Right-handed v Left-handed

Did you know that, on average, right-handed people live nine years longer than left-handed people?

Nice that I'm right-handed!

Interesting!  What if one is ambidextrous?  Statistics like that are a bit strange to me, though.  How do they measure something like that?  I've never seen tick boxes for left- or right-handed on a death certificate.  Do they go into retirement communities and conduct polls?

9 years longer?   

Guess it must be because of what all us lefties are doing with that hand!    

 

Interesting!  What if one is ambidextrous?  Statistics like that are a bit strange to me, though.  How do they measure something like that?  I've never seen tick boxes for left- or right-handed on a death certificate.  Do they go into retirement communities and conduct polls?

I do wonder how they come up with it, too. After all, both of my parents are deceased and I don't remember anyone asking me whether they were right or left handed. Maybe the statistic shoudl be right-handed people who receive autopsies are more likely.... or whatever the case. 

I found this description and study on the topic  http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf058/sf058b07.htm

Personally, as a left hander I find this description borderline descriminatory.  It suggests that left handers have a more suppressed immune system than right handers?  Why?  How on earth can they determine that simply from what hand you write with?  I always believed that left or right handedness was a learned behavior and not genetic... this study seems to indicate otherwise?  It's news to me lol.

*steps down from soapbox... trips and falls on face*

Some of these can be as simple as work place injuries causing fatal results.  Power tools and heavy equipment are designed (as is everything else) for right hand use.  A left hander must either use a tool with a weaker hand or use it improperly to make it work.  Often times, it results in an akward holding position.

I speak from experience: I'm a lefty and I use table saws, drill presses, circular saws and the like on a regular basis (at home in my shop, not for a job).  Daddy's a lefty too, and the two of us have developed little tricks to make these right-handed tools work for us. 

But, think about a factory line ... not too easy to switch things around ...

I found this description and study on the topic  http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf058/sf058b07.htm

Personally, as a left hander I find this description borderline descriminatory.  It suggests that left handers have a more suppressed immune system than right handers?  Why?  How on earth can they determine that simply from what hand you write with?  I always believed that left or right handedness was a learned behavior and not genetic... this study seems to indicate otherwise?  It's news to me lol.

*steps down from soapbox... trips and falls on face*

I wonder if life insurance premiums will be raised for south paws.   

I always believed that left or right handedness was a learned behavior and not genetic... this study seems to indicate otherwise?  It's news to me lol.

*steps down from soapbox... trips and falls on face*

Actually, left-handedness is not a learned trait but can be unlearned. It used to be considered a sign of the devil by many so educators would quite cruelly teach children to use their left hand for tasks. Some would beat children for using their left hand, many would tie the child's left hand to their bodies, inhibiting their ability to use the hand. In this way, left-handedness would be unlearned. 

Shhhhhh, don't give them any ideas lol.

Actually, left-handedness is not a learned trait but can be unlearned. It used to be considered a sign of the devil by many so educators would quite cruelly teach children to use their left hand for tasks. Some would beat children for using their left hand, many would tie the child's left hand to their bodies, inhibiting their ability to use the hand. In this way, left-handedness would be unlearned. 

my mom was left handed, but her teachers forced her to learn how to do everything with her right hand. She has always had really bad handwritting, etc.

my mom was left handed, but her teachers forced her to learn how to do everything with her right hand. She has always had really bad handwritting, etc.

Your mom is probably about my age or older. I can remember the nuns being particularly hard on lefties.

My sister is 19.  Yeah, I'm a lot older than her.  I remember seeing her use her left hand to pick-up crayons as a toddler and my mom snatching them out of her left hand and placing them into her right hand.  I told my mom that she was going to cause my sister permanent emotional damage.  Of course, that didn't happen, but now that I think of it, now she is a righty and her handwriting is horrendous.

Your mom is probably about my age or older. I can remember the nuns being particularly hard on lefties.

Yeah, I remember the nuns being very upset that I wrote with my left hand (in CCD).  They were happy enough that I did the Sign of the Cross with the correct hand, so that was good.

My Daddy was always being hollered at in school by the nuns for righting with his left hand.  My husband (also a lefty) didn't get the same thing when he went to Catholic school in the mid 60s/70s, but he wasn't taught by nuns which may make a difference.

I think that a lot of right-handed parents try to correct left-handedness at home; my sister and her husband (both righties) are at their wits end with their two lefty sons.  They wish like anything they could "fix" them!

I'm a leftie but being around so many righties I've learned to do things with my right that I can't do with my left. For instance, I can't use the computer mouse with my left hand now