Handedness: What's Yours?

[rynner2]

We already have a related thread:

https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/the-left-hand-left-handedness.2066/

 

[EnolaGaia]

We already have a related thread:

http://forum.forteantimes.com/index.php?threads/the-left-hand.2066/

I didn't post in that other thread because it is focused on left-handedness. This smaller, similarly-ancient, thread is the one that addressed handedness in general.

 

[Rushfan62]

I write with my left hand, but play guitar right handed. If I use a hammer, saw or potato peeler, it's left handed. I can only use scissors right handed etc, etc. ... A side note. My eldest son writes right handed, but picks a guitar up as a lefty. Both my parents wrote left handed.

 

[EnolaGaia]

I write with my left hand, but play guitar right handed. If I use a hammer, saw or potato peeler, it's left handed. I can only use scissors right handed etc, etc. ... A side note. My eldest son writes right handed, but picks a guitar up as a lefty. Both my parents wrote left handed.

Mixed-handedness isn't uncommon. However, it's much more rare than pure left-handedness (circa 1% versus circa 10% of the population at large), but not as rare as true ambidexterity.

Please vote in the poll!

 

[hunck]

Above the waist right handed, below the waist left footed.

 

[Tempest63]

but not as rare as true ambidexterity.

I’d give my right arm to be ambidextrous

 

[LymeswoldSnork]

Mainly right-handed, but I often turn things or make small precise movements (e.g. ATM keypad) with my left.

In particular, I mouse left-handed (though keeping the left button as the primary one). When I started using a mouse, I found it difficult to double-click, so I would single-click and hit RETURN on the right-hand side of the keyboard.

But a left-handed friend who mouses right-handed has pointed out that we each leave our dominant hand free for writing notes, if we're doing that on paper rather than on the computer. That makes sense.

 

[Tempest63]

My old man was truly ambidextrous, If you watched him on the phone when taking down notes he was constantly changing phone and pen from one hand to another whilst continuing with his scribbles.
I think that’s where I got the awful pun posted above. It was a family joke at the time.

 

[Patrick30]

Total lefty. Anything I do right handed was forced learned. Guitar, scissors, can openers, etc. Were only learned right handed out of convenience or necessity. Fortunately my parents and school were progressive enough to not force me to write right. My parents shelled out for left handed scissors for me, and a lefty baseball glove. But a left handed guitar was too rare and expensive, and they didn’t really encourage my musical pursuits anyway. But to be truthful there are advantages and disadvantages for a stringed instrument, as both hands are required. If you use your dominate hand for fretting as I do, It’s easier. But your rhythm hand takes way more extra work to learn to keep good time. A lefty is forced to learn to be ambidextrous to some degree, at one point or another in life, I n a right handed world.

 

[Ogdred Weary]

I am Centre-Handed.

 

[Cochise]

My dog Stanley is left pawed. This has become apparent since his injury.

 

[Coypu]

Right handed but can do simple tasks like unscrewing nuts/bolts with left hand. Left eye dominant, and navigation 180 degrees out of phase.

 

[Min Bannister]

Very but not entirely ambidexterous since I favour certain hands for certain tasks. I don't know how single handers cope.

 

[Bad Bungle]

I'm right handed but hold a fishing rod in my right (for strength) whilst winding the reel handle with my left. Didn't think anything about it until a mate once lifted up my rod and wound the reel handle the wrong way.
Also wear my watch on my right wrist - apparently this is odd ?

 

[EnolaGaia]

Also wear my watch on my right wrist - apparently this is odd ?

It's a bit odd if you're right-handed. Most people find it more "natural" to wear a watch on the non-dominant wrist. There's a practical reason for doing it - that's the arm less likely to be engaged in doing something that makes it difficult (or even dangerous) to read the watch.

 

[Cochise]

I'm complicated in this as in many other things. I am basically right handed, but whether this is nature or nurture I don't know. I can remember being repeatedly told off for laying the table left handed as a kid. And of course I only have a left eye - I had to relearn archery left handed to get any good. On the other hand, my wife who was left handed was dominant eye right. So again , she had to relearn archery, in her case right handed.

 

[Lobeydosser]

I started of left handed and the school belted the blazes out of us for it - as a result I write with my right hand. It's unreadable to most - in school where they made you write down lots of stuff verbatim (to no good effect) I would often end up with the book turned 180 degrees and writing upside down which worked better for me. Thankfully working in IT I can type everything on a computer these days.
I wear my watch on my right wrist and can't even do up the strap if I try it on my left and on the rare occasion when I use cutlery, it's left handed.
I generally use just one item to eat with either a fork or by preference a spork.
Mice on computers I can use left or right handed and buttons reversed either way - working on other folks desktops a lot it's interesting how many are left handed mice users but do or don't reverse the buttons.

 

[Eyespy]

A couple of years ago I was at seminar covering some aspects of dyslexia in adults- it was looking for cases where it had not been picked up as children and may be at the root of other workplace problems.

One of the presenters suggested that some of us who present as ambidexterous may actually have a form of dyslexia- basically if you are in a semi permanent state of semi confusion about directions, loose things like keys and glasses, get things in the "wrong" hand etc you may be dyslexic.

They concluded by saying that natural Ambidextrousness was not a third category of handedness, but was the result of a gene mutation which affected how the brain developed.

Not sure how valid this argument was, but it stayed with me as I quite liked the idea of being a mutant instead of cack handed and confused.