Left handed people are considered the odd-balls of society. They make up about ten percent of our population, according to Everydayhealth.com. Although scientists haven’t figured out exactly what cause the difference between left and right handed people, they have found some evidence that it could be due to environmental and genes. They have also found common personality traits.

Lefties seem to have a higher risk of psychosis. Researchers have found that in populations with certain mental disorders, the rate of left handed people goes up. Previous studies have found that people with psychosis had a 20 percent likelihood of being left handed.

Scientists have also found an increased risk for dyslexia, ADHD, and certain mood disorders in left-handed people, according to a 2010 study published in Pediatrics

According to leftyfretz.com, Thomas Carlysle, a 19th century British writer suggested that left handers form such a small percentage of society as a result of some evolutionary weeding out in days gone by.  For example, a left handed warrior would hold his shield with his right hand, thereby leaving his heart (which is located more to the left) more exposed.  So the higher death rate of lefty warriors would help to justify the highly elevated number of right handed people today.

Another theory involves fear. Lefties might be more prone to showing signs of fear. In one recent experiment, lefties who watched an eight-minute clip from the film Silence of the Lambs exhibited more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder than did their right-handed counterparts. That may be because the right side of the brain, which is dominant in lefties, is more involved in the fear response, according to Dr. Carolyn Choudhary of Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh

Some researcher believe that left handed people might have an advantage in politics. According to theweek.com, Stanford researcher Daniel Casasanto found that politicians tend to accompany statements they see as positive by gesturing with their dominant hands. When a righty uses his dominant hand to give a thumbs up, television viewers (who see the image flipped) see him gesture on the left side of their screen. The left handed, meanwhile, appear to be putting things in a much more positive light for the 90 percent of viewers who are right-handed.

Whatever the reason is between the difference of our left and right handed society, both have their own strengths and weaknesses. It doesn’t change who they are.

FSA Connection

1. Are you a leftie or a righty?
2. Do you agree with Daniel Casasanto that left handed people are better is politics? Why or why not?
3. Have you ever noticed any differences between the left and right handed people?
4. What differences have you noticed, if any?