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View Poll Results: Left or right handed?
Left 17 23.29%
Right 48 65.75%
Mixed Dominance 8 10.96%
Voters: 73. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 12-14-2006, 02:22 AM   #1 (permalink)
Ironduke
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Left or right handed?

Are you left or right handed?

I write with my left hand, but for all tasks involving the use of my arm, I use my right arm.

Some snippets from Wikipedia:
Quote:
Some left-handed people consider themselves oppressed, even to the point of prejudice. Etymology often lends weight to the argument:

In many European languages, "right" stands for authority and justice: German and Dutch, recht, French, droit, Spanish, diestro; in most Slavic languages the root prav is used in words carrying meanings of correctness or justice. Being right-handed has also historically been thought of as being skillful: the Latin word for right-handed is "dexter," as in dexterity; indeed, the Spanish term diestro means both "right-handed" and "skillful".

Meanwhile, the English word "sinister" comes from Latin and it originally meant "left" but took on meanings of "evil" or "unlucky" by time of the Classical Latin era. "Sinister" comes from the Latin word sinus meaning "pocket": a traditional Roman toga had only one pocket, located on the left side for the convenience of a right-handed wearer. The contemporary Italian word sinistra has both meanings of sinister and left. The Spanish siniestra has both, too, although the 'left' meaning is less common and is usually expressed by 'izquierda,'[15] a Basque word. The German word for left is links, and the adjective link in German has the meaning of "slyly" or "devious", while linken means "to betray" or "to cheat" (sb.).

A left-hander was supposed to be not only unlucky, but also awkward and clumsy, as shown in the French gauche and the German links and linkisch. As these are all very old words, they support theories indicating that the predominance of right-handedness is an extremely old phenomenon.In Portuguese, the most common word for left-handed person, canhoto, was once used to identify the devil, and canhestro, a related word, means "clumsy".

In ancient China, the left has been the "bad" side. The adjective "left" (左 Mandarin: zuo) means "improper" or "out of accord." For instance, the phrase "left path" (左道 Mandarin: zuodao) stands for illegal or immoral means. In some parts of China, some adults can still remember suffering for the "crime" (with suitable traumatic punishments) of not learning to be right-handed in both primary and secondary schools, as well as in some "keeping-good-face" families.

In Norwegian, the expression venstrehåndsarbeid (left-hand work) means "something that is done in a sloppy or insatisfactory way".

Even the word "ambidexterity" reflects the bias. Its intended meaning is, "skillful at both sides." However, since it keeps the Latin root "dexter," which means "right," it ends up conveying the idea of being "right-handed at both sides."
Quote:
Cross-dominance, also known as mixed-handedness, mixed dominance and cross laterality, is a motor skills manifestation in which a person not necessarily being truly ambidextrous favors one hand for some crucial and precise fine motor skill operations and the other hand for others tasks. It can be readily observed, for example, in some police force members who hold a pistol with one hand and write with the other.

It can also refer to mixed laterality, which refers to a person favoring eyes, ears, feet, or hands on opposite sides of the body. Cross-dominance can often be a problem when shooting or in activities that require aim, as the mind usually focuses on a side.
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Old 12-14-2006, 02:28 AM   #2 (permalink)
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I'm left handed, the only thing I am right handed in is hockey.
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Old 12-14-2006, 02:52 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Ambidextrous, except for writing- RH. All else is either/or no pref.
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Old 12-14-2006, 03:09 AM   #4 (permalink)
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I'm right handed except for 2 tasks: driving and batting.

I can only drive with my left hand. Right hand is too stupid to hold the wheel.

I can only bat with my left hand. Right hand just feels weird. It wasn't always that way. I bought a right handed batting glove and got used to hitting left handed. However, if I pick up a bat for anything other than hitting a baseball, I would be right handed.

I voted right handed because my left handedness is too specific.
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Old 12-14-2006, 03:11 AM   #5 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZFBoxcar View Post
I'm left handed, the only thing I am right handed in is hockey.
That's just a weird thing I noticed about hockey players. Usually right handed people shoot left in hockey, if they started young. Most people who started later shoot the same hand as their dominant hand. Why is that?
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Old 12-14-2006, 04:28 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Im left handed, but an evil housekeeper when I was little taught me to use chopsticks with my right hand using the old time tested method of open hand to back of head. I can still eat with either hand.
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Old 12-14-2006, 06:00 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Me right handed...although i really should try to be more ambidextrous.
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Old 12-14-2006, 06:59 AM   #8 (permalink)
glyn
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I am definitely ambidextrous, as I am equally gauche with either hand!
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Old 12-14-2006, 09:18 AM   #9 (permalink)
Julie
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I read somewhere back awhile ago, that lefties were more intelligent. I think it was even discussed here a long time back. The left-handers I've ever known were highly intelligent.

For me, I am right-handed in everything.
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Old 12-14-2006, 09:41 AM   #10 (permalink)
MarquezRazor
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Originally Posted by Julie View Post
I read somewhere back awhile ago, that lefties were more intelligent. I think it was even discussed here a long time back. The left-handers I've ever known were highly intelligent.

For me, I am right-handed in everything.
There is no such thing as lefties are more intelligent or anything...but there is such a thing which says"lefties are more accident prone"
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Old 12-14-2006, 10:37 AM   #11 (permalink)
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Born lefty, converted to Right hand by stoopid school teachers and parents. They forced me to write Right. Now I do most things mix or Right.
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Old 12-14-2006, 10:54 AM   #12 (permalink)
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I can hoist a beer with either hand.
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Old 12-14-2006, 11:15 AM   #13 (permalink)
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I have also heard where left handers are more intelligent and I also have known that to be true in most cases of left handed people I have known.

But I am not one of them. I remain right handed.

My small room mate used her left hand for everything when she started to do small motor skill things. I think because her father and I are both right handed, though, she mimicked us and switched. She is also right handed.
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Old 12-14-2006, 11:19 AM   #14 (permalink)
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Left handed except for writing. That I used to do with left as well before the penguins changed that via ruler/yardstick to right. Writing with your left hand in those days was deemed unaccaptable.
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Last edited by Dreadnought : 12-14-2006 at 11:24 AM.
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Old 12-14-2006, 11:26 AM   #15 (permalink)
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"Left handed people are evil I tell ya." SMACK.
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