Discover the fascinating world of left-handed individuals. What are the personality traits, health risks, and little-known facts about lefties? Dive into this comprehensive guide to understand the intriguing differences between left-handers and right-handers.

The Enigma of Left-Handedness: Exploring the Genetic and Environmental Factors

Left-handedness has long been a topic of fascination and curiosity. While only about 10% of the global population is left-handed, the reasons behind this unique trait have been the subject of extensive research. Scientists have found that the complex interplay between genetics and environment plays a crucial role in determining an individual’s hand dominance. While no single “leftie gene” has been identified, left-handed people often have more left-handed family members, suggesting a genetic component. Additionally, researchers have discovered distinct brain wiring patterns in left-handers compared to right-handers, which may contribute to their unique personality traits and cognitive abilities.

The Link Between Left-Handedness and Mental Health Disorders

Surprisingly, the prevalence of left-handedness seems to be higher among individuals with certain mental health conditions. Studies have found that people with psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, have a 40% likelihood of being left-handed, significantly higher than the general population. Researchers believe that this correlation may be due to the way the brain is lateralized, with left-handers often exhibiting a more balanced or right-hemisphere dominant brain organization. However, the relationship between left-handedness and mental health is complex, as left-handers have also been found to have lower rates of some conditions, such as arthritis and ulcers.

The Cognitive Advantages and Disadvantages of Left-Handedness

While left-handed individuals may face certain health risks, they also possess unique cognitive abilities. For example, research has shown that left-handers may more easily perceive and process slowly-changing sounds, such as syllables and intonation, compared to right-handers. This finding could have important implications for the treatment of stroke and language disorders. However, left-handers are also at an increased risk for certain learning impairments and brain disorders, which experts believe is linked to the brain’s wiring and the efficiency of having a dominant hemisphere.

The Historical Prevalence of Right-Handed Bias

The preference for right-handedness is not just a modern phenomenon; it has been observed in ancient human populations as well. Researchers from the University of Kansas have studied the handedness of our ancestors by examining the wear patterns on their teeth, which can provide clues about their dominant hand use. The findings suggest that right-handedness has been the dominant trend for over 500,000 years, indicating that left-handers have long been the minority in human history.

The Unique Personality Traits of Left-Handed Individuals

Beyond the health and cognitive differences, left-handed individuals also tend to exhibit distinct personality traits. Previous studies have found that left-handers are more likely to be creative, innovative, and independent thinkers. They may also be more prone to certain mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder. However, the exact relationship between left-handedness and personality is complex and influenced by a variety of factors.

Overcoming the Challenges of Left-Handedness in a Right-Handed World

Despite the unique traits and potential health risks associated with left-handedness, left-handed individuals often face additional challenges in a world designed primarily for right-handed people. From awkwardly designed desks and gadgets to cooking tools that are more comfortable for right-handers, left-handers must constantly adapt and overcome these obstacles. Raising awareness and understanding of the needs and experiences of left-handed individuals is crucial to promote inclusivity and support for this minority group.

Embracing the Diversity of Handedness: A Path Forward

As our understanding of left-handedness continues to evolve, it is clear that this unique trait is not just a curiosity, but a reflection of the incredible diversity of the human experience. By recognizing the strengths, challenges, and health considerations of left-handed individuals, we can work to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all. Whether you are a left-hander, a right-hander, or somewhere in between, celebrating the unique perspectives and contributions of this minority group is essential for fostering a more understanding and equitable society.

Left-Handers and Health Risks: 12 Little-Known Facts

From their innovative minds to their political aspirations, there are plenty of great reasons to love lefties!

By Katie Kerns Geer

Reviewed: August 13, 2015

Fact-Checked

Left-Handedness and Your Health

There’s no denying it. Left-handers are the odd ones out.

Sure, lefties make up about 10 percent of the population — but, frankly, it seems like society has forgotten about them. Just consider all of the right-handed gadgets, awkwardly designed desks, and cooking tools that fit comfortably only in your right hand.

What causes someone to become a southpaw? Scientists aren’t exactly sure, but research points to a complex collaboration between genes and environment. While no exact set of “leftie genes” have been discovered, people who dominantly use their left hands do have more left-handed family members. And researchers have found different brain wirings in righties vs. lefties.

But no matter what it is that drives someone to use their antipodal paw, science has also uncovered a particular set of personality traits that left-handed people tend to have. So for all of you lefties, leftie-loving righties, and ambidextrous folks out there — it’s time to brush up on your left-handed knowledge and help put an end to leftie discrimination once and for all.

Lefties Have a Higher Risk of Psychosis

Lefties make up about 10 percent of the general population. But researchers have found that in populations with certain mental disorders, that rate goes up. Previous studies have found that people with psychosis had a 20 percent likelihood of being left-handed, though a small study in the journal SAGE found the rate of psychotic lefties may be even higher. Researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas assessed 107 patients at outpatient psychiatric clinics. For those with mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, the rate of left-handedness was close to average, at 11 percent. But in people with psychosis, such as those with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, the rate of left-handedness was 40 percent, well above average. Researchers theorize brain laterality plays a role.

Your Handedness May Determine Your Health

Scientists have also found an increased risk for dyslexia, ADHD, and certain mood disorders in left-handed people, according to a 2010 study published in Pediatrics. Researchers are not exactly sure how to explain this phenomenon, but many believe it’s related to how the brain is wired. Your noggin is divided into two halves: the left side and the right side. Most people (righties and lefties alike) rely on the brain’s left hemisphere for tasks like language functioning. But about 30 percent of left-handed folks are either partial to the right hemisphere or have no dominant hemisphere at all. According to scientists, having one hemisphere dominate is much more efficient, which is why some left-handers are at increased risk for learning impairments and brain disorders.

But lefties may be in luck when it comes to other health conditions: Results of a large survey published in the journal Laterality found that left-handers had lower rates of arthritis and ulcers.

Lefties Hear Speeches Differently

People who use their left hands when listening may more easily hear slowly-changing sounds than those who use their right hands, according to a study from Georgetown University Medical Center. The researchers who conducted the study, presented at Neuroscience 2012, found that the left and right hemispheres of the brain specialize in different kinds of sounds. The left hemisphere, which controls the right hand, likes rapidly-changing sounds like consonants, while the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand, likes slowly-changing sounds like syllables or intonation.

According to the researchers, if you’re waving an American flag while listening to a presidential candidate, the speech will sound slightly different to you depending on whether you’re holding the flag in your left or right hand. The research could ultimately result in better treatment for stroke and language disorders.

Update: An earlier version of this post stated that people who use their left hands may more easily hear rapidly-changing sounds that those who use their right hands. In fact, left-handers hear slow-changing sounds better.

Left-Handed Neanderthals Were the Minority, Too

Right-handed bias isn’t just a modern-day phenomenon: It turns out we’ve been dominantly using our right hooks for more than 500,000 years.

University of Kansas researchers recently determined the handedness of ancient humans by studying — oddly enough — their teeth. The study, which was published in the journal Laterality, found that when our great-great-great-great-(you get the point)-grandfathers processed animal hides, they would hold one side of the carcass in one hand and the other in their mouth. By locating the wear and tear on those prehistoric chompers, scientists were able to determine whether our prehistoric ancestors were using their left hand or right hand more dominantly

“All you need to have is a single tooth, and you can tell if our assumptions are right — if the individual is right- or left-handed,” study researcher David Frayer, Ph. D., told LiveScience. The results? “The fossils are just like humans in that we are mostly right-handed, and so were they.”

Lefties Make Better Artists

Southpaws have been bragging about their creative clout for years. But is it true — does being left-handed mean you’re also more likely to be artistic or innovative?

According to research published in the American Journal of Psychology, there is some evidence that left-handed people have the upper hand in at least one creative facet: They’re better at divergent thinking, a method of idea generation that explores many possible solutions.

To determine whether lefties were more likely to pursue creative careers than righties, the folks behind the Left-Handers Club (a pro-leftie group dedicated to left-handed research and product development) surveyed more than 2,000 left-handed, right-handed, and ambidextrous participants and found that lefties tended to find advantages and be drawn to careers in the arts, music, sports, and information-technology fields.

But that may also add up to lower paychecks: According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, left-handers’ salaries are 10 percent lower on average than those of right-handers.

We Vote for Left-Handers!

AFP/Getty Images

It doesn’t matter which way they swing politically: A surprisingly high percentage of recent U.S. presidents were on the left (in terms of handedness, of course).

The lengthy list of left-handed leaders includes four of the last seven commanders in chief — President Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Gerald Ford — as well as past presidents James Garfield and Harry Truman. In fact, there’s a rumor that Ronald Reagan was born a leftie, but stringent schoolteachers converted him to a righty when he was young.

Should right-handed presidential wannabes fake it? Our penchant for left-handed POTUSes is probably pure coincidence. But one recent Dutch study suggests that left-handed politicians actually have an advantage in televised debates. As a whole, people tend to associate right-handed gestures with “good” and left-handed gestures with “bad,” according to the researchers. Since television presents a mirror image, the lefties are the ones who appear to gesture with their right hands (the “good” hand).

Southpaws Will Beat You in Sports

Getty Images

Golf legend Phil Mickelson, tennis ace Rafael Nadal, boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya — did you know that a number of your favorite sports superstars are lefties?

Actually, left-handers may have the advantage in sports that involve two opponents facing each other, such as in tennis, boxing, and baseball, according to an MSNBC review of the book The Puzzle of Left-Handedness, by Rik Smits. The author chalks it up to the fact that left-handed athletes get a lot more opportunity to practice against right-handed opponents than vice versa (since there are so many more righties out there).

Now that’s a home run for lefties.

Lefties Are Scaredy-Cats

Boo!

If you’re a left-hander, that probably made you cringe. That’s because people whose left hands are dominant tend to be more affected by fear than people who use their right hands, according to research presented at an annual conference of The British Psychological Society and reported in the Telegraph.

For the study, participants watched an eight-minute clip from the frightening film Silence of the Lambs. When asked to recall events from the segment, lefties were far more likely to show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder than righties, including giving fragmented descriptions and making more mistakes.

“It seems that after experiencing a fearful event, even on film, people who are left-handed had subtle behaviors that were like people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder,” head researcher Carolyn Choudhary, PhD, told the Telegraph. Blame the brain: “It is apparent that the two sides of the brain have different roles in PTSD, and the right hand-side of the brain seems to be involved in fear. But we need to do more experiments to understand what exactly is going on here,” she said.

Grrr! Left-Handers Get Angrier, Too

If you just can’t let go of that spat you had with your right-handed pal (but he seemed to move on just fine), you may be able to blame it on your left-handedness. According to a small study published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, lefties are more prone to having negative emotions. In addition, they seem to have a more difficult time processing their feelings.

Again, this seems to be related to the brain-hand connection. Compared to righties, left-handed participants in the study showed an imbalance in activity between the left and right hemispheres when trying to process their moodiness.

Easily Embarrassed? Could Be Because You’re a Leftie

Aw-shucks. Lefties may get bent out of shape, but research shows they’re just a bunch of bashful self-observers.

When scientists from Abertay University in Scotland gave 46 lefties and 66 righties behavioral tests to measure their impulsiveness and personal restraint, the left-handers in the group more commonly agreed with statements like “I worry about making mistakes” and “Criticism or scolding hurts me quite a bit. ” In fact, their answers left researchers believing that lefties tend to feel more inhibited, shy, and embarrassed than their right-handed counterparts.

“Left-handers are more likely to hesitate, whereas right-handers tend to jump in a bit more,” lead researcher Lynn Wright, PhD, told BBC News.

Lefties Like to Booze

Next time you have a run-in with a boozed-up barfly, check out which hand he’s holding his whisky with: chances are, it’ll be his left.

For years, myth has held that left-handers are more likely to become alcoholics. Research into the topic was murky, however, and relied on small samples. But a survey of more than 25,000 people from 12 countries has cleared things up a bit. While lefties are not more prone to alcoholism, they do drink more often.

Researcher Kevin Denny, who examined the data for a paper published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, says the main takeaway should be debunking that whole left-handedness-alcoholism link. “There is no evidence that handedness predicts risky drinking,” he stated in a press release. “Hence, the results do not support the idea that excess drinking may be a consequence either of atypical lateralisation of the brain, or due to the social stresses that arise from left-handers’ being a minority group.”

They Have Their Own Day!

Mark your calendar: August 13 is International Left-Handers Day.

Lefties across the globe celebrate the annual event, which was launched in 1992 by the UK-based Left-Handers Club to increase awareness about the left-handed lifestyle. According to the group’s Web site, it’s a day “when left-handers everywhere can celebrate their sinistrality and increase public awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed.”

How should you observe the occasion? Create a “leftie zone”: a designated area of personal space where everything must be done in a left-handed fashion, from your workspace setup to the way you use cutlery.

And that rule also extends to any right-handers who happen to enter the leftie zone.

Lefties Aren’t Going Anywhere

Left-handers are the minority. So does that mean they’ll go extinct one day? In fact, some researchers believe that when it comes to survival of the fittest, lefties come out on top.

Here’s why: In one-on-one combat, using the left-hand is like throwing a curveball. “The fact that left-handers are less common means they have a surprise effect,” University of Montpellier researcher Charlotte Faurie told ABC News. To dig deeper, Faurie and her colleague Michel Raymond studied nine different primitive societies. In more violent societies, they found, lefties thrived (think southpaw slugger Rocky Balboa’s left hook).

Looks like the left hand has the upper hand after all.

How Many People Are Left Handed? (More Than You Think!)

Exactly how many people are left handed? Let’s find out!

In this article you’ll discover what percentage of people are left handed, which countries have the most (and least!) left handed people, if male or female lefties are more common, and the chances of having a lefty child. You’ll also find out why left handed people are becoming more common every year!

Table Of Contents

1. How Many People Are Left Handed?
2. Is Left Handedness Becoming More Common?
3. What Countries Have The Most Left Handed People?
4. What Countries Have The Least Left Handed People?
5. Is Left Handedness More Common In Males Or Females?
6. What Are The Chances of Having a Left Handed Child?

Ever signed for a delivery and had the driver ask if you’re a lefty? Apparently, we’re still that much of a rarity that people feel the need to point it out to us every time they notice.

I’m not having a go, as a lefty I do it myself. All the time…

What makes for the fascination? Just how many people are left handed exactly?

How Many People are Left Handed?

According to experts, roughly 12% of the world is left handed. However, this figure varies depending on geographic location, gender, and date of birth amongst other factors.

Check out the rest of this article to dive into these factors in more detail!

Less than 1% of the world is ambidextrous (can easily use both the left and right hand), and an even lower number is ambilevous (finds using both hands equally awkward).

This figure is averaged from studies undertaken in North America and Western Europe. In these developed countries being left handed is less likely to be discouraged due to social stigmas, which should result in a less skewed overall number.

Although it should be noted that left handed discrimination does still occur in these countries. Read about left handed discrimination here.

What Percentage Of People Are Left Handed?

Right Handed (~87%). I’m sure you didn’t come to this article unaware that right handed people make up the majority of the population. It is estimated that right handed people amount to roughly 87% of the world.

Left Handed (~12%). The second most common handedness type, studies show that on average us lefties make up around 12% of the population. Although this does vary depending on location, as in some countries being left handed may still have a social stigma attached to it. For example Taiwan (5%), Japan (4.7%), and Korea (2%) all have a much lower population of lefties. Scroll down a little further to see the lefty representation broken down by country.

Ambidextrous (<1%). An ambidextrous person is able to perform any task equally well with either hand, although they do still tend to favor their dominant side. Truly ambidextrous people are incredibly rare, and are estimated to make up less than 1% of the population.

Ambilevous (<1%). An ambilevous (or ambisinister) person is the exact opposite of an ambidextrous person, finding it generally awkward to use either hand to undertake tasks.

Is Left Handedness Becoming More Common?

Even until recently, being left handed was still discouraged in many developed countries.

We can see this when we look at the number of lefties in different age groups in North America. Only 6% of over-65s identified as being left handed, whereas a whopping 15% of under 30s said the same.

Check out the graph below which shows what percentage of poeple are left handed by year.

These results were taken from a large study by Gilbert and Wysocki (Hand Preference and Age in the United States, 1992) which included over 1 million people.

The increased number of people identifying as being left handed is almost certainly due to modern society becoming less conservative.

On top of this, it is estimated that amongst older generations some 6-8% of right handed people are actually natural left handers, but were forced into writing right handed due to social pressures.

Considering the results based on age, it would seem very likely that the overall percentage of people identifying as being a lefty will continue to increase over time.

What Countries Have The Most Left Handed People?

What percent of the world is left handed? In this next section we’ll see what countries have the highest representation of lefties, as well as which have the lowest.

1. The Netherlands (13.2% Left Handed)
2. United States (13.1% Left Handed)
3. Belgium (13.1% Left Handed)
4. Canada (12.8% Left Handed)
5. United Kingdom (12.24% Left Handed)
6. Ireland (11.65%)
7. Switzerland (11.61%)
8. France (11.15%)
9. Denmark (11%)
10. Italy (10.51%)

Data for European countries was taken from a large internet study by McManus and Peters (Handedness in Europe: analysis of data from the BBC internet study). Information on other countries was sourced from various other bodies of research.

What Countries Have The Least Left Handed People?

What percentage of people are left handed in the countries with the lowest representation of southpaws?

1. Korea (2. 0%)
2. Mexico (2.5%)
3. China (3.5%)
4. Japan (4.7%)
5. Taiwan (5.0%)

It’s clear that in countries with a more formal culture, the rate of left-handedness is much lower.

It has been suggested that the more complex writing style in many Asian countries is a major reason why the numbers are so much lower.

Is Left Handedness More Common In Males Or Females?

What is the percentage of left-handed females compared to males?

Lefties are not created equally! According to a 2008 study (Sex Differences in Left-Handedness: A Meta-Analysis of 144 Studies), a left handed person is 23% more likely to be male than female.

This means that for every 4 left handed women, there should be roughly 5 left handed men.

One possible explanation for this uneven split is that girls are more likely to conform to social norms. It has also been suggested that there may be genetic factors, which you can read about below.

What Are The Chances of Having a Left Handed Child?

According to a 2009 study by Llaurens, Raymond and Faurie (Why are some people left-handed? An evolutionary perspective), the chances of having a left handed child are as follows:

• Both parents Left Handed – 27% Male / 21. 4% Female
• Righty Father & Lefty Mother – 22.1% Male / 21.7% Female
• Lefty Father & Righty Mother – 18.2% Male / 15.3% Female
• Both Parents Right Handed – 10.4% Male / 8.5% Female

I’ve averaged these results out for simplicity and displayed them in the graphic below.

Another interesting factoid I stumbled across was that two left handed parents are twice as likely to produce twins!

Check out the infographic below (click to enlarge!) where you’ll find all of this information compiled into one handy graphic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is There A Place Where 100% of People Are Lefties?

Yes! Well, kinda… In the small town of Left Hand, West Virginia, USA, technically… everyone is a left hander!

How Rare Is It To Be Left Handed?

This will depend on a number of factors including your gender, location, and even the year that you were born! However, on average, roughly 12 out of every 100 people are left handed. So, it is fairly rare to be left handed!

How Many People Are Right Handed?

What percent of the world is right handed? On average, it is estimated that roughly 87% of the world is right handed. The vast majority!

How Many People Are Ambidextrous?

Ambidextrous people have the ability to use either hand to perform tasks with the same degree of ease. They are incredibly rare, and it is estimated that only around 1% of the world can be considered ambidextrous.

Further Articles You Will Love

• How Left Handed Are You? Take our 60 second test and find out!
• 25 Amazing Facts About Lefties
• Gift Ideas That Left Handed People Will LOVE
• 100+ Famous Left Handed People

LEFT-HANDED or RIGHT-HANDED? – Dr.Domodedoff Domodedovo Medical Center

A left-hander is a person who mainly uses his left hand to perform actions. There are approximately 10-15% left-handers in the world. It should be noted that this was not always the case.

Ermolaev Sergey Sergeevich Candidate of Medical Sciences, neurologist, doctor of functional diagnostics

07/09/2021

Some historians, when analyzing the rock art of ancient people, concluded that there was approximately the same ratio of left-handers and right-handers in the Stone Age. Also, some Egyptologists emphasized the same ratio of left-handed and right-handed characters in the paintings of the pyramids, tombs, temples, and ancient Egypt. In fairness, it must be said that often such statements are based on specific drawings and scenes of ancient life.

Other scenes did not prove such a proportion. Approximately the same ratio (50%) is mentioned in the works of a number of archaeologists who analyze the degree of development of limbs during excavations of human burials in the Neolithic and Late Paleolithic periods.

This data is partly supported by the presence of a phenomenon (“ambidescility – the ability to use both hands equally) in chimpanzees. Monkeys reach for objects, food with their left hand, and pick their teeth, scratch with their right. Also, some animals, such as polar bears, are left-handed. It has been proven that Neanderthals, who existed for hundreds of thousands of years, could produce offspring from Cro-Magnons, our direct ancestors, who appeared “out of nowhere” about 50 thousand years ago and, accordingly, vice versa. Thus, it can be assumed that left-handedness, inherited by Neanderthals from great apes, was transmitted to modern man. Given that there were significantly more Neanderthals than Cro-Magnons who appeared on planet Earth – “suddenly” and in small numbers, then they presumably laid the gene for left-handedness in the population of our ancestors in a large proportion. Ultimately, the Cro-Magnons, in the process of fighting for survival, destroyed or drove the Neanderthals to cold lands, where their extinction was completed by the ice age (although there are stories about Bigfoot – the last Neanderthals in our time).

Modern man multiplied rapidly and the proportion changed. Throughout human history, there has been a “wary” attitude towards left-handed people, apparently rooted in the stereotypes of deadly enmity of the Stone Age. In the accusation and subsequent burning of Joan of Arc, left-handedness was found guilty. In England of later times, up to the present day, left-handed women were refused to be married. In Japan, if a wife was unexpectedly left-handed, such an event was considered a good reason for divorce.

Among the Slavs, left-handers were considered evil sorcerers and witches. Even Emperor Peter I issued a decree banning the testimony of left-handed people in court cases: “Red-haired, crooked and left-handed witnesses in courts should not be, because God marks the rogue.” That was the order. In the 20th century, left-handers were actively retrained into right-handers.

But in the end, everything fell into place, and even vice versa, they began to argue that left-handers are more talented than right-handers. But there is no scientific evidence for this, of course. Given that approximately 85-90% of people on earth are right-handed, then left-handers are simply forced to adapt to the devices, objects and traditions of right-handers, thus becoming more versatile, but this is just training.

I would like to give examples of famous left-handers who have had a truly titanic impact on the history of mankind. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Aristotle, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Napoleon Bonaparte, Einstein, Nikolai Leskov (author of Lefty), physiologist Ivan Pavlov, Mozart, Beethoven, composer Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Leo Tolstoy, Churchill, Picasso , Fidel Castro, Paul McCartney, Marilyn Monroe, Maya Plesetskaya, Maradona, Bill Gates, Bruce Willis, Garry Kasparov, Barack Obama.

Thus, it must be said that it is necessary to evaluate a person’s abilities by specific personal achievements, and not by whether he is left-handed or right-handed.

Ophthalmology through the eyes of parents

Treatment of epilepsy in Domodedovo

Return to the list

Left-handers.

Statistics – Lefty. Lefties. About lefties and righties

Lefties make up 10-17 percent of the world’s population. In the 1930s, there were about 3% left-handers in Great Britain, by 19In the 1950s, there were about 5% of them, and now about every tenth Englishman is left-handed. In Russia, respectively, there are about 15–18 million of them. Moreover, the domestic army of left-handers has been increasing year by year – since public education finally left dissimilar students alone. Indeed, until 1985, left-handers were stubbornly retrained, forcing them to write and draw with their right hand.

The following is known for certain: among the children of right-handed parents, left-handers make up about 2 percent, if one parent is right-handed – 17 percent, for two left-handers – 46 percent. There are approximately 9 in the world-11 percent of left-handed children, but in our country – almost 25 percent. This fact is explained by one unfortunate circumstance: a rare Russian mother gives birth without problems. Pathology in childbirth reaches 70 percent.

Some scientists believe that the ratio of left-handers and right-handers at all times remained approximately the same. Interestingly, the cave paintings depict people doing something with their right hand. There are plenty of such images on the walls of caves and Egyptian pyramids. Moreover, tools and products of ancient gunsmiths that have been preserved since the Paleolithic era were clearly intended for the right hand.

But there are works that prove that in the Stone Age there were the same number of right-handed and left-handed people, and in the Bronze Age there were already two-thirds of right-handers. It is curious that equality reigns in the animal world in this sense. Although a number of studies convincingly prove that monkeys prefer to reach for food with their left hand, and perform various manipulations with their right. That is, the old functions are controlled by the right hemisphere, and the new ones by the left. By the way, if you watch newborn children, you can see that they grab more often with their left hand. Even 100% right-handers perform some functions, in particular static ones, with their left hand. It is easier to hold something with one left hand.

An increased number of left-handers is observed among twins. Statistically, a left-handed human identical twin has a 76% chance of being left-handed, the reasons for this being identified as partly genetic and partly environmental. At the same time, alas, there are quite a few weak-minded left-handers, alcoholics, who overturn a stack exclusively with their left. Leftists are more prone to accidents. They have disturbances in spatial perception. They say that they feel the time differently. At the same time, it was long believed that left-handed people suffer from visual impairment, since this is associated with the work of the right hemisphere. However, the scientific work of the Institute of Developmental Physiology convinces that this is not so. But the left-handers have a different strategy of activity.

If in the creative sphere the percentage of left-handers and ambidexters is quite large, then right-handers clearly predominate among representatives of technical professions.

The National Bureau of Economic Research has published an interesting report on the superiority of left-handers over right-handers. As it turned out, graduates of higher educational institutions, who have a more developed left hand, earn 13% – 21% (depending on the length of study) more than their right-handed classmates.

However, this trend appears only in relation to men, left-handed and right-handed women show the same results here. It also turned out that left-handers are more likely than right-handers to become highly qualified specialists (53% vs. 38%). There are also disproportionate numbers of left-handers among artists, musicians, and certain categories of athletes (such as baseball players, golfers, and boxers). The study was conducted by experts from Lafayette College and Johns Hopkins University.

There have been previously published studies that came to similar conclusions. For example, in 2004, St. Lawrence University published a paper proving that left-handed people have significantly higher IQs than right-handed people. And the British scientist Chris McManus, in his book “Right Hand, Left Hand” proves that throughout human history, left-handers have achieved higher achievements than right-handers.

There are many more left-handed people in South Asia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia than in other ethnic groups around the world, while in the population of Western and Northern Europe, Africa – left-handers are much less common.

Statistics show that adults will be less likely to be left-handed than their younger compatriots – the percentage of people who are left-handed decreases sharply with increasing age. In America, 12% of 20-year-olds are left-handed, while only 5% of 50-year-olds and less than 1% of people over 80.

A 1991 study (currently unconfirmed) claimed that these statistics indicate that left-handed people have a life expectancy shorter than right-handed people by as much as 9 years.