Left-handed people grow up having to adjust a lot more than their right-handed counterparts. I’m talking scissors, computer mice, guitars, and many other things they need to learn to get used to. But there are advantages to being left-handed too.
A little bit of history
Lefties make up 10% of the world’s population, and apparently, the numbers have been like that for many centuries. There are ancient archeological findings of tools designed for lefties that are hundreds of thousands of years old!
In different cultures throughout history, left-handed people were somewhat oppressed into using their right hand, as using their left was perceived as “wrong”. They were forced to use their less dominant hand to perform actions such as writing or eating. Thankfully, this isn’t the case today.
Throwing punches
When it comes to combat sports, lefties seem to have the upper hand (see what I did there?). Since people are used to practicing opposite a right-handed opponent, they are easily surprised when facing a left-handed fighter. In fact, top-notch fighters are about evenly split between lefties and righties, unlike their minority status compared to the rest of the population.
It’s all in the genes
Genetics plays some role in determining a person’s dominant hand. This means that two left-handed parents have a greater probability of having a left-handed baby. On the flip side, right-handed parents are less likely of having a child that would hold a pencil with his right.
Having to adjust to a predominantly right-handed world, means that lefties use both sides of their brains a lot more frequently than the rest of us. This is why they are considered to be very smart and creative.
The leftie’s club
Proofs of left-handed creativity can be found in Leonardo Da Vinci and Isaac Newton — two of the greatest inventors in history, who also happen to be holding their ice cream spoons with their left hand. Other celebrities in Club Leftie include the late Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama, and Oprah Winfrey.
