And left-handedness. At left-handedness dominant hand - left, not right as right-handers. At left-handedness not only the left hand is active, but also / or the left eye, ear, leg. In other words, the whole hemisphere (right) already dominates, and the differences from right-handers are already quite significant.
The left hemisphere is responsible for logical and abstract thinking, since it processes information sequentially, the right hemisphere perceives information at once, through a holistic perception, and an image is immediately formed. In right-handed people, the left hemisphere is leading, they are more than left-handers logic, self-control. Distinctive feature lefties is figurative thinking, a high level of intuition, strong emotionality and sensitivity.
"Clean" right-handers And lefties there are very few in the world, approximately 8-11%. Other individuals–
mixed (partial) types. Or right-handed with features lefty, or lefties with features right-handed, more often right-handed or left-handed (below in the article is a test for leftism). Individuals in whom both the right and left hemispheres can be active are called ambidextrous. The brightest representative ambidextrous
–
Leonardo da Vinci.
Lefties become for genetic reasons or with excess testosterone during pregnancy, as well as due to a slowdown in the development of the left hemisphere in utero, then the right takes over all the functions of the left. It's compensatory leftism. left-handed can be due to an injury to the right hand–
it's forced leftism.
DIFFICULTIES OF LEFT-HANDERS
Lefty In Russia, until recently, life was very difficult. An undeservedly dismissive attitude towards them developed even in the days of serfdom. All tools were adapted for right-handers. No wonder that lefties often mutilated themselves and others under such working conditions. It happened to retrain lefties in right-handers. left-handedness at the same time, it disappeared, but the brain had an increased load, because during retraining it has to work unnaturally. Our contemporaries lefties, whose childhood passed in the USSR, can tell a lot of horror stories about how they tied their left hand, teaching left-handed child write right. Such fanaticism began to disappear in the USSR with the beginning of perestroika. In the year 85 of the 20th century, the Ministry of Health adopted a decree prohibiting teaching lefties write with your right hand and deduct marks for handwriting and slanting. Now left-handedness And leftism in our country, the same variant of the norm, as well as pravshevism. Despite this, left-handed face a number of problems using technical means that are adapted for right-handed people.
left-handedness And left-handedness can be accurately determined in 4-5 years. Before that, children can experiment with their hands, taking objects with their right, then with their left. It is important for the parent not to insist on the work of any particular hand. The dominant hemisphere will choose for itself what the child should be: right-handed, or left-handed, or ambidextrous(a person who can have both the right and left hemispheres equally active).©The author of the article you are reading now, Khramchenko Nadezhda/
However, observant parents notice differences in their left-handed children from other children, even before determining the dominant hand. Left handed children Emotionally sensitive, sensitive, kind-hearted, very emotional, they act and think outside the box and are creative in their approach to the game. All this is due to the increased work of the right hemisphere. But at the same time, they have low self-control of emotions, it is often (not always) difficult for them to adapt in kindergarten and school, since a large team with fixed strict rules of life is more suitable for left-brained people, and not for impulsive and spontaneous lefties. Modern culture is focused on people who are dominated by the left hemisphere. And in such circumstances lefties
- "white crows". Against the background of right-handed people, they stand out sharply with their original vision of things, thinking that goes beyond the usual framework, vulnerability, a heightened sense of justice, compassion. At the same time, they are more than right-handers characterized by emotions with the sign«-»:
incontinence of feelings with elements of anger, increased anxiety, timidity, severe embarrassment, timidity, conscientiousness, sensitivity to injustice. special problem for lefties that they encounter in childhood–
orientation in space (the left hemisphere is responsible for this function, which lefties inferior to the right). Toddlers can crash into doors, jambs, walls; in older children, the images in the drawings often crawl on top of each other. Parents of such children often worry about their gravitation towards mirror writing and drawing at school. Their treasures can write in reverse (from the last to the first letter in a word) and / or from bottom to top, from right to left. You can cope with this difficulty if you highlight the first letter of the word in the spelling in red and use the arrows to indicate the direction where to move on to write the word, while the lamp light should fall on the right. Speaking of arrows. Don't be surprised if your child gets confused with the timing of the hands. clock with arrows–
the invention of right-handers and lefties it is quite difficult to determine the time in childhood by them.
At left-handed It is more difficult for children than for right-handers to form activity skills. Later than most, they begin to eat and dress on their own. If small lefty tired, it can become uncontrollable or whiny, with strong feelings–
conflict and restlessness. It is advisable to ensure that the child has enough rest and does not suffer from overload. Nadezhda Kryazheva in her book"Rejoicing Together" excellent exercises for preschoolers and younger students to develop self-regulation and relieve emotional stress.
LEFT-HANDED ADVANTAGES
lefties live in a right-handed world, their distinguishing feature–
flexibility (acquisition from the fact that they constantly have to adapt). Humanity has evolved along with the right hand and the left hemisphere, the culture is right-handed. lefties in order to survive in modern society, they use unique reserves: they rely not on logic and abstract thinking, but on images and feelings. The products of their activity are peculiar and unique, have a special value, bear the imprint of the individuality of their author.
Coaches in sports value lefties in team sports. There are many champions in fencing, boxing, tennis left-handed.
Left handed children far ahead in the development of the emotional sphere of right-handers and easier to adapt to severe climatic conditions.
The incredible merit left-handers it is important not to neglect–
depth and richness of the emotional world. That is why, for lefties the glory of gifted people has long been entrenched. In fact, it is easy for them to achieve success in the arts due to their strong imagination and imaginative thinking, especially in music, theater and in areas where creativity is needed.
lefties non-standard, but very often, with the right approach to their development and education, talented people, every fifth genius–
lefty.
HOW TO DEVELOP AND EDUCATE LEFT-HANDED CHILDREN
lefties very sensitive to assessments, you need to maintain their self-confidence (of course, not to the point of self-confidence). It is forbidden to compare lefties with whoever. If you can't do without comparisons, then compare left-handed child With myself. Tell him that the results he achieved today are much higher than yesterday. In doing daily activities lefties very intensively involve the brain, so parents need to pay them three times more attention than other children, monitor their emotional state, especially since emotions–
the main indicator of a child's mental well-being. It is very useful for them to practice modeling, origami, drawing with paints, especially with fingers, pastels and colored sand, etc.
It is strictly unacceptable to retrain lefty
–
this is violence against his mental nature and is fraught with the emergence of a stream of diseases and a decrease in life expectancy. It is also impossible to teach him to write with the right inclination and demand from him an uninterrupted letter. Letters left-handers it is better to write straight, without slanting.
In development lefties it is important to focus on reinforcing his creativity, not to box in when he creates. However, it is important to observe the regime, to be more often in the fresh air, to accustom to discipline, but not using edifications and orders, but advising. If you are a supporter of a tough upbringing, do without intimidation. WITH lefties the matter can easily reach the point of anxiety neurosis. But if you try to establish good relations with them and be their friend, they will do a lot for you. Baby–
yoga in the morning (search the Internet for exercises by age) perfectly disciplines and organizes. If you invite the child to imagine himself as some object or animal with which all these manipulations are performed, it will be fun and interesting for him to perform the exercises. It is important to avoid routine during developmental and educational activities. Good use of this principle«
Away with the ROUTINE with the help of FANTASY!»,
if school difficulties arise, because where the imagination is actively working and you can show originality as much as possible, left-handed comfortable and good.
When teaching, it is desirable to actively use visual aids, drawings, diagrams, forming vivid images in the child. Lefty will be much less tired and will study better and with pleasure if additional classes are introduced in the form of master classes, experiments, visiting interactive museums, theaters. In school education, a stake is placed on the auditory and visual perception (lectures, reading) of students. Learning Efficiency lefties will increase significantly if you connect all the modalities of his senses: touch, smell, hearing, taste, sight. Why not study geography or history, cooking a national dish with your parents and getting acquainted with the traditions of the peoples, gradually entering the school theme. Reading / literature can be learned in the theater by attending a play based on a work that is currently taking place at school.©The author of the article you are reading now, Khramchenko Nadezhda/
Left-handers are unique people, no one has any doubts about this. They make up 10% of the world's population, but sometimes it seems that they are forgotten: let's remember all the “right-handed” gadgets, not conveniently equipped desktops for everyone, as well as cutlery that is designed for right-handed use.
What are the causes of the "left-handedness" of a person?
Scientists do not give an exact answer to this question, but studies show a close relationship between genetics and the external environment of a person. There is no exact data on the presence of a "left" gene in a person, however, there is evidence for the fact that left-handed people usually have more "left-handed" relatives than right-handed people. In addition, scientists have found differences in the structure of the cerebral hemispheres in left-handers and right-handers.
No matter what makes people use their left hand predominantly, tireless researchers have found a number of qualities that are unique to left-handed people.
We offer to the attention of all left-handers, as well as right-handers with the manners of "left-handed" and "equal-handed" (or with the function of ambidexterity).
An Overview of Facts and Myths About Lefties
1. Left-handed people are more prone to mental disorders
Lefties make up 10% of the population. However, according to studies, in the group of people with mental disorders, this rate is higher. Recent studies have shown that 20% of people prone to mental disorders prefer to use their left hand.
Researchers from Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas examined 107 patients in outpatient psychiatric clinics. In the group with mild disorders like depression or bipolar affective disorder, 11% were left-handed. However, in the group with severe mental disorders, like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, the percentage of left-handers reached 40%. According to scientists, in this case, interhemispheric asymmetry matters.
2. Health can depend on a more developed hand
According to a study published in 2010 in the journal Pediatrics, left-handers are more prone to dyslexia (the inability to learn to read and write), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and several other neurological disorders. Researchers cannot explain this phenomenon, but they attribute it to the interaction of neural connections in the human brain. The human brain consists of two hemispheres: left and right. Most people (both right-handed and left-handed) use the left hemisphere to master speech.
However, about 30% of left-handers either partially use the right hemisphere, or do not have a dominant hemisphere at all. According to scientists, it is important that only one hemisphere is dominant, which is why left-handed people can experience such mental disorders.
But lefties are more fortunate in other respects. According to a study published in the journal Laterality, left-handed people are at lower risk of developing arthritis or ulcers.
3. Lefties process speech differently.
According to a study by the Georgetown University Medical Center, left-handed people perceive fast-changing sounds more easily than right-handed people.
The researchers found that the left and right hemispheres react differently to different sounds. The left hemisphere, which controls the right hand, is responsible for recognizing rapidly alternating sounds, like consonants, while the right hemisphere, which controls the left hand, is responsible for recognizing intonation modulations and slowly alternating sounds, like vowels.
If you believe the researchers, then when you wave the flag during the solemn speech of a politician, you will perceive his speech differently depending on which hand you hold the flag in.
This study can be a valuable aid in the treatment of stuttering or speech disorders.
4. And in the primitive age, left-handers were in the minority
“Right-handedness” is not a trend of our time: a person used his right hand more confidently than his left more than 500 thousand years ago.
Researchers from the University of Kansas recently determined the "handiness" of an ancient man by his jaw (which sounds rather strange, doesn't it?). A study published in the journal Laterality found that when our great-great-great-well, you get the idea-great-grandfathers worked animal skins, they held one end of the skin with their hand and the other with their teeth. By analyzing the wear and tear of prehistoric jaws, scientists were able to determine which hand our ancestors used the most. “One tooth is enough to determine whether a person is left-handed or right-handed,” researcher David Freyer told LiveScience magazine.
And what's the verdict?
"Prehistoric creatures, like modern humans, used predominantly the right hand."
5. Left-handers are more sophisticated and artistic
Left-handers have proudly claimed for years that they are more creative than right-handers. But is this true? Does being left-handed really mean being more creative and proactive?
According to a study published in the American Journal of Psychology, left-handed people do have at least one advantage in terms of creativity: they are better at divergent thinking, a way of thinking in which different solutions are generated in the brain at the same time.
To determine how creatively successful left-handers are compared to right-handed people, the Left-Handers Club conducted a survey of more than 2,000 left-handers, right-handers, and people with the same use of both hands. The study confirmed that left-handers are indeed more successful in terms of construction careers in the arts, music, sports and information technology.
6. Vote for lefties!
It turns out that it doesn't matter whether our politicians are "right" or "left": unexpectedly, the highest percentage of US presidents are on the "left" side - not in terms of politics, of course.
The list of left-handed presidents turned out to be quite impressive. Let's take as an example at least the last four of the seven US commanders in chief - these are Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Gerald Ford (and remember, in addition, James Garfield and Harry Truman). It was rumored that Ronald Reagan was born left-handed, but at school, strict teachers retrained him to be right-handed. Is it possible to accept the idea that right-handed presidents are simply pretending to be left-handed?
The growing number of left-handed presidents is probably a mere coincidence. However, data from a recent study by Dutch scientists suggests that left-handed politicians have an undeniable advantage in televised debates. Guess why? Usually, ordinary people associate right hand gestures as “correct gestures”, “kind gestures”. Since the television transmission works as a mirror image, the gestures of the left hand in the eyes of the viewer are displayed as movements in a positive direction (in the "side of good").
7. Left-handers win in sports
Golf legend Phil Mickelson, tennis star Rafael Nadal, boxing champion Oscar de la Goya - you have no idea how many of our sports favorites are lefties!
According to Rick Smits' book The Many Facets of the Left-Handed World, left-handers do have an advantage in combat sports. But only under the condition of a one-on-one competition. For right-handers, often the “left-handedness” of the opponent turns out to be a surprise for which they are not ready: for the most part, this applies to tennis, boxing and baseball.
8. Lefties get scared more often
According to the British Society of Psychology, left-handers are more susceptible to fear than right-handers.
Under the terms of the study, participants watched an 8-minute episode from the movie The Silence of the Lambs. After viewing, left-handers showed more signs of post-traumatic stress disorder than right-handers, and made more mistakes in describing what they saw.
“It turns out that left-handed people after experiencing stress (even if the stressful situation was in the movie) behave in the same way as people after post-traumatic stress disorder,” said lead researcher Carolina Chaudgerry. She believes that the reasons lie in brain activity. “Obviously, that the two hemispheres of the brain respond differently to stress, and the right hemisphere responds more to the fear factor.However, more research is needed before confirming something unambiguously, she adds.
9. Left-handers get more angry.
If you're having an argument with your right-handed partner (he may be right about a lot of things), your left-handedness may be the likely cause. Left-handed people are more prone to feeling negative emotions, moreover, they tend to worry longer and delay reconciliation, according to a flash study in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
10. Lefties are easier to discourage.
Lefties are much more prone to self-deprecation. Researchers at Abertay University in Scotland examined 46 left-handers and 66 right-handers for impulsiveness and self-control. It turned out that left-handers react more painfully to statements like "I am afraid to make a mistake" and "I am affected by criticism or ridicule." The combination of left-handers' responses led researchers to conclude that left-handers are more vulnerable, shy, and insecure than right-handers.
"Left-handers tend to be hesitant, brooding, while right-handed people are more determined and reckless in their decisions and actions," researcher Lynn Wright told BBC News.
11. Left-handers are more likely to pawn behind the collar.
The next time you're stuck at a bar with a tipsy friend, pay attention to which hand he's squeezing his whiskey glass, it's likely to be his left hand.
It has long been believed that left-handers are more prone to alcoholism. There were no reliable facts or convincing evidence in this regard. And only recently, a study conducted in 12 countries with the participation of 25 thousand people, clarified the situation a little. Left-handers do not make up the majority of alcoholics - however, they do drink more and more often than right-handers.
According to Kevin Denny, a researcher who conducted a study of left-handers' tendency to alcoholism, the results of which were published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, the main goal of the study was to debunk the myth of left-handed alcoholism. "There is no evidence to suggest that lefties are necessarily prone to excessive alcohol consumption," he notes in an official press release. “And there is no reason to argue that excessive drinking is due to disharmony in the work of the hemispheres of the brain or stressful situations due to the social status of left-handers as a social minority.”
12. Lefties have their own day.
Left-handers all over the world celebrate this day, which, with the help of the "Lefty Club" in the UK in 1992, became an official holiday in order to draw attention to the lifestyle of left-handers and their problems.
According to a statement on the website of the initiative group, "this holiday is a day when left-handed people are proud of their "left-handedness" and try to convey to the rest of their fellow citizens all its advantages and disadvantages."
How can righties celebrate this day? Create a Left-Handed Zone: If you're in a business where a narrow left-handed line is possible, go for it, design it, even if it's a small thing like left-handed office desks or left-handed cutlery.
The human body is a big mystery for the man himself.
Who is a lefty? This is a person whose right half of the brain dominates.
Usually, one half of the brain dominates, while crossing occurs, i.e. The right half of the human body is controlled by the left hemisphere, and the left by the right. Scientists have identified degrees of dominance: strongly pronounced (“one hundred percent” right-handed or pronounced left-handed) and weakly expressed (maybe 1-2 signs of “left-handedness” - the leading left eye and left ear, but the leading hand is right).
And people, the so-called ambidexters, for whom both hemispheres work equally, they equally well control both hands, ears, eyes, i.e. paired organs. There are few such people, but, according to scientists, their number is constantly growing.
How to find out what type a person belongs to? Next, we give the tests, but for now - the general characteristics.
If a person is “one hundred percent” right-handed, he has the following signs:
Writes and performs most actions, especially complex ones, with his right hand
Putting the phone on the right ear
Leading eye, ear - right
The leading leg is also right (it is jerky, a person starts walking from it)
If at least one of these signs has a mirror reflection (with the leading right hand, the left ear hears better, for example) - this is a more (or less) pronounced left-hander. Scientists call such people “hidden lefties”.
Scientists who conducted research to identify obvious and hidden left-handers found that 62% of such people! Those. more than half of healthy people! Although the percentage of left-handers-right-handers differs slightly among different researchers, it still turns out that left-handers make up about half of the total population.
Most people are "partially" left-handed (i.e., the dominant hand is left, and the dominant eye, for example, is right).
In young children, latent left-handedness, clear signs of the leading right hemisphere are observed much more often than in adults. Also, often children are equally good at both left and right hands, i.e. are ambidexters. It is believed that up to a year the foundation for brain development is laid, and the leading hemisphere is formed by the age of 6-7, but already at 4 years old you can confidently say which hand the baby is leading.
What are the hemispheres “responsible” for?
The left hemisphere is responsible for logical, analytical, abstract thinking. Responsible for speech (approximately 50% according to recent studies).
The right hemisphere processes information at the same time (i.e., left-handers and ambidexters cope with tasks faster when testing). Participates in adaptation processes. Responsible for emotions, intuitive abilities, “helps” understand humor, is responsible for spatial and visual functions (orientation on the ground). Very musical, sensitive to intonation. Responsible for imaginative thinking, imagination, creativity.
Any activity is “divided between the hemispheres of the brain in such a way that some stages are performed by the right, and others by the left, i.e. hemispheres of the brain work in close interaction, complement each other.
What problems do left-handed and ambidexter children have (both hemispheres work the same way).
Teaching writing and literacy is designed for right-handed children, strict requirements (laying a notebook horizontally with a slight inclination, holding a pen in a certain way, etc.) prevent children who are not right from fully developing, assimilation of information is disrupted, handwriting is violated, grammatical errors occur.
Often, at the beginning of mastering writing skills, children depict letters and numbers in a mirror image (“E” and “Z”, “6” and “9”, etc.) This indicates that the child has not yet fully formed the distribution of functions of the hemispheres, over time, mistakes will disappear, it’s not worth being afraid of them and fighting for “correctness”.
Usually such children draw well, are gifted musically, but with writing and reading until about the age of 9 and (each individually) there are problems.
Often, left-handers experience a delay in speech development, incorrect pronunciation of sounds, but this also disappears as they grow older.
Left-handers often dislike the exact sciences, but not because they are uninteresting or difficult. It’s just that schooling is built taking into account the peculiarities of the perception of right-handed children, while left-handed children learn educational material in a slightly different way.
Such children have a well-developed intuition, imaginative thinking, but the logic is “lame”.
Do not retrain the child - left-handed!And do not let other adults (teachers, educators, relatives) do this!
Left-handed children who have been stubbornly retrained develop neurosis, here are some of its manifestations:
Sleep disturbances, appetite disturbances, headaches, fears, daytime and nocturnal enuresis, lethargy, lethargy, blurred vision.
Most often, left-handed children of school age have asthenic neurosis. Its signs are: increased fatigue, a sharp decrease in working capacity, the child can work productively and actively only in the first two lessons, then motor disinhibition increases. Children constantly complain of fatigue, they are lethargic. The preparation of lessons is delayed, repeated rewriting only worsens the quality of the work.
What to do if the child has already been retrained or retrained, and now the left-hander is forced to write with his right hand?
Take your time to switch hands, especially if the relearning began long before school and the child is already at school, using mostly the right hand. In this case, you will have to put up with some lag in general development, as a rule, after the 1st grade everything gets better (in the absence of pressure from adults).
But in a situation where a child works hard with his left hand, despite relearning, allowing him to use it can remove many problems.
If the child was retrained, he uses his right hand, but is not yet in school or has just started learning, the change of hand will also lead to the solution and prevention of many problems.
LEFT-HANDED, RIGHT-HANDED OR AMBRIDEXTER?
Tests
One child is tested to rule out "monkey". Tests are conducted several times at time intervals (especially with children) and a conclusion is drawn based on the cumulative results.
Interlace your fingers into a lock. If the finger of the right hand is on top - a sign of a right-hander.
Take the Napoleonic Pose (arms crossed over chest). The hand that was on top is the leading one.
Applause. Right-handers clap their right hand on the motionless left palm, left-handers do the opposite. Children usually applaud with both hands placed parallel to each other - a sign of ambidexterity, this also applies to adults applauding with both hands.
The person usually gestures with the dominant hand.
The subject is given 2 pencils, blindfolded and asked to draw two circles or squares. The drawing made by the leading hand turns out to be more accurate, while the movements of the leading hand can be. slower but more accurate, less judder, sharper lines, no smoother corners. The kid can also try to complete this task with open and closed eyes.
If the child already knows how to write, ask him to write his name at the same time with both hands with open or closed eyes. As a rule, left-handers put both hands in the center of the sheet and begin to write with their right hand from left to right, and with their left hand from right to left. With their eyes closed, left-handers write their last name in a mirror image, and with their eyes open, as usual.
The child is offered several boxes. Task: "Find a match in one of the boxes." The leading hand is the one that performs active actions (opens, closes, pulls out, etc.)
Cutting with scissors. It is more accurate with the leading hand.
To identify the leading leg, watch how the person sits, if when throwing a leg over the leg, the right one turns out to be on top - it is the leading one. When walking, the leading foot takes a wider step.
To determine the dominant eye, invite the child to look into a small hole (in a camera, in a sheet of paper, etc.). First of all, the dominant eye is applied to the hole.
Ambidextrous, performing tests, give inconsistency. Such people can write with their right hand, listen with their left ear, eat with their left hand, and so on.
Left-handed people always got it from right-handed people for being "abnormal". In many beliefs and religions, left-handers were recognized as clumsy and inept, as well as vile, malicious and hypocritical. In Latin, dexter means right, which is also healing, and sinister means left and pernicious. In the languages of other peoples, the left hand is called dishonest, deceitful and vile, in contrast to the right - infallible, clean and healing. How long has left-handedness been considered a vice? It is assumed that the line of the watershed was the picture of the Last Judgment in the Gospel of Matthew, which legitimized the right and put the left out of bounds.
“Then the King will say to those on His right hand: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ... Then he will say to those on his left side: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire. prepared for the devil and his angels..."
Left-handers are still ignored and subject to, one might say, cultural pressure. Examples? Have you ever wondered why it is customary for us to shake the right hand when greeting, why the crown on wristwatches is on the right, the handsets in telephone booths hang on the right, the slot for the travel card in the subway turnstiles is on the right, the working tools are for the right hand, the release button is cameras on the right, door handles, and they are placed in such a way that it is convenient for right-handers, but not for left-handers? And why do we say "go to the left", "left earnings", "get up on your left foot", etc.
Scientists believe that in ancient times humanity was left-handed. The reasons for the prevailing right-handedness exist at the level of hypotheses. One of them says that in times of restlessness, which was a series of endless hand-to-hand wars, where the main ones were a shield and a sword, left-handers were simply exterminated, because they held the sword in their left hand, and the shield in their right, not being able to protect the left half of their chest with it. where the heart is. However, the most likely reason for the decrease in the number of left-handers is the gradual activation of the role of the left hemisphere.
Man is designed in such a way that the left hemisphere of the brain controls the right half of the body, and the right - the left. At the same time, although the hemispheres are outwardly similar and work together, they think and live differently. This is called interhemispheric asymmetry.
An ancient left-handed person had a more active right hemisphere, which is characterized by unconscious instinctive actions, flair and intuition, figurative memory, a deep sense of rhythm, colors, sounds, smells, touches, good orientation in space. With the advent of signs of civilization, many of the above properties of a person remained unclaimed and they began to be replaced by more necessary functions of the left hemisphere, which controls the right hand, such as conscious concrete thinking, mathematical and analytical abilities, speech, reading and writing, the ability to purposeful and differentiated actions. Imperceptibly losing the sixth sense, the child of nature gradually turned into a child of progress with an active left hemisphere and an active right hand. Right-handedness, reinforced by religious and cultural traditions, began to dominate, and left-handers, awkward and unadapted, were driven into a corner.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, scientists unanimously considered left-handers to be degenerates, and the right hemisphere to be a secondary, small hemisphere of the brain. In confirmation, left-handers were noted to have poor adaptability to life, instability and fragility of mental activity. Today, there is still an opinion that left-handedness is the result of brain dysfunction. But let's not persist in looking for pathological signs. It is too easy to get away from the truth, falling into the struggle for a normal person and starting to mechanically weed out redheads, hunchbacks, lame, cross-eyed, pockmarked, left-handers, etc.
Historical parallelism suggests itself. Witch hunts and bonfires do not honor homo sapiens.
Let's better understand what kind of people they are and what is their role in the life of mankind (perhaps not yet played). And discarding the wary-negative attitude, we will understand that they are not wrong, but simply not right.
Lefties were: Aristotle, Tiberius, Caesar, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Newton, I.P. Pavlov, N.S. Leskov, D.K. Maxwell, Ch. Chaplin, L. Carroll, P. Picasso. Of today's notable left-handers, let's name Ronald Reagan, Paul McCartney, Bruce Willis, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, David Duchovny. Comments are superfluous here. Left-handers have more than proved their usefulness.
Among them are many architects, artists and musicians. Left-handed boxers are known for their advantages, as are fencers and tennis players. In the emotional sphere, left-handers have their own characteristics: they are unrestrained, often timid, impressionable, conscientious, sensual and much more pessimistic than right-handers and ambidexters (a special type of people who are equally good at both right and left hands. There are such among us - everyone fifth).
Nature endowed left-handers with unusual (according to right-handers) properties.
They are able to perceive sounds and intonations differently, subtly isolating what right-handed people cannot hear. They listen to music better, or rather, hear it better.
They have a figurative memory, the ability to retain impressions for a long time and reproduce vivid memories. They can see the invisible by seeing the many-sided subtext in a simple image. They have a craving for paradoxes, their own look and special color perception.
They easily navigate in space, remembering all the moves and exits, remember the details and sequence of actions. In addition, they freely deal with time, fixing in memory the sequence of experienced events and easily returning to them, as if by invisible marks.
Connected to the unconscious, let it not sound like something from the field of kitchen psychology. Left-handers see the world differently, discovering and experiencing its other facets and qualities. This explains the phenomenal properties of some lefties: the ability to live one step ahead and predict the future. Enlightenment for them is a natural ability.
Against the background of these amazing left-handers, we, right-handers who can operate with numbers, think logically and speak fluently, look very mundane. There is only one consolation - most of us are a little bit left-handed, but left-handedness is not bright, but hidden, manifested in more active use of the left ear, left eye or left foot.
By the way, scientists suggest that the female mind approaches in its properties the brain of a left-handed man. Here, it turns out, where do wives get such amazing intuition and "X-ray-like" vision, which leaves no hope for husbands.
In the former USSR, studies of leftism were scattered and did not have a single goal. That is why, until recently, left-handers were mercilessly retrained in Michurin style, breaking down and correcting a natural "flaw". The result is the creation of a person who writes like everyone else, but suffers, lacks inner integrity and yearns for his left-handedness. What great labors this retraining cost, which disfigured the specific qualities of the psyche of left-handers and brought children to neurotic reactions, tics, stuttering and urinary incontinence. Often, having become more independent, a person was still more willing to work with his left hand, and this did not bother him at all - nature took its toll.
If you have a left-handed child, then do not put pressure on him, but consult a psychologist and select a teacher and an educational institution that can adapt and teach him to fully live in our "right", too rational world. If the left-hander is left alone, without trying to retrain, he will respond with high rates of mental development, creative thinking, outstanding abilities and achievements in architecture, music, and artistic creativity. Lefties should be protected, perhaps they have not yet fully revealed their potential. They also watch colored dreams and are able to see the future.
This simple test (according to A.M. Kiselev and A.B. Bakushev) will make it clear how left-handed you are and highlight some of your character traits.
For this you need in turn:
1. Interlace your fingers.
If the thumb of the left hand is the top one, write the letter L on a piece of paper, if the thumb of the right hand is the letter P.
2. Aim at an invisible target. If for this you use the left eye, closing the right, write L, if vice versa - P.
3. Cross your arms over your chest, taking the pose of Napoleon.
If the left hand is lying on top, mark it with the letter L, if the right hand - with the letter P.
4. Applaud. If you hit with your left palm on your right, this is the letter L, if the right palm is more active - the letter P.
PPPP (100% right-handed) - conservatism, orientation to stereotypes, non-conflict, unwillingness to argue and quarrel.
PPPL - the most striking character trait - indecision.
PPLP is a very contact type of character. Coquetry, determination, sense of humor, artistry, More often in women.
PPLL - A rare combination. The character is close to the previous one, but softer.
PLPP - analytical mindset and gentleness. Slow addiction, caution in relationships, tolerance and some coldness. More often in women.
PLPL - the rarest combination; defenselessness, susceptibility to various influences. More often in women.
LPPP - a frequent combination. Emotionality, lack of perseverance and perseverance in solving major issues, susceptibility to other people's influence, good
adaptability, friendliness and easy contact.
LPPL - greater than in the previous case, softness of character, naivety.
LLPP - friendliness and simplicity, some dispersion of interests and a tendency to introspection.
LLPL - innocence, gentleness, gullibility.
LLLP - emotionality, vigor and determination.
LLLL (100% left-handed) - "anti-conservative type of character." The ability to look at the old in a new light. Strong emotions, pronounced individualism, selfishness, stubbornness, sometimes reaching isolation.
LPLP - the strongest type of character; inability to change one's point of view, energy, perseverance in achieving goals.
LPLL - similar to the previous type of character, but more unstable, prone to introspection, has difficulty finding friends.
PLLP - easy character, ability to avoid conflicts, ease in communication and making acquaintances, frequent change of hobbies.
PLLL - impermanence and independence, the desire to do everything yourself.
It's no secret that a left-handed person differs from a right-handed person not only in that he writes while holding a pen in his other hand. Let's try to learn about the features, characteristics and qualities of a left-hander.
Today, about 8-15% of people in the world use the left hand as their predominant hand, they are called left-handers.
It is interesting that children choose the leading hand at the age of three, this manifests itself in games, creative activities - for example, when drawing, coloring, modeling. It is believed that in children who are left-handed, the right hemisphere of the brain is predominant (dominant). His work is responsible for the perception of the location and orientation in space, artistic perception, creative, including musical, abilities, intuition, imagination, emotions.
Psychologists often note that left-handed people are artistically gifted people, they have an excellent ear for music. In addition, left-handed people have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds and sometimes a delay in the development of speech. Speaking about other qualities of left-handers, psychologists note stubbornness, the ability to draw, sculpt, sing, difficulties with reading and writing.
Left-handed children are often trusting, direct, subject to other people's influence, mood. They are also characterized by capriciousness, tearfulness, perseverance and perseverance in achieving the desired. The reasons for the difference between right-handers and left-handers are that the right and left hemispheres of the brain are responsible for different areas of mental activity.
Also, experts note the connection of temperament with left-handedness. Left-handers are more emotional than right-handers, they have a problem with self-control. Left-handers can instantly get angry and lose their temper, but they have logical thinking, the ability to consistently process information, generalize and analyze it. Left-handers are distinguished by excellent physical mobility, craving for sports, impressionability and vulnerability, they also have a tendency to fantasize and have an excellent memory.
In the past, most children who involuntarily preferred to use their left hand were intentionally retrained. Many parents perceive the news that their child is left-handed negatively, but one should not be so categorical in their judgments. To date, all experts agree that in no case should a left-hander be retrained. The process of retraining a left-hander is a difficult test for his psyche, which will only cause stress and neuroticism in the child.
After retraining, children often suffer from neurotic disorders, including sleep disorders, appetite, headaches, enuresis, and stuttering.
As recommendations on the behavior of adults with a left-handed child, there is advice not to focus on the fact that the child differs from other children in his left-handedness. In a situation where the baby feels that his feature is of increased interest from others, his self-esteem may decrease and shyness and self-doubt may develop.
Interestingly, when choosing a profession, one should take into account the left-handedness of a person. Left-handers have proven themselves in such areas as design, photography, painting, architecture, music, and sports. It is noted that among left-handed people there are a lot of creative personalities who have achieved success, as an example we can name: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Vladimir Mayakovsky, composers Bach, Beethoven, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe. If a left-handed child has appeared in the family, you should not retrain him; rather, you need to give him a chance to express himself from the creative side and develop the features and skills that he is good at. Children need and need the support of their parents. Be healthy!
