Left-handedness
A person who is left-handed is more dextrous with his or her left hand than with their right hand: they will write with their left hand, and probably also use this hand for tasks such as personal care, cooking, and so on. Approximately 10-13% of the population is left-handed. People who can use both hands equally well are ambidextrous.
Throughout history being left-handed was considered as negative - the Latin word sinister meant "left". Hence the many negative connotations associated with the word "left-handed": clumsy, awkward, unlucky, insincere, sinister, malicious, and so on. There have been, however, many famous left-handed people, and the associated right brain hemisphere that is said to be more active in left-handed people, has been found in some circumstances to be associated with genius and is correlated with artistic and visual skill.
Most primates also exhibit a preference for using one hand over the other although their populations are not right-hand preferencial.
Left-handed - ambidexterity - Right-handed
|
