How Right- or Left-Handed Are You?


 
I have always thought of myself as a Lefty because I write left-handed. Lefty shooter, some tools, spoon stirrer/user, throw/kick, but I do a lot of other stuff right-handed including picking my nose.

When I was a young 'un at school our teacher use to rap me on the knuckles for writing left-handed. My Mum soon put a stop to that!!!

Writing left-handed is an advantage if you can write Arabic, Persian, Hebrew & others.

I took the test. I have no idea what the results mean. :unsure:
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TonyUK said:
I have always thought of myself as a Lefty because I write left-handed. Lefty shooter, some tools, spoon stirrer/user, throw/kick, but I do a lot of other stuff right-handed including picking my nose.

When I was a young 'un at school our teacher use to rap me on the knuckles for writing left-handed. My Mum soon put a stop to that!!!

Writing left-handed is an advantage if you can write Arabic, Persian, Hebrew & others.

I took the test. I have no idea what the results mean. :unsure:
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@TonyUK, take a look at this scale. You're almost in the middle of being both a lefty and a righty.
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5th right decile, index 70, according to the results, although there are many unlisted tasks I do left-handed. Working as a mechanic for the better part of my life, being fairly ambidextrous was an asset. I also swung a baseball bat equally well in either stance. After a motorcycle accident in '08 left me with a prosthetic shoulder implant on the right side, I learned to use my left hand/arm a lot more too.

Had to laugh about what @LMichaels said about his wife's shooting. I grip a pistol left-handed since the accident but haven't been able to shoulder a rifle or shotgun since. As much as I've tried, just can't hit the broad side of a barn lefty with a long gun. Just as well, as I don't have the stamina for hunting any more:)
 
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.

Your son is right handed -- just like my son. Handed-ness when it comes to sports sticks (hockey, lacrosse, baseball, golf, etc.) and other implements is pretty fluid. Most people can use a shovel or rake either way. Those are all two handed tasks. But throwing and writing are VERY dominant hand activities.

Most NHL players are right handed but shoot lefty. Especially the Canadiens, who are taught to use the dominant hand on the butt end because it helps with stick handling. Less so in the USA, where kids are more likely to have picked up a baseball bat before a hockey stick.

In the MLB, there are 2X more players who throw right/bat left (including the best ever Ted Williams) than who throw left/bat left. Plus you have switch hitters in addition. Part of that is the advantage you get in baseball from hitting left (righty curveballs come towards you; get to first quicker) and the disadvantage you get throwing left (you can't play second, shortstop, third or catcher). No one in baseball switches their throwing hand away from their dominant side.

Phil Mickelson is righty but famously plays golf lefty. His right/dominant hand controls the direction and arc of the swing -- which is important. His non-dominant left hand supplies the power (also important). TL/DR -- in golf, both hands matter. But the most common error in golf is having the dominant/lower hand be TOO dominant in the swing.

My son writes and throws righty, but plays hockey, lacrosse and golf lefty. Can switch hit in baseball. Played a lot of basketball and lacrosse -- both of which sports emphasize development of the weaker hand. Like most hoopsters, he can shoot lay ups right or left (depending on which side of the hoop you are on) and dribbles well with both hands. But his jumps shots are always/only right handed.

I'm very lefty, but have learned to do certain things righty out of necessity (scissors, computer mouse, opening doors). I went to Catholic grade school after they stopped making lefties write righty. But before they stopped teaching penmanship with fountain pens. To this day, I habitually always roll up my sleeves (or at least my left sleeve) when I sit down at a desk. Because if I didn't do that, the left sleeve of my white uniform shirt would get totally stained with ink. Which my Mom would be unhappy about. So the nuns cut me a break on the rolled up sleeves.

By the way, Uniball Jetstream is a great no smudge pen for lefties to use.
 
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TonyUK said:
@Jepprey P
Thanks for that J. Middle of the road then. But what is The augmented (15 item) index is: 13.33? :unsure:
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@TonyUK the augmented (15 item) index score puts you into the middle decile (-28 to 48).

The original Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI) was 18 items, but was then paired down to 10 items. The questionnaire at the link Keith provided adds 5 additional items (computer mouse, key, hammer, brush/comb, and cup) for the augmented index score.
 
I’m right handed but have trained myself to do a few things left handed.
I can throw a football, weld, strike, and shoot left handed .
The only thing I’m really more comfortable with is striking left handed.

When I was getting sized for a custom dry suit years ago they took like 50-60 measurements.
The guy asked me if I was a righty or a lefty and I told him I could do a few things left handed.
He then asked me if I was ambidextrous and I said maybe.
He then told me it was a trick question because just about everyone says that.
He said that the truth to that question lays within the tale of the tape as in which arm measures larger.

Me? I am closer than I thought and my right arm is slightly larger.
 
Mark_E said:
Me too. Makes sense to me though. With a pistol, you extend your right arm, aim, and fire. With a rifle, you extend your right arm, aim, and fire. Clearly, this is a sign of advanced intelligence. ;-)
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Well, that, and I'm left eye dominant and can only wink with my right eye (another 'oddity' of me). But I can't imagine physically trying to hold a rifle on my right side and firing it.
 
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I started life as a "southpaw" but the education system "fixed" me and I learned to write right handed. Half of my children are left handed. I do most things with either hand, but my left hand is used when I need dexterity.

I took notes in high school, writing with my left hand. I paid for a lot of lunches in elementary school by playing school yard basketball games of H-O-R-S-E, telling people that I would shoot the ball left handed.😁 Another strange thing is I can read upside and backward. I discovered that gem in high school too.
 
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Jim C in Denver said:
By the way, Uniball Jetstream is a great no smudge pen for lefties to use.
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Thanks for the tip on the Uniball Jetstream, I'm always interested in hearing about pens that dry quickly and don't smear. Many of the gel pens I've tried leave me an ink-heeled left hand. I tried Zebra pens, as those do dry fast and don't smear, but I find that they skip anywhere I've touched the paper before writing.
 
B.A. Poole said:
I started life as a "southpaw" but the education system "fixed" me and I learned to write right handed. Half of my children are left handed. I do most things with either hand, but my left hand is used when I need dexterity.

I took notes in high school, writing with my left hand. I paid for a lot of lunches in elementary school by playing school yard basketball games of H-O-R-S-E, telling people that I would shoot the ball left handed.😁 Another strange thing is I can read upside and backward. I discovered that gem in high school too.
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I recall having "mirror-writing" (writing letters/words backwards) when I was first learning to write. I think that came from trying mimic what my teachers were trying to demonstrate with their right hands in during writing lessons. I can usually read upside / backwards as well without a lot of difficulty , though it is getting tougher if the letters are small, 🔎.
 
Keith Jenkins said:
Thanks for the tip on the Uniball Jetstream, I'm always interested in hearing about pens that dry quickly and don't smear. Many of the gel pens I've tried leave me an ink-heeled left hand. I tried Zebra pens, as those do dry fast and don't smear, but I find that they skip anywhere I've touched the paper before writing.
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www.nytimes.com

This Pen Has Been Our Top Pick for a Decade. And No, You Can't Borrow Mine

Never lend out the Uni-ball Jetstream—it will invariably be “borrowed” permanently.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
There have been hundreds of “flip the guitar” players, Hendrix didn’t do anything new with that, I think I heard that he saw Elizabeth Cotten play the upside down manner and said, that would work for me! I’ve seen some people mandolin that way but they are rare as hens teeth.
I never even thought about needing to do something like that, I’m too cheap to buy something special and too lazy to try to reverse engineer playing style.
 
A friend of a friend was lefty guitar player. But he played a right-hand guitar......strung for a righty! The low E-string was on the bottom etc etc. I never could get my head around that.
 
Jim C in Denver said:
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.

Your son is right handed -- just like my son. Handed-ness when it comes to sports sticks (hockey, lacrosse, baseball, golf, etc.) and other implements is pretty fluid. Most people can use a shovel or rake either way. Those are all two handed tasks. But throwing and writing are VERY dominant hand activities.

Most NHL players are right handed but shoot lefty. Especially the Canadiens, who are taught to use the dominant hand on the butt end because it helps with stick handling. Less so in the USA, where kids are more likely to have picked up a baseball bat before a hockey stick.

In the MLB, there are 2X more players who throw right/bat left (including the best ever Ted Williams) than who throw left/bat left. Plus you have switch hitters in addition. Part of that is the advantage you get in baseball from hitting left (righty curveballs come towards you; get to first quicker) and the disadvantage you get throwing left (you can't play second, shortstop, third or catcher). No one in baseball switches their throwing hand away from their dominant side.

Phil Mickelson is righty but famously plays golf lefty. His right/dominant hand controls the direction and arc of the swing -- which is important. His non-dominant left hand supplies the power (also important). TL/DR -- in golf, both hands matter. But the most common error in golf is having the dominant/lower hand be TOO dominant in the swing.

My son writes and throws righty, but plays hockey, lacrosse and golf lefty. Can switch hit in baseball. Played a lot of basketball and lacrosse -- both of which sports emphasize development of the weaker hand. Like most hoopsters, he can shoot lay ups right or left (depending on which side of the hoop you are on) and dribbles well with both hands. But his jumps shots are always/only right handed.

I'm very lefty, but have learned to do certain things righty out of necessity (scissors, computer mouse, opening doors). I went to Catholic grade school after they stopped making lefties write righty. But before they stopped teaching penmanship with fountain pens. To this day, I habitually always roll up my sleeves (or at least my left sleeve) when I sit down at a desk. Because if I didn't do that, the left sleeve of my white uniform shirt would get totally stained with ink. Which my Mom would be unhappy about. So the nuns cut me a break on the rolled up sleeves.

By the way, Uniball Jetstream is a great no smudge pen for lefties to use.
Click to expand...
My youngest son is like this. In T-Ball he batted and throwed left-handed. Then in Farm division (ages 6-7) he said he wanted to start throwing and batting right-handed because he felt more comfortable doing that. He did and never looked back. He began his freshman yr in HS in late August, and should make the JV baseball team. You would never guess that in T-ball, he batted and threw Left Handed. The weird part is that he writes left handed so go figure.
 
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