QUEZON City, Philippines (February 25) -Life can be hard when you are a lefty living in a right-handed dominated world. But its about time that we raise our hands and be proud. Even though we only make up 10% of the population, it’s not a reason to feel left out.
Studies show that there are some proven advantages for being a left-handed person. Here are some of them:
- Lefties are better able to multi-task.
- One of the advantages of being left-handed is that it forces your brain to think more quickly. What this means for everyday life is that those who are lefties may find it easier to multi-task and deal with a large, sometimes, unorganized stream of information. Researchers found that conversations between the left and right sides of the brain happen more quickly in left handed people. The more dominant the left-handedness is, the better these abilities are.
- Some left-handed individuals have better memories.
- While it isn’t true for all who are left-handed, data from recent studies suggests that those who come from families of lefties tend to have better memories, though only of the episodic kind. The odd thing about this study, however, was that individuals didn’t necessarily need to be left-handed themselves to have a better memory- just come from a family of lefties. These studies show that traits related to handedness may be passed down separately, though some lefties would prefer to think that their left-handed benefits just rubbed off on their right-handed counterparts.
- Left- handed stroke victims recover faster than right handed stroke victims.
- While the reasons behind this aren’t entirely clear, some believe it’s due to left handed people having to strengthen both sides of the brain when navigating a right handed world. Because many lefties are better able to use their non-dominant hand, it is easier for them to recover from a stroke that damages one part of their brain. Of course, recovery for those suffering from a stroke is never easy, no matter which is their dominant hand.
- Left-handed people are likely to be more visual than language-based, making them ideal for artistic pursuits.
- Research has shown that university students are more likely to major in visually-based, as opposed to language-based, subjects when they’re left handed. While another study showed that within the sample, 47% of art students were left- or mixed-handed. If you want to be an artist this is an amazing benefit, putting you in the same category with the greats like Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Rembrandt.
5. Lefties have a greater chance of being a genius- or having a high IQ.
- Researchers aren’t sure why, but those who are left-handed seem to make up a disproportionately large part of those who are highly intelligent. For example, twenty percent of all Mensa members are left-handed. When you consider that less than 10 percent of the total population is left-handed, this makes for a lot of smart lefties. Some think this genius stems from being forced to use both sides of the brain more often, allowing these individuals to more easily process a large amount of information.
I remember my teacher in psychology, she made us cover each of our eyes one at a time to examine if we look clearly at the letters she wrote from the board. If one seems to be blurring to us, and the one is clearer than another then it means the one which is clearer will determine whether we are a left-brained or a right-brained. She added that its perfectly alright whatever side of the brain is more dominant because as studies have shown, the left and right hemispheres of our brain process information in different ways. The right side of the brain focuses on the visual, and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture then the details. The focus of the left brain is verbal, processing information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces then putting them together to get the whole.
The difference between a left-brained and right-brained is the same with the left-handed and right-handed person. Each has its different strength and weaknesses but it doesn’t mean that one is better than another.
If you are a lefty, it doesn’t mean that you are different and can’t do anything good. Both of the side has its own uses and advantages as well. One is not better than the other, just as being right-handed is not ‘superior’ to being left-handed. What is important is to be aware that there are different ways of writing better, and by knowing what your natural preference is, you can pay attention to your less dominant side to improve the same.
Reference: http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/being-lh/lh-info/advantages.html
(written by Jasmin Monte, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Vince Alvin Villarin)
