm not sure if that means anything politically (like this year we were drawn to low-IQ conformists), but I find it interesting.

For what it's worth, I'm a mix: left for writing and drawing, right for throwing and guitar, ambi for pretty much everything else (shooting, batting, etc.)

Left for some stuff (golf, darts, opening jars, shovels, dealing cards), right for other (writing, brushing teeth, hammering, electric drill). Right eye and leg.

 

[Arkady]

Left for some stuff (golf, darts, opening jars, shovels, dealing cards), right for other (writing, brushing teeth, hammering, electric drill). Right eye and leg.

Interesting. I suspect most people are mixed to some extent. With your list I'm ambi for everything except writing. I used to be left eyed but had an issue that made me blind in my left eye for much of a year and even after I had it surgically fixed, I found I'd rewired to being right-eyed.

I also have a pet theory that there's one sure-fire test of handedness -- one thing requiring manual dexterity and yet almost certainly never taught to you by anyone else... something you probably taught yourself before even witnessing someone else doing it, so that no outside force influenced your choice of which hand to use: masturbation.

 

[BobbyT]

Interesting. I suspect most people are mixed to some extent. With your list I'm ambi for everything except writing. I used to be left eyed but had an issue that made me blind in my left eye for much of a year and even after I had it surgically fixed, I found I'd rewired to being right-eyed.

I also have a pet theory that there's one sure-fire test of handedness -- one thing requiring manual dexterity and yet almost certainly never taught to you by anyone else... something you probably taught yourself before even witnessing someone else doing it, so that no outside force influenced your choice of which hand to use: masturbation.

Ambi for that, but trend left. But right handed when pleasing women manually.

 

[Arkady]

Ambi for that, but trend left. But right handed when pleasing women manually.

Pure lefty for me with both.

 

[Max R.]

...I also have a pet theory that there's one sure-fire test of handedness -- one thing requiring manual dexterity and yet almost certainly never taught to you by anyone else... something you probably taught yourself before even witnessing someone else doing it, so that no outside force influenced your choice of which hand to use: masturbation.

Simply observing which hand a person eats with, writes with and does daily tasks is easier than your preference of watching which hand they masturbate with....but each to their own. If that's what floats your boat and it's legal, whom am I to judge?

There are three simple tests for handedness; a fine motor skill test such as signing one's name with each hand, a rough motor skill test such as drawing a few geometrical figures with each hand and there's a torque test for testing consciousness.

 

[Arkady]

Left-handed here. Handedness was my major paper when graduating college; "Bilateral Dominance". Animals have handedness too. People have dominant eyes and legs too.

Although I'm left handed, I'm right eyed and right-legged. I'm not sure of the eye thing is natural or the fact I live in a right-handed world where all cameras and many other tools are built for right-handed people.

It's a really interesting topic. My guess is I naturally tilt very strongly left, since most of my right or ambi skills are sports-type stuff, where my dad and coaches who taught me were all righties and enciuraged the use of that hand.

The way it travels in families is interesting, too. My mom's family has six kids who were all righties. But then they had fifteen kids, ten of whom are lefties. The genetics of that seem improbable, so presumably some of my mom's generation were lefties who got switched back when society was hostile to lefties. Also, there's some research that stress during pregnancy increases the chance of left-handedness.

My daughter was very strongly right handed so early that we thought she might have a physical problem, since she did almost nothing with her left hand at an age when handedness hasn't emerged yet for most kids. She'd reach for things with her right even if they were way over on her left. She ended up being fine, though. Her left works normally, she's just really right dominant.

 

[Arkady]

Simply observing which hand a person eats with, writes with and does daily tasks is easier than your preference of watching which hand they masturbate with....but each to their own. If that's what floats your boat and it's legal, whom am I to judge?

There are three simple tests for handedness; a fine motor skill test such as signing one's name with each hand, a rough motor skill test such as drawing a few geometrical figures with each hand and there's a torque test for testing consciousness.

The problem with observing someone sign their name is it could simply have been learned, especially in a society that stigmatizes lefties. There were extremely few people who wrote with their right hand in this country until the 20th century, and it's still extremely rare in a lot of Asian countries, where left handedness still has social stigma.

Fine motor skills I'm lefty, but I can't throw a baseball to save my life with the left. It just feels so damned awkward.

What's the torque test?

 

[Max R.]

The problem with observing someone sign their name is it could simply have been learned, especially in a society that stigmatizes lefties. There were extremely few people who wrote with their right hand in this country until the 20th century, and it's still extremely rare in a lot of Asian countries, where left handedness still has social stigma.

Fine motor skills I'm lefty, but I can't throw a baseball to save my life with the left. It just feels so damned awkward.

What's the torque test?

I've only had one instance in my live, back in the early Sixties, where a teacher questioned me writing with my left hand. There is no stigma anymore. You're looking backwards over 40 years.

 

[Arkady]

I've only had one instance in my live, back in the early Sixties, where a teacher questioned me writing with my left hand. There is no stigma anymore. You're looking backwards over 40 years.

I went to Catholic school when I was first learning to write and had an ancient nun for a teacher who tried to switch me to right, on the grounds that it would ultimately make life easier. My mom, who'd read up on handedness after figuring out I was a lefty, set the teacher straight. In my mom's own schooling, though, 20 years farther back, switching was a lot more common. And it's still common in other places abroad, so even here in the US, among immigrants, it's hard to be sure that an apparent righty was actually wired to be a righty.

 

[Max R.]

...And it's still common in other places abroad, so even here in the US, among immigrants, it's hard to be sure that an apparent righty was actually wired to be a righty.

I'm not responsible for other nations that still burn witches or are so [Unwelcome language removed] stupid as to be ruled by emotion over logic.

Sure, some ignorant immigrants may believe stupid shit like you describe. Does this mean you support better vetting of immigrants? Are you now against the blind admission of 60,000 Syrian refugees because most consider left-handedness wrong?

This link isn't about Syrians, but I think you'll get the idea: http://uwf.edu/atcdev/afghanistan/Behaviors/Lesson8PhysicalGestures2.html

 

[Arkady]

I'm not responsible for other nations that still burn witches or are so [Unwelcome language removed] stupid as to be ruled by emotion over logic.

Did someone imply you were?

Sure, some ignorant immigrants may believe stupid shit like you describe.

The vast majority of immigrants and a large majority of Americans believe stupid shit, like the existence of an invisible man who lives in the sky.

Does this mean you support better vetting of immigrants?

I don't know enough about how they're currently vetted to say whether it's enough, too much, or too little.

Are you now against the blind admission of 60,000 Syrian refugees because most consider left-handedness wrong?

I don't think anyone supports blind admission. But I doubt I'd bother vetting their thoughts on handedness.

 

[Jen]

Out of curiosity what is the handedness of people here? Almost half of modern presidents have been lefties, compared to 10% of all people. Several recent elections involved all lefties (e.g., Clinton, Bush, Perot). There are some theories about this, including lefties having higher IQs, and being more resistant to social pressures due to living in a world set up for righties. The current election is rare in the modern era for having no lefties among the finalists. I'm not sure if that means anything politically (like this year we were drawn to low-IQ conformists), but I find it interesting.

For what it's worth, I'm a mix: left for writing and drawing, right for throwing and guitar, ambi for pretty much everything else (shooting, batting, etc.)

I am a lefty for using a writing tool eating ,and my left hand is predominant.
I bat, golf and use a mouse with my right hand. Since I play classical piano, both hands are useful.... and I can write legibly with either hand. I'd say I'm at least slightly ambi.

 

[Jen]

Left-handed here. Handedness was my major paper when graduating college; "Bilateral Dominance". Animals have handedness too. People have dominant eyes and legs too.

Although I'm left handed, I'm right eyed and right-legged. I'm not sure of the eye thing is natural or the fact I live in a right-handed world where all cameras and many other tools are built for right-handed people.

I am left handed and right eyed.
I have no idea what that means.

 

[Max R.]

....The vast majority of immigrants and a large majority of Americans believe stupid shit, like the existence of an invisible man who lives in the sky....

Lemme guess, that's what your human centipeded told you. LOL

 

[Max R.]

I am left handed and right eyed.
I have no idea what that means.

There are some subtle differences; left-handers tend to be better at spatial orientation such as SCUBA divers and pilots plus golf and typing. I don't understand the why of the latter, but it's true.

Some other differences:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...hree-myths-and-three-facts-about-left-handers

http://www.medicaldaily.com/interna...ay-what-are-benefits-being-left-handed-251089

http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/little-known-facts-about-lefthanders.aspx#01

 

[Arkady]

I am a lefty for using a writing tool eating ,and my left hand is predominant.
I bat, golf and use a mouse with my right hand. Since I play classical piano, both hands are useful.... and I can write legibly with either hand. I'd say I'm at least slightly ambi.

Interesting. Left-handedness is particularly uncommon among females.

We seem, just from this very limited sampling, to have more lefties and ambis than you'd expect with a random distribution. I wonder if that would hold together in a wider server of political forum users. Is there something about lefty personality types that cause them to use those forums in disproportionate numbers?

 

[Arkady]

I am left handed and right eyed.
I have no idea what that means.

I read somewhere once that being opposite that way is associated with artistic creativity. As I recall, Einstein was right handed and left eyed.

 

[Arkady]

Lemme guess, that's what your human centipeded told you. LOL

No. Polling as to religious affiliation. Immigrants are mostly Catholic, and the majority of Americans are members of various sky-god faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.)