Left-handed folks will be the first to tell you that we are different and, fortunately, this latter-day admission now comes with some pride attached to it. According to the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, roughly 10 percent of people are left-handed with one meta-analysis showing that men are 23% more likely to be left-handed than women. Medical research has consistently illustrated that the brains of left- and right-handed individuals are wired differently. Although the parts of the brain are anatomically the same, those which control motor, language and spatial processing skills are utilized differently. In right-handed people, the left hemisphere controls the dominant right hand whereas the situation is exactly reversed in left-handed individuals. The human brain is divided in two hemispheres – the left and the right. Traditionally, the right hemisphere has been associated with creative skills which manifest in fields such as music and art. Chapter and verse at the Max Planck Institute has it that, “left-handedness (is) associated with differences in brain symmetry in areas related to working memory, language, hand control and vision.” Although scientists widely posit that a neural basis of handedness is unclear, it is largely argued that lefties might have advantages due to brain hemisphere differences which lead to superior divergent skills and creativity.

From time immemorial, the issue of left-handedness has fascinated scholars and researchers. Back in the day, people noticed lefties, (and, they still do). Our populace formerly faced discrimination for example in the Middle Ages where left-handed persons were routinely accused of witchcraft. Use of the left hand was associated with the devil (he was allegedly a lefty, too) and other evil-doings. The Latin word for “left” is “sinistra” from which we inherit the word “sinister.” People still speak of using one’s “sinistral hand.” One well-known lefty, England’s King George VI, was one of many forced to write with his right hand and that act of coercion was consequently associated with stammering from which he famously suffered. I remember growing up in upstate New York public schools when some well-meaning teacher ran over to me in class and suddenly yanked a pencil out of my hand and said “No! Never write with the left hand!” Even as a university student, I was often admonished that I should be writing with my right hand while many others asked me quizzically, “How can you write with your left hand?  It seems so awkward and unnatural.” Scientists now know that lefty status is determined in the womb with up to 40 genes contributing to handedness. Although they know that handedness is partly shaped by genes, it was not until 2019 that they identified differences in parts of the DNA of left- and right-handed people. The jury is still out on this issue of left-handedness though – researchers still haven’t found a clear “marker” or “signature” in the brain’s anatomy that can predict whether someone is left- or right-handed.

Although lefties are largely no longer persecuted, it has taken us a very long time to toot our own horns. Present-day science, however,  has shown conclusively that we shine brightly (and differently) in many ways. According to Alia Hoyt in her April 16, 2024 article “10 Things Lefties Do Better,” here are a list of some of those fascinating facts:

1. A lefty tendency towards excellence in divergent thinking, showing a huge manifest presence in the creation of music and art. Famous lefties in those fields include Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and well-known guitarists Paul McCartney, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain.
2. Solving complex mathematical problems.
3. Playing one-on-one sports like baseball and tennis. Think: Babe Ruth, Sandy Koufax and John McEnroe.
4. Likelihood of becoming a president. Well-known lefties are Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.
5. Creating architecture. Lefties excel at 3D thinking and perception, an important part of the design and construction process.
6. Being a better driver. In studies, lefties caused significantly fewer accidents than their right-handed counterparts. (I’ll brag for a moment and say that I have never been in an accident in decades of driving. No one I know can make the self-same attestation.)
7. Benefits in physical recovery, such as from strokes, due to less dependence on the brain’s left side.

Fortunately, these days, we lefties can find a growing number of products designed with us particularly in mind. Glory Hallelujah (as my mother would have said)! Montgomery Burns once said “Damned infernal gizmo. My kingdom for a left-handed can opener.” These are now in existence which famous lefties like Einstein, Gandhi, Isaac Newton and Charlie Chaplin might have devoutly wished for and appreciated. As a proud lefty, I say equivocally, in the words of C.R. Manske: “Life without left-handed people wouldn’t be right.”