How Right- or Left-Handed Are You?


 
K

Keith Jenkins

TVWBB Fan
No political comments please, but I noted from another thread on kitchen knives, that there was a bit of discussion on how much or how little folks used one hand or another for everyday tasks after I brought up left-handed knives (they do exist).
Sometimes folks just assume that people are either completely right-handed, or completely left-handed, but that is not always the case.
In the early 1970's there was a questionnaire developed called the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (wikipedia article), that was aimed at determining the dominance of a person's right or left hand in everyday activities.
While not entirely scientific and sometimes disputed, it is interesting to do one of these questionnaires to determine just how dominant one is in laterality, (one's preference for one side of their body over the other).
There is an online version of the questionnaire that is readily scored called a Handedness Questionnaire if anyone is interested in taking it.
I took it, and my raw score indicates that I'm in the 10th left decile, which means I'm solidly left-handed, but my augmented index is: -86.67, since I do use a computer mouse right-handed, and sometimes drink right-handed, particularly at meals.
 
Last edited:
Jepprey P said:
5th left decile with my augmented index at -66.67.

There are three other people in my office and we're all left-handed, but we all use a mouse right-handed.

Also, using scissors right-handed. Growing up, we used what was available and frankly schools I attended didn't really accommodate left-handed people.
Click to expand...
Yeah, my schools had only minimal accommodations for left-handers. Sometimes there were LH scissors in the rack, and sometimes I just struggled with RH pairs - often with the paper just going vertical between the blades rather than cutting. My mother told me many years later that one of my elementary school teachers approached her about "fixing" me but my mother wouldn't have it - thanks Mom!
 
I think most right handed people are 100% that way. A lefty is a different animal from what I've observed in my left handed son. He kicks a ball with his right foot for example and when he was very little he was a right handed hitter in baseball. I had to make him hit left handed and he became very good at it. The real odd thing is when I tried to get him to switch hit, he would not do it as he was no longer comfortable hitting right handed.
 
Keith Jenkins said:
Interesting - was the reason to bat on either side intended to throw off the pitcher, or something else?
Click to expand...
IDK, I grew up watching the (now) old timers on TV, with the Cubs, Milwaukee Braves (yes Braves not Brewers), the Brooklyn Dodgers (not the LA ones), the White Sox and saw how the announcers thought it was so special that some of the batters could go from either side, so I decided I wanted to as well. Also bear in mind I did not play "baseball" we played 16" softball (usually in the alley dodging horse S&*t, and cars and such. Or the school yard.
Chicago was a little bit of a different world in the 50s/early 60s
 
I’m pretty left handed when it comes to writing and eating, but a surprising number of things I do right handed, play music, drive, cooking is (like playing music) an exercise which requires both hands. I’ve already spewed about left handed instruments or keyboards and of that so, I shoot righty, drink with both hands, used to smoke left handed. So, take that at face value.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
I’m pretty left handed when it comes to writing and eating, but a surprising number of things I do right handed, play music, drive, cooking is (like playing music) an exercise which requires both hands. I’ve already spewed about left handed instruments or keyboards and of that so, I shoot righty, drink with both hands, used to smoke left handed. So, take that at face value.
Click to expand...
Sounds like me.
 
I have never discussed this outside of my family and a few friends. I've never known anybody like me who is mixed. I figured I am just weird. Maybe my brain is wired funny.

So I had to reply in the recent knife thread when somebody mentioned they do a few things with one hand and most things with another.

I write and eat righthanded, but cut meat at the dinner table lefthanded. I slice meat at the kitchen counter right handed. I use scissors righthanded (which is nice because scissors are designed for right handed people). I throw/kick lefthanded/footed. I bat lefthanded. I serve in tennis lefthanded but volley righthanded. I play ping pong righthanded. I shoot a pistol righthanded, but I shoot a rifle lefthanded. I can aim with either eye. I have to listen to a phone with my left ear. I can't use my right ear. I don't know why. I just can't. Both ears work fine. I mean, for an old guy.

Overall, I've always considered myself lefthanded. At least I did as a kid. Now that I'm older and don't play baseball or football, maybe I should consider myself righthanded? :-)

I am not ambidextrous though. I can't switch-hit in baseball. I can't throw righthanded.

Edit: I just did the handedness questionnaire. The only left answer was throwing. Seems like the list is short on lots of things I do lefthanded.
 
Last edited:
Timothy F. Lewis said:
I’m pretty left handed when it comes to writing and eating, but a surprising number of things I do right handed, play music, drive, cooking is (like playing music) an exercise which requires both hands. I’ve already spewed about left handed instruments or keyboards and of that so, I shoot righty, drink with both hands, used to smoke left handed. So, take that at face value.
Click to expand...
You may have heard this story in that case; that Jimmy Hendrix was left-handed, but couldn't find a left-handed guitar. He refused to learn to play right-handed, but instead learned to play a right-handed guitar upside down. I understand he reversed the string order as well to make it easier for him to play.
 
Mark_E said:
I have never discussed this outside of my family and a few friends. I've never known anybody like me who is mixed. I figured I am just weird. Maybe my brain is wired funny.

So I had to reply in the recent knife thread when somebody mentioned they do a few things with one hand and most things with another.

I write and eat righthanded, but cut meat at the dinner table lefthanded. I slice meat at the kitchen counter right handed. I use scissors righthanded (which is nice because scissors are designed for right handed people). I throw/kick lefthanded/footed. I bat lefthanded. I serve in tennis lefthanded but volley righthanded. I play ping pong righthanded. I shoot a pistol righthanded, but I shoot a rifle lefthanded. I can aim with either eye. I have to listen to a phone with my left ear. I can't use my right ear. I don't know why. I just can't. Both ears work fine. I mean, for an old guy.

Overall, I've always considered myself lefthanded. At least I did as a kid. Now that I'm older and don't play baseball or football, maybe I should consider myself righthanded? :-)

I am not ambidextrous though. I can't switch-hit in baseball. I can't throw righthanded.

Edit: I just did the handedness questionnaire. The only left answer was throwing. Seems like the list is short on lots of things I do lefthanded.
Click to expand...
I think you would be considered mix-handed, since you don't have equal abilities with either hand, but perform some tasks one hand, and some tasks with the other.
 
Keith Jenkins said:
Sounds like you may be ambidextrous, which is more rare (at about 1% of the population) than being left-handed (at about 10% to 15% of the population).
Click to expand...

I'm totally not. But I do a few things lefty, while being a righty. Notably - brushing teeth, throwing a frisbee, and a couple other things. Interestingly, my oldest son (17) is a pitcher and 1st baseman. He throws righty, but bats lefty. Put a hockey stick in his hand and he does that lefty as well. He writes and does most other things right handed.
 
Yes, if you ever see films of Hendrix it's very obvious he's playing a right handed guitar upside down so reversing the strings would really not do him any good really.
As for shooting here is a weird one. My wife is right handed. She shoots rifles lefty and pistols righty. Yep, she's weird :D
Another interesting old guitar player thing. Was Jim Croce. If you ever see him playing you will rarely see him put his fingers into the fret board. Because from doing so much trade type work, his hands were so large and muscular with huge fingers, he usually tuned open chord and simply "barred" up and down the neck LOL.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top