By Deb Baker
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but more of us are left-handed these days. When I was growing up, I rarely met others like me. Now if I’m at a dinner party, several of us are jostling for table position. And while researchers look for an inherited gene, I’m here to tell you that the phenomenon isn’t genetic. No one else in my family as far back as my parents can remember is left-handed. My three kids aren’t either. When I interview other left-handed people, they rarely site other family members that are same-handed.
There’s no question in my mind, though, that lefties have different brains. We are wired differently. We have more schizophrenia, alcoholism, dyslexia, and autism than right-handers. On the other “hand”, we produce more creativity – music, novels, architecture, scientific discoveries. Are we quieter, more introspective than our fellow right-handers? Do we spend more time observing than acting? I’m not sure. Maybe.
Last year, on my first book tour, I joined fellow writers for lunch. We hadn’t met before, but we had the same dreams. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that all of us were lefties?
I’d love it if you’d weigh in on this topic. Are you a leftie? Are you shyer than your counterpart, more likely to sit in the back row? How about your family? Any other lefties?
There’s no question in my mind, though, that lefties have different brains. We are wired differently. We have more schizophrenia, alcoholism, dyslexia, and autism than right-handers. On the other “hand”, we produce more creativity – music, novels, architecture, scientific discoveries. Are we quieter, more introspective than our fellow right-handers? Do we spend more time observing than acting? I’m not sure. Maybe.
Last year, on my first book tour, I joined fellow writers for lunch. We hadn’t met before, but we had the same dreams. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that all of us were lefties?
I’d love it if you’d weigh in on this topic. Are you a leftie? Are you shyer than your counterpart, more likely to sit in the back row? How about your family? Any other lefties?
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