Being Left-Handed
This article was taken from another site (see link below) and posted on this blog by Michael Leitch for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.
Left-handers have been the subject of curiosity, stigma and even fear over the centuries. Researchers now, however, are recognizing the scientific importance of understanding why people use one hand or the other to write, eat or toss a ball.
Handedness, as the dominance of one hand over the other is called, provides a window into the way our brains are wired, experts say. And it may help shed light on disorders related to brain development, like dyslexia, schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, which are more common in left-handed people.
Other recent research suggests that mixed-handedness—using different hands for daily tasks and not having a dominant one—may be even more strongly linked than left-handedness to ADHD and possibly other conditions.
About 10% of people are left-handed, according to expert estimates. Another 1% of the population is mixed-handed. What causes people not to favor their right hand is only partly due to genetics—even identical twins, who have 100% of the same genes, don’t always share handedness.
More important, researchers say, are environmental factors—especially stress—in the womb. Babies born to older mothers or at a lower birth weight are more likely to be lefties, for example. And mothers who were exposed to unusually high levels of stress during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to a left-handed child. A review of research, published in 2009 in the journal Neuropsychologia, estimated that about 25% of the variability in handedness is due to genetics.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
• On average there is no difference in intelligence between
right-and left-handed people. But lefties do better on an element of creativity
known as divergent thinking.
•Six of the last 12 U.S. presidents, including Barack Obama and
George H. W. Bush, have been lefties.
• Left-handed people earn on average 10% lower salaries than
righties, according to a recent study. Findings of some earlier studies on
income have been mixed.
•Despite popular misperceptions, lefties aren’t more accident
prone than right-handed people and don’t tend to die at a younger age.
QUESTIONS:
- Are you left-handed, or do you have anyone
in your family who is¿ - Do you know any famous Brazilians who
are left-handed¿ Who are they and what are their professions¿ - Is there anything you can do that a
left-handed person cannot¿ If so, what and why¿ - What do you understand by the term ‘mixed-handedness’¿
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204083204577080562692452538.html
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