Extraordinary, gifted and stubborn. Curious facts about left-handed people. A selection of interesting facts about left-handed people

1. About 10-12 percent of people in the world are left-handed. Women are more likely to be right-handed than men.

2. The official “Left Handers Day” is celebrated on August 13th. Initiated in 1992, this annual event honors left-handers and raises public awareness of the difficulties and frustrations of left-handers living in a world designed primarily for right-handers.

3. B different times left-handedness was viewed in different ways: as bad habit, as a sign of the devil, a sign of neurosis, a rebellious character, but also as a trait signifying creativity and musical ability.

4. Testing conducted by St. Lawrence University in New York found that among left-handers more people with an IQ greater than 140 than right-handers. Famous left-handed thinkers include Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Benjamin Fracklin.

5. Mothers who are over 40 years old at the time of birth are 128 times more likely to be left-handed than mothers who are 20 years old.

6. Among the Eskimos, every left-handed person is considered a potential sorcerer. In Morocco, left-handers are called s'ga, a word meaning devil. Among the Incas, left-handed people are able to heal, and have magical abilities. Among the North American Zuni people, left-handedness is considered a sign of good luck.

7. In many Islamic countries, people are prohibited from eating with their left hand, which is considered “unclean” as it is used to cleanse the body after defecation. Also, public display of the left hand is illegal in some Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia.

8. Despite the fact that almost 90 percent of people are right-handed, among cats, rats and mice, dominance of one of the hands (or more precisely, paws) in equally distributed between right-footed and left-footed.

9. Studies have shown that left-handers are more talented in spatial orientation, mathematics and architecture. Right-handed people are more gifted in verbal skills.

10. Left-handedness is inherited. So, left-handers in the royal family are the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Prince William.

11. Connections between the right and left sides of the brain are faster in left-handed people. This means that left-handed people transmit information faster, making them more efficient at dealing with multiple stimuli.

12. The left side has historically been considered weaker and also “feminine.” However, according to recent statistics, men are more likely to be left-handed than women.

13. Premature babies are more likely to be left-handed. In addition, infants with low Apgar scores at birth are more likely to be left-handed than those with higher scores.

14. Researchers have found that, on average, left-handers reach puberty later than right-handers.

15. Only about 1 percent of people on earth are truly equally fluent in both hands.

16. Research has shown that if a left-hander injures his dominant hand, he will learn to use the other hand more easily than a right-hander.

17. According to the Journal of Nervous and mental illness However, left-handed people's brains process emotions differently, and left-handed people are more susceptible to negative emotions such as anger.

18. Some scientists have suggested that Lefty was originally in the womb with a twin who did not survive, a phenomenon called the “vanishing twin.”

19.When the baby is placed on his stomach, right-handed people turn their head to the right. Left-handers tend to turn their heads to the left or have no preference for either side.

20. Among the most famous left-handers are: Paul McCartney, Bill Gates, Fidel Castro, Henry Ford, Charlie Chaplin, Alexander the Great, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Lewis Carroll, Julius Caesar, Mozart, Beethoven, Nietzsche, Mark Twain, Prokofiev, Goethe , Kafka and many others.

People with a dominant left hand, in other words, left-handed people, have always been born. In ancient centuries, left-handers were considered sorcerers and witches, because they often had extraordinary abilities. And such people were burned at the stake. IN Ancient Rus' Left-handers were not allowed to testify in court. It was believed that the devil was left-handed.

Fortunately, times have changed, and it has long been known that magic does not play any role here. A left-handed person is already born. Nature created us asymmetrical. Our brain itself chooses which hand will be dominant. If the right hemisphere of the brain is more developed, then the left hand becomes active, and vice versa, if it is more developed left hemisphere, then the main hand will be the right.

We have selected 5 of the most interesting facts from the life of left-handers:

- Left-handed people are very gifted people who have extraordinary abilities or have some outstanding talent. For example, scientist Albert Einstein, Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar, writer Leo Tolstoy, artist Pablo Picasso, actress Marilyn Monroe - they were all left-handed. But still modern psychologists They believe that a person's genius does not depend on which hand is dominant. But the thinking of left-handers and right-handers is different. And this remains a fact.

- Left-handed people are more creative, active, they do not sit still, they absorb information whole. But here they may have problems with logic. Left-handed people are able to grasp information on the fly, they see the whole problem, right-handed people need to sort everything out. If a purely left-handed person has difficulties with mathematical problems, then it will be easier for him to explain the material using images. Right-handers, on the contrary, prefer logic. They make good analysts and excellent strategists.

- Statistics indicate that There are many left-handed people among successful athletes. Tennis player Rafael Nadal, football player Pele. Left-handed tennis player Martina Navratilova held the title of world number one for nine years. This was an absolute record.

Statistics show that 40 percent of gold medals are won by left-handed athletes.

There are not so many pure left-handers in the world. In the animal world the opposite is true. There are more lefties there. For example, monkeys and polar bears have a stronger left paw. But, as an exception, right-footed animals are also found in the fauna world, although much less frequently.

The other side of the coin is that left-handers are more likely to suffer from schizophrenia and alcoholism. However, scientists different countries There are differences of opinion about this extraordinary fact.

In order to determine who your child is, you can conduct a simple test. To begin with, let's define main hand– to do this, ask the child to clasp his hands together. Whichever finger is on top - that hand will be the leading one. You can also fold your hands in front of you in the Napoleon pose (clasp your hands together in front of your chest); if the right hand is on top, then it is the child’s main one. Now let's try to determine the leading ear. Ask your child to listen to the ticking wristwatch. Whichever ear he reaches for them will be the dominant one. In order to determine the active eye, you need to make a small round hole in a piece of paper and ask the child to look into it. Whichever eye looks into this hole will be the main one. Finally, you can check the child's leg. Just ask him to cross his legs. The leg that is on top will be the leading one.

If the child did everything with his left hand, then you have a pure left-hander, of whom there are no more than 10 percent on our planet. And about 45 percent are pure right-handers. If, when performing the test, “left” and “right” are mixed up, then it means that your child is a hidden left-hander; there are about 50 percent of such people. There are also ambidextrous people. There are very few of them. These are people in whom both hands function equally well and the dominant one does not stand out. Such people have the ability to use both hemispheres at once. Ambidextrous children learn better new information, more intelligent, adapt more easily to new conditions. When raising such a child, you need to take into account that if both hemispheres of the brain are under heavy load, then the child may experience neurasthenia, he will become very tired, and headaches may occur.

To avoid this, you need to try to reduce the load on the left hemisphere, which is responsible for intellectual development and logic, instead develop more the right, which is responsible for creativity. For example, instead of additional math classes, take your child to drawing, dancing, you can enroll your child in music school. Then the child’s brain will not experience excessive stress.

But our world is more suitable for right-handers, since they are still the majority. For example, if you take a store. In all supermarkets, movement around the sales floor goes counterclockwise. This is designed to make it easier for right-handed shoppers to add items to their cart. The more goods are taken, the faster store sales grow.

Marketing move. Sports stadiums are built on the same principle. Athletes run around the stadium counterclockwise so that when turning, active right leg could have saved the runner from falling. The turnstiles in the subway are adapted for right-handed people, as is the hand hole in the sewing machine. For left-handed people we were able to find only stationery supplies - scissors, sharpeners, rulers with a mirror scale. For now, lefties have to deal with the rest themselves.

The terminology "left-handed" refers to a person who uses his left hand more often and more intensively than his right hand for his needs. Let's talk about the characteristics of these people and figure out how to retrain a child from left-handed to right-handed and whether it needs to be done.

Attitudes of peoples towards left-handers

In ancient times, left-handedness was considered a serious disability and was rarely viewed positively. Now we can celebrate the day of left-handers. International holiday falls on August 13th.

In the languages ​​of some peoples, the word “left-handed” has an unrespectable meaning - clumsy, inappropriate, but life shows that this is far from the truth. According to the Incas, being left-handed is great luck and happiness. The ancient Germans despised left-handed people, considering them incompetent.

Today Hitler is considered left-handed, and he began to use his right hand only after coming to power.

In some African tribes There is a belief that left-handed compatriots can spoil food or even poison it. And the Eskimos are sure that every left-hander has the makings of a sorcerer. Also, people in the East were prejudiced against left-handed people. A Japanese woman who was left-handed and right-handed at the same time could lose her family. Men divorced wives whose left hand was more active than the right.

Left-handers were not trusted in Rus' either; they were forbidden to testify in court. In schools Soviet Union left-handed schoolchildren were taught to write with their right hand.

Why did they retrain left-handers in the USSR? The system that existed at that time assumed the equality of people in everything, the manifestation of individuality was suppressed. Until the 70s. They wrote with ink that smeared on the paper. It was easier to retrain.

With the beginning of perestroika, attitudes changed. In 1989, a monument to Lefty was erected in Tula. It symbolizes the city's craftsmen. Interestingly, among local residents The myth about Master Surnin spread. Allegedly, he lived under Catherine II and was the prototype of the hero from Leskov’s story. Nikolai Semenovich himself said that the image is fictitious and has no connection with real people.

In the old days, they didn’t think about how to retrain a left-hander to be right-handed. Inquisition judges considered left-handed women accused of witchcraft to belong to the devil. In the famous verdict and burning of Joan of Arc, the activity of her left hand played a decisive role.

How do you feel about left-handed people? Do you have such friends and are they sorcerers? :) Write in the comments.

Statistics

The percentage of left-handers in the world is quite large. In numerical terms, this group accounts for approximately 500 million people (8-10%). According to statistics, by 2020 the number will increase to a billion. There are several reasons for the appearance of left-handed people. The main one is genetics. The left-handed gene was first discovered in 2008.

A person with a developed left hand is not an anomaly. This is especially important to know before retraining a left-handed child to become right-handed. These people simply have a more developed right hemisphere of the brain. The site has detailed information on this topic.

Interestingly, there are more left-handed men. More often such people can be found in Southeast Australia, South Asia, of Eastern Europe, less often - in Northern and Western Europe, Africa.

The Greatness of the Left Hand

Facts from history testify to the tremendous successes of people with this feature. You can’t help but wonder, how can you quickly become left-handed if you’re right-handed?

Here are examples of great personalities:

• Politicians - Queen Victoria, W. Churchill, Alexander the Great, Fidel Castro, Barack Obama;
• businessmen - Henry Ford, John Rockefeller, Ross Perot and Bill Gates;
• athletes - Garry Kasparov, Pele, M. Sharapova. Interestingly, according to statistics for 2014, out of the 50 best tennis players, 20 are left-handed;
• scientists - I. Newton, A. Einstein;
• artists and painters - Raphael, Durer, Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci;
• actors - Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Paul McCartney.

Is Putin right-handed or left-handed? This issue was actively discussed on the Internet. The head of state wears a watch right hand, this became the reason for the discussion. This manner is characteristic of hidden left-handers. But people who know the president personally claim that he developed the habit after practicing judo.

Formation of left-handedness

child in preschool age There is no left-handed or right-handed person due to the peculiarities of the development of the body. The hemispheres of the brain develop unevenly. Up to 5 years the right part of the box is formed, and up to 8 – 12 – the left part of the box. Most kids try to do everything with their left hand, but you can only tell if a child is left-handed or right-handed when they reach the age of 5.

As children grow, both hemispheres can develop equally. Right-handed and left-handed at the same time is called ambidexter. This is a rare and little-studied phenomenon. Sometimes the system fails: heredity, head injury, pregnancy, imitation of adults. Then the left side of the body becomes the leading one. Serious damage to the right hand causes a tendency towards left-handedness. But the body remains under the influence of the left hemisphere of the brain.

A left-handed child, due to developmental characteristics, differs from other children:

• Confused about spatial connections and the words that define them (lower, higher, left);
• prone to creativity, far from exact sciences;
• may stutter;
• demonstrates unconventional thinking in everyday matters.

These signs will help you both determine whether a child is right- or left-handed and make a decision about the further upbringing of the child.

Retraining lefties

Is it necessary to retrain a child to be left-handed? Previously, the answer was unequivocal - yes. We cited Soviet schools as an example, but this was accepted in many countries. People didn’t think about the fact that this was dangerous, because under pressure it’s impossible to learn to write with your right hand if you’re left-handed.

The brain reacts painfully to coercion, and a person’s mental and physical condition worsens. Forcing children to change their dominant side is like learning to walk on their hands.

Is it possible to retrain yourself? People show different learning experiences, but left-handed people tend to lose their creative potential. To relearn, you need to focus on your right hand, try to perform all actions with it.

When retraining yourself, it is important to act as desired. Interestingly, the brain itself switches the leading hemisphere. This happens after severe injuries, strokes, and heart attacks. In general, it is possible to partially retrain both left-handed and right-handed. But the dominant part of the brain, given by nature, will remain.

The leading hemisphere of the brain is responsible for human development and thinking: the right hemisphere for left-handed people, and the left for right-handed people. However, the working hand does not yet determine the main hemisphere. There are absolute and partial left-handers and right-handers. In the former, one of the hemispheres is strongly dominant over the other, in the latter there is no such obvious difference. If a person has developed both hemispheres, then he is ambidextrous.

The left hemisphere is responsible for speech, as well as rational and constructive thinking, and the perception of verbal signals. It strives for consistency and specificity. Right-handers find it easier to concentrate, unlike absent-minded left-handers.

The right hemisphere is “associative”. Left-handers have developed intuition. They are constantly in close contact with their subconscious, so they have developed Creative skills, because it is the unconscious that processes all the information perceived by a person. If you know how to listen to it, it will definitely give you the most unimaginable and brilliant idea. This is the answer to the question why there were so many left-handers.

Some statistics

Lefties in a right-handed world

Scientists put forward several hypotheses about why there are more right-handers than left-handers: this and natural selection, and initial predisposition. Here is the most convincing of them: the left half of the brain began to sharply predominate over the right at the moment when a person mastered speech and thinking. This happened in time immemorial when primitive people lived in caves, hunted wild animals and survived by any means. In ancient drawings from the late Paleolithic, a person is already depicted with a metal spear or club in his right hand.

Naturally, the tools were made to suit the needs of the majority. The economy and everyday life were formed in such a way that it was carried out by the main part of humanity - right-handed people. This is how it was built cruel world right-handed For left-handed children, he was harsh and merciless. In the Middle Ages, out of fear, mothers swaddled and immobilized the baby's left arm while breastfeeding. A left-handed child became not only useless to society, but also dangerous. While mowing wheat, a left-handed peasant could injure another worker with a sickle or break a saw while working in pairs. Girls needlewomen also had a hard time; many skills required active use of the right hand.

The word “left” was associated with something bad and negative. In Spain, the Devil was considered left-handed. On icons depicting doomsday sinners were necessarily drawn on the left side of Christ. Under Peter the Great, crooked people, red-haired people and left-handed people were not allowed to be witnesses in court.

In the 21st century, civilized countries are creating comfortable living conditions for left-handed people. Household items for left-handers are produced, and even work machines, machines and other serious equipment are manufactured.

Historical exceptions

On Greek vases there are images of left-handed warriors: they hold a shield with their right hand and a sword with their left.
In the army of Alexander the Great there was a detachment of brilliant warriors of 700 people. They were all left-handed and were called the "Left Division".
For the Egyptians, entering a house with the left foot was a good omen.
Left-handedness was considered great luck among the Incas.
It is customary among the Eskimos to treat every left-handed person with respect, because he is the bearer of witchcraft power.

How to determine the main hemisphere

It is possible to determine whether a child is left-handed or right-handed only from the age of 1.5-2 years. Before this age, children are characterized by “obeseness.” They use one or the other hand at different periods of development, their duration is from 1 to 3 months. From the age of two, it is no longer difficult to understand which hand will be the dominant one. Observe the child with which hand he draws, plays, combs his hair, dresses, eats.

For older children and adults, the following tests are suitable to help determine the main hemisphere:

Place your arms across your chest in Napoleon pose. Which one is on top? Left hand - the right hemisphere predominates, and if the right hand - the left hemisphere predominates.
Interlace your fingers. Thumb, which is on top, will show which hemisphere is dominant. The pattern is the same as in the previous test.
When jumping, a person pushes off the ground with his leading leg. Jump.
To identify your dominant eye, select an object and point at it with a pencil or pen. Focus on the target with both eyes. Close the left one, then the right one. The dominant eye is the one that, when closed, causes the target to shift more.

Left-handed and right-handed differences

Left-handed people are impressionable and emotionally excitable, they experience negative events in their lives strongly and deeply, and are easily offended. Left-handers are characterized by increased moodiness.
Left-handers are more susceptible to the influence and mood of others than right-handers.
Left-handers tend to have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds and difficulty speaking. They often have problems writing letters, sometimes whole words and even phrases: they write in a mirror manner (da Vinci phenomenon). Right-handed people don't encounter this.
Right-handers are more practical and stable, in contrast to fickle, sensitive and changeable left-handers.
Right-handed children find it easier to concentrate on their studies than their left-handed classmates with scattered attention.

Outstanding left-handers

Many famous figures visual arts, writers, musicians and scientists had right-brain thinking: Leonardo da Vinci, V.I. Dahl, N.L. Pavlov, Napoleon Bonaparte, L.N. Tolstoy, A.S. Pushkin, Albert Einstein, M.V. Lomonosov, Julius Caesar, Mozart, Bill Gates, Lewis Carroll...And this is not a complete list.

All of humanity can be divided into many groups using different criteria: nation, religion, skin color, gender characteristics, tea or coffee lovers, and so on. Another significant difference that divided the whole human race into two camps - this is the dominant activity of the right or left hand. How is left-handed different from right-handed? Let's try to figure it out.

Famous lefties

Such outstanding personalities as Julius Caesar, A. Macedonsky, W. Churchill, both Bushes, B. Obama, L. da Vinci, A. Einstein, N. Tesla, I. Newton, P. Picasso, and many film actors were left-handed.

A few facts about left-handed people from history

Simply put, some people are left-handed, others are right-handed. How a left-handed person differs from a right-handed person is obvious from the terms themselves. However, in addition to visual differences, there are also those that are not visible to the naked eye. For example, left-handers have a more developed brain, which is responsible for memory.

And indeed, many creative people"left-handed". In ancient times, much attention was paid to how a left-hander differs from a right-hander.

By the way, over the centuries, some peoples respected such people, while others, on the contrary, discredited them in every possible way. So, in Ancient Greece they were held in high esteem, since they were credited with nothing less than kinship with the gods, and it was believed that such people brought good luck. Similar beliefs prevailed in India and China.

Medieval Europe was not particularly tolerant, so here left-handers were suspected of conspiring with the devil, accused of all mortal sins and subjected to terrible torture. Those who survived developed amazing agility and adaptability, qualities that began to be inherited and made left-handers only stronger.

The fate of left-handers in the 20th century

At the beginning and middle of the 20th century, they abandoned such radical methods and from an early age the child was simply retrained, that is, they developed the habit of using the right hand more. A similar example is well described in the novel “The Thorn Birds,” where main character, little Maggie, was subjected to similar practices.

There was a completely reasonable explanation for this. Almost all agricultural and military equipment was going under right-handers. Lefties would simply have a hard time adjusting later in life.

Later, psychologists proved that imposing skills contrary to their nature on left-handers has a negative impact on psychological and physical well-being. According to other authoritative researchers, in the process of suppressing their natural nature, they also lose their unique abilities.

Differences between left-handers and right-handers

What is the difference between left-handers and right-handers? early age. More than half of left-handers have a faster rate of development compared to their right-handed peers. The percentage of people with the makings of genius among left-handers is much higher.

It has long been proven that this quality is inherited, starting from the second generation and beyond. The same parents may have different children.

Left-handed and right-handed: differences

An interesting fact based on research: for every thousand right-handers, one left-hander is born. There are other interesting observations:

• Not everyone will openly admit it, but an anonymous survey found that nearly 68 percent of right-handed people among 1,000 people surveyed did not trust left-handers and had no desire to develop closer relationships with them.
• IN former times In some countries, left-handers preferred to enter into marriages with their own kind, so that their descendants would also have this feature. This was due to a fairytale theory that said that being left-handed means that a person has divine genes.
• Left-handers quickly master and adapt to themselves all the technical devices they need.

A few facts about lefties

There are several points about how a left-handed person differs from a right-handed person, what is the difference between them:

1. In left-handed people, the right is more developed. In right-handed people, the opposite is true. In the first case, it is creativity, emotionality, impressionability, sudden changes in mood, developed intuition; in the second - logical thinking, abilities in mathematics and other exact sciences. Both hemispheres control body movements, but do so crosswise.
2. Many athletes are left-handed. This applies to various martial arts, boxing, fencing, where they practice tactics that are convenient for them and problematic for their opponents.
3. Every fifth outstanding person is left-handed. A study was conducted: the “left” and “right” were asked to solve the same problem. Left-handers coped faster and almost always found more solutions.
4. In difficult circumstances, right-handed people act more quickly, but left-handed people find original ways out of the situation.
5. Retrained left-handed people, when returning to their natural abilities, can also return their “divine gift”.
6. There are also back side. Many mentally ill people, famous serial killers, maniacs and rapists were left-handed or showed hidden “left-handedness.”

Tests: how to identify left-handedness in a child

There are several ways to determine whether a newborn belongs to a particular group. If during the first weeks of life a baby, lying on his back, raises his left hand up, holding his right hand tightly to himself, he is left-handed. In the first three days after birth, the child predominantly tilts his head to the right - he is right-handed, to the left - he is left-handed.

For older children, it is enough to observe their daily actions: which hand holds a comb, cutlery, which hand reaches out to take something. The conclusion is very easy to draw.

Left-handed children

It is worth mentioning that there is a third type of people called ambidextrous. These are people who can use both their right and left hands equally. This is a very rare phenomenon, possessed by less than 1 percent of humanity.

What distinguishes a left-handed person from a right-handed person at a young age is stubbornness and well-developed fine motor skills. Don't be surprised if a left-handed child at the age of three draws better than you did in high school, sings more melodiously than a nightingale, and shows interest in playing musical instruments.

Gullibility, one might even say naivety, is how left-handed people differ from right-handed people. It happens that such children begin to talk later and have difficulty pronouncing certain sounds.

Psychologists say that in order to form a full and healthy development in left-handed children, it is necessary to create for them an environment of love and understanding. Do not point out the sloppiness that appears in them at first, and do not compare them with other children. A child should not feel like an outcast because of his innate characteristics. The task of parents is to instill self-esteem in such children and help them master the things around them at their own pace.

The ability to persevere through difficulties is what distinguishes a left-hander from a right-hander. Perhaps this character trait was inherited from their ancestors, who were subjected to various kinds of discrimination.

Consequences of improper training for left-handed people

Of course, not everything is so simple and obvious. There is no need to immediately label people based on which hand they have. Almost all experts in the field of education and personal development unanimously declare the dangers of retraining left-handed people. Indeed, in the future this can lead to disruption of sleep and wakefulness, cause digestive disorders, frequent migraines, painful sensations in the right hand and many other deviations from the norm.

How are left-handed people different from right-handed people? This list is big. But we should not forget that the ability to write with one hand or another is far from the most important quality of a person.

The difference between left-handers and right-handers is quite multifaceted, but in general their behavior can have a lot in common.