Right Handed Bias

Since the beginning of time the left-hander has been the runt of the litter, the lame duck, the shunned one, and an overall disappointment to society, and rightly so. The world has always been dominated by right-handers, never have lefties been the majority, they are always in the minority. Right-handers on the other hand, enjoy the spoils of their dominance, and this shows in the way the world has been set up: in an almost exclusively right-handed way. Everything from tools to computers favor the right-hander and many a lefty has complained about this. They believe the world should be a little more considerate and take the lefty population into account, but when only ten percent of the population is left-handed, there shouldn’t be much to argue about. Is this the reason lefties claim to be superior to right-handers, because they must overcome right-handed obstacles throughout their life that makes them stronger and smarter? The battle has raged for centuries, are lefties superior to right-handers? Lefty apologists cited a higher number of wealthy and famous lefties in comparison to right-handers, and although at first look lefties appear to have and upper edge, their so-called advantage is merely a plea from a minority crowd looking for a little respect and a reason to call themselves superior.

For years lefties have all claimed to be intellectually smarter than their neighboring right-handers. To support their statement they call upon the names of Barak Obama, Bill Gates, Paul McCartney and many more. Lefties believe they are special because five of the last seven presidents were left-handed (Berman), but what about the thirty-five or so other presidents who were all right-handed? They believe the names of a few celebrities will prove lefties superior, but when ninety percent of the population is right-handed, there are just as many and probably more right-handers who have been influential in shaping the course of history. If ninety percent of the population is right-handed then one can expect there to be more famous right-handed people. The only reason we know that famous people are left-handed, is because they are left-handed, which makes them something out of the ordinary.

Indeed when lefties cry out claiming to be a special breed, at first glance, this seems to be the case, but when we dig deeper, evidence shows that lefties aren’t all that superior after all. ABC News reporter, Amanda Onion, highlights some of these issues saying, “Statistics show left-handed people are more likely to be schizophrenic, alcoholic, delinquent, dyslexic, and have Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as mental disabilities. They're also more likely to die young and get into accidents” (ABC News). As you can see, when pit against each other, right-handers seem to have the advantage in several important categories. This fact departs from the claim that lefties are superior to right-handers as clearly they are not.

One of the main reasons lefties consider themselves superior is because they have bilateral brain function, whereas right-handers gravitate towards using a single brain hemisphere. At first glance having bilateral brain function would seem to give lefties a great advantage, as they would be able to think quicker, be more adept in various aspects of life, and able to think in broader terms. However, when a deeper, more in-depth look is taken, bilateral brain function is not all it seems to be. This is supported by an Oxford University group of scientists who, “believe carrying the gene [of bilateral brain function] may also slightly raise the risk of developing psychotic mental illness such as schizophrenia” (BBC News). Studies prove that bilateral brain function has some major side affects, which almost outweigh the minimal advantages it gives. This would give the right-hander an advantage in life expectancy, relative immunity to disease, and a lesser chance of developing psychotic illnesses.

In fact right-handers seem to be better off than lefties in a world that is fashioned for the right-hander. Ninety percent of the population has it easy; everything is built to work for them and as a result they are less inclined to obtain the emotional scaring many lefties possess due in part to the hardships of living in a right-handed world. Science hasn’t proved for certain whether or not this gives lefties an upper hand (because they overcome obstacles everyday), but one would think it affects them in some way, good or bad. The fact remains: right-handers don’t have to worry if the scissors are going to work for them, nor do they have to worry about struggling with a can opener, nor complain about fighting with a computer mouse, yet lefties do. When ninety percent of the population is right-handed, righties must be doing something right. That sentiment was basically what many people thought back in years past, and which played and still plays a big factor in lefty “persecution”.

In the early nineteen hundreds, being left-handed was strictly forbidden in many countries, not just the United States. In the “B.C.” years, being left-handed was looked down upon as a mark of the devil, thus very few lefties existed. Lefties would claim that this “persecution” has forced them to develop into stronger, and more determined individuals, and this may be the case, as there certainly is no evidence to support it either way. But the fact that there has been “persecution” throughout time leads to a question: Why all the hard feelings against lefties? Why do lefties feel as if they need to exalt themselves over right-handers? Well, it’s certainly not a simple question to answer, but it may have something to do with that number of a ninety percent right-handed population. Minorities have always been teased and picked on, simply because they are the minority. With lefties it is probably no different. In a world filled by six billion people, only six hundred million are left-handed, and those six hundred million people are unique and different but in the minority, leaving the remaining five billion four hundred million in the majority.

People who are different aren’t exactly loved and endeared as they feel they should be. In fact people who are different are usually shunned, or looked down upon, which may lead to feelings of resentment toward those who did the shunning. In the case of lefties, who have been scorned for centuries, many are simply looking for justification, and as a result claim to be superior, even if the world says other wise. The facts, the evidence, the statistics all come together to show that lefties are no better than their right-handed counterparts, and that right-handers are no better than their left-handed counterparts.

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Works Cited

Berman, Russel. “One Election Outcome Certain: A Lefty Will Win White House.” New York Sun 23 June 2008. <http://www.nysun.com/national/one-election-outcome-certain-a-lefty-will-win/80480/>

“Gene for left-handedness is found” BBC News. 31 July 2007. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/healt

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Onion, Amanda. “The Left-Handed Advantage.” ABC News 17 Feb. 2005. 20 Jan. 2009 <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=498707&page=1>.