Advantages of being Left-handed and Consequences of Reeducation

1. Left-handedness
Advantages of being Left-handed and Consequences of
Reeducation

2. Outline
1. What is Handedness?
2. The Struggle of being Left-handed
3. Advantages of being Left-handed
4. Consequences of Reeducation

3. What is Handedness?

4. “
”
The tendency to use either the right or the left hand more
naturally than the other.
Oxford Dictionaries (online)

5. Handedness and Brain Lateralization
• Human brain composed of
two halves
• Different specializations
• One half – more active than
the other
LEFT HEMISPHERE RIGHT HEMISPHERE
LANGUAGE FANTASY
SCIENCE EMOTIONS
LOGIC CREATIVITY
MATHEMATICS PERCEPTION
RIGHT HAND CONTROL LEFT HAND CONTROL

6. Types of Handedness
• Right-handedness
• Left-handedness
• (Mixed-handedness)
• (Ambidexterity)
10%
90%
World Population
Left-handed Right-handed

7. The Struggle of being Left-handed
• Writing – smudges
• Scissors – repetitive strain
injury
• School desks – no arm rest

8. The Struggle of being Left-handed
• Interpersonal actions
• Dangerous power tools
• Life expectancy
• 2,500/year killed from using
equipment meant for right-
handed people

9. Advantages of being Left-handed
• Sports
• Advantage: better spatial
perception
• E.g. boxing, tennis, table tennis,
fencing

10. Advantages of being Left-handed
• Creativity
• Dominance of brain‘s right
hemisphere: fantasy, emotions,
perception, music, art etc.
• Backwards writing/reading
• Right to left – natural direction
for left-handers

11. Advantages of being Left-handed
• Adaptability
• World dominated by right-
handed people
• Lefties get used to it
• It‘s cool to be different!

12. Consequences of Reeducation

13. Consequences of Reeducation
• traditional/cultural reasons
• E.g. in Islamic countries – left-handedness: stigma
• Germany until 1970s – reeducation of left-handed preschoolers

14. Consequences of Reeducation
• Fatal consequences
• Mental issues
• Memory defects and speech
disorders
• Bedwetting
• Inner conflict

15. Summary
• Reason for handedness: different partial activeness of the human brain
• Different types of handedness
• Right-handedness
• Left-handedness
• (Mixed-handedness)
• (Ambidexterity)

16. Summary
• Due to right-handed domination (90%), left-handers confronted
with problems, awkwardness and even danger
• But: many advantages e.g. in sports, creativity, perception,
adaptability

17. Summary
• Left-handedness – negative in many cultures
• Reeducation brings fatal consequences
• “left-hander in a right-hander’s body”

18. Thank you for your attention!
(Do not miss Left-Handers Day, August 13th!)

19. Sources
• Markowitsch, Hans J., Klinische Neuropsychologie, Göttingen : Hogrefe Verl. für
Psychologie, 1997
• Zuckrigl, Alfred, Linkshändige Kinder in Familie und Schule, München : E.
Reinhardt, 1986
• Kalilich, Jordon, “Being Left-Handed”, http://www.theworldofstuff.com/lefty/
(collected 8/6/2014)