European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

Too many lefties here?

by Jerome a Paris
Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 04:54:14 PM EST

Michael Spinnaker
Researchers at the University of Melbourne have found that "left-handed children do significantly worse in nearly all measures of development" - and left-handed boys do even worse than girls.
The Melbourne research, based on a study of 5,000 four and five-year-old children, found that left-handers did well enough in "expressive English", but were less competent than right-handers in "social/emotional skills, gross and fine motor skills and receptive English skills". How much less competent? The Melbourne researchers said: "This difference is large and of the same magnitude as the effect of maternal education on child development." In other words, being left-handed is as damaging to a child's development as having a bad mother.
Nor does it improve as left-handers get older. According to the Journal of Rehabilitation, research shows that left-handers are more likely to suffer from language disorders, autism, dyslexia, "schizotypal behaviour patterns", seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Worse, it is perfectly legal for employers to discriminate against left-handers.

The NBER paper said: "Among the college-educated men in our sample, those who report being left-handed earn 15 per cent more than those who report being right-handed." And here is another twist. Not only do those left-handed men end up overtaking the right-handed. They also overtake the left-handed girls who did better than them as children. Left-handed women earn no more than anyone else.
How to explain all this? The researchers give up: "We do not have a theory that reconciles all of these findings."

Lefties are an oppressed elite, obviously. Just like French bureaucrats and atheists.

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Too many lefties here? | 56 comments (56 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

Cross dominant, but mostly right myself.

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 05:13:36 PM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 6)

Leftie here, but I must object to the results - when I was four, I barely spoke any English at all.

"The basis of optimism is sheer terror" - Oscar Wilde

by NordicStorm (michael<-at->sturmbaum.net) on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 05:25:00 PM EST

What this? (4.00 / 2)

No poll?

by Magnifico on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 05:31:28 PM EST

Re: What this? (none / 0)

here

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 05:44:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 4)

There is an explanation: men who are

less competent than right-handers in "social/emotional skills,

are more likely to earn more in the current system... ;-)

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

by Melanchthon on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 05:34:03 PM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

Totally an impression, but since I lost all my testosterone and substituted for oestrogen I have become much more emotionally aware (an ongoing project) and make far fewer mistakes than I used to. I'm still not really up to the level of the average female I meet so most of the time I notice it in crippling guilt attacks for past behaviour.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 05:50:11 PM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

Wow, so my wife has been right about me all along!

I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell. _ Blood Sweat & Tears

by Gringo (stargazing camel at aoldotcom) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 04:16:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 5)

Left-handed preznits:

* 20th James A. Garfield
* 31st Herbert Hoover
* 33rd Harry S. Truman
* 38th Gerald Ford
* 40th Ronald Reagan
* 41st George H.W. Bush
* 42nd William J. Clinton
* 44th Barack Obama

Think we've figured out where things went wrong.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 07:13:14 PM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

wow that's a brutal list

by paving on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 07:45:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

Yes, but, alas, Junior is among the right-handed. Think the lefties still win with that in mind.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 at 08:51:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

Additionally, it might be difficult to determine the handedness of the earlier presidents, as it wasn't uncommon to force left-handed children to use their right hand when writing.

"The basis of optimism is sheer terror" - Oscar Wilde

by NordicStorm (michael<-at->sturmbaum.net) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 12:02:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

I was born left-dominant but was switched in infancy. Many of the things I do right-handed, I do backward.

by rifek on Thu Feb 26th, 2009 at 12:44:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

Just look at the run since Nr 38. Only two righties since Nixon. Carter and Jr.

I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell. _ Blood Sweat & Tears

by Gringo (stargazing camel at aoldotcom) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 04:21:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

LTE (4.00 / 10)

To the Editor of European Tribune

Dear Sir,
As a straight, white, English-speaking, elite-educated, right-handed male, I am writing to express my dismay and irritation at the leftie bias shown in your so-called publication. It was not this cack-handed agitation that made England what it is.
Yours sincerely,
Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 01:44:07 AM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 5)

European Tribune - Too many lefties here?

language disorders, autism, dyslexia, "schizotypal behaviour patterns", seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder

Oh crap I'm doomed.

Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine - Patti Smith

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 02:41:47 AM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 4)

European Tribune - Too many lefties here?

How to explain all this? The researchers give up: "We do not have a theory that reconciles all of these findings."

Left-handers are bullied as children, and discriminated against as adults. This explains the school underperformance and the multiple ailments they suffer as adults. But the school underperformance is not because of lower ability, but because of bullying and institutionalised right-handedness. Therefore, those left-handed men who perform despite their oppressive social environment are actually above average.

Left-handed girls are not bullied as left-handed boys are. Boy and Girl playground dynamics are known to differ substantially. The absence of selection pressure on the left-handed girls due to handedness explains the lack of observed difference as adults.

How's that for a theory?

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 04:17:10 AM EST

"How's that for a theory?" (4.00 / 4)

Better then the one we are going to hear from the "experts."

God do I hate this kind of crap.

The Fates are kind.

by Gaianne on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 04:50:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 4)

And how do girls manage to escape institutionalised right-handedness? Methinks your theory to reconcile all the findings has a few holes.

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 06:48:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 3)

They have institutionalised sexism to deal with. Left-handedness is a second-order effect in their case.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 06:52:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

Ooook... I'll take that as relaxed banter (I tend to take things too seriously: I must fight my nature).

From the above FT article:

research shows that left-handers are more likely to suffer from language disorders, autism, dyslexia, "schizotypal behaviour patterns", seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder.

I'm quoting that lest we forget there's a neurologic basis for left-handedness, which is not fully understood. Provided that scientific curiosity is kept alive, I think the prudence of a sentence like "We do not have a theory that reconciles all of these findings" is commendable.

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 07:15:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

I forgot. Full disclosure: I'm right handed !

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 07:27:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

If handedness genetically linked to sex? Autism seems to be.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 08:37:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

Aha!

In 1998, a study suggested that approximately 7 to 10 percent of the adult population was left-handed, and that left-handedness is more common in males than females.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 09:36:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

Could mistreatment and a right-handed environment not be a reason for neurologic pathologies?

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 12:07:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

Theory, schmeory. Baby Jesus just hates lefties. They told me so on teevee.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 08:00:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

Baby Jesus just hates lefties

And redheads, too...

"Ce qui vient au monde pour ne rien troubler ne mérite ni égards ni patience." René Char

by Melanchthon on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 09:40:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Readheads (none / 0)

That would put me in with the Enochians ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 10:09:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

Becoming good friends with some of the school toughs, was one way to avoid being bullied by them or others. The tough, problem kids seemed to find it somehow flattering that a scrawny left handed, brainy kid would seek their friendship. I really didn't realize what I was doing at the time except that I just didn't except the fact that a tough couldn't also be a nice person, not to mention a valuable friend. I realize now that many of these kids had really bad home lives. It should have come as no surprise that they also had coping problems. Maybe that was the common bond after all.

I can swear there ain't no heaven but I pray there ain't no hell. _ Blood Sweat & Tears

by Gringo (stargazing camel at aoldotcom) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 04:37:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

Left-handers are bullied as children

How common is this today (as opposed to even 40 years ago? I wasn't.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 12:04:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

I'm just assuming it is more likely given all the other information given in the original quote about "social skills", school performance and adult PTSD.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 12:08:08 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

I get it, so you mean bullied in general, not bullied for being left-handed.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 12:20:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

I am taking left-handedness as the most easily ascertained characteristic in a cluster of correlated neurophysiological characteristics.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 12:24:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

Is it? I'm told most "left-handed" people are left-handed in some things, and right-handed or both-handed in others. Though if we focus only on writing, that may be enough for the purposes of correlatedness.

*Traitor*, n.
A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.

by DoDo on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 01:06:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

Well, that would be the "theory" I was advancing in my top-level comment.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 01:11:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

I noticed rates of left-handedness over 30% in top french engineering schools. And similar rates in many places where I worked (which where biased toward technical style high-earners).

Either the left handed really perform better (then that rate would have been the same in the same sort of place 30 years ago, but I wasn't there to check and have no reliable data), or they are less discriminated against nowadays (and the rates should grow in the entire population, I suspect it but again I have not checked).

It's also possible that those portions of the schooling system which discriminate the less against left-handed also happen (surprise !) to give the best education. So you end up with a correlation (without causation...) between the top tier of society, and left-handedness.

In any case, the rant against left-handed sounds like it's paid for by some intelligent design society (you know, the left hand is the one of the devil)

Pierre

by Pierre on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 09:39:44 AM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

Pierre:

Either the left handed really perform better

Hmmm... They might perform better in that intellectual environment. There may be a typical French bias at play there, because of the selection of the élite through the engineering school / mathematics pathway.

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 10:30:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

Have you considered a correlation between left-handedness and the kind of cognitive abilities that are valuable in a competitive and mathematics-heavy engineering education?

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 10:33:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

My thoughts exactly. I'll look into the scientific literature.

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 10:39:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

The quoted article says European Tribune - Too many lefties here?

left-handers did well enough in "expressive English", but were less competent than right-handers in "social/emotional skills, gross and fine motor skills and receptive English skills"

They omit to mention correlations with logical, numerical and spatial reasoning, which is a bit puzzling since they are part of standard psychometric evaluations (such as IQ)

research shows that left-handers are more likely to suffer from language disorders, autism, dyslexia, "schizotypal behaviour patterns", seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder

That's a bunch of other correlates to look for.

However, correlation is not transitive. That A is correlated with B and B correlated with C tells you very little about the correlation of A with C. (This is an exercise in spherical trigonometry :-)

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 10:54:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

mig:

However, correlation is not transitive. That A is correlated with B and B correlated with C tells you very little about the correlation of A with C. (This is an exercise in spherical trigonometry :-)

If A,B,C are three series of numbers of the same length arranged in N triplets, I see a geometrical explanation why correlation should be transitive (it is no trigonometric however).

First high correlation implies points are close to a plane around X axis (and not Y,Z axis), second high correlation implies they are close to a plane around Y axis (and not X, Z axis). The intersection of the two plane is a line unless they are one and the same plane. If it is a line, the third correlation is also pretty high. In order to have the two planes intersect at a very narrow angle (to degrade the 3rd correlation), you need very different orders of magnitude between the standard deviations of the first and second series...

ah OK I get it, this is were you have spherical trigonometry to express the angle in terms of the standard deviation. Forget it.

Pierre

by Pierre on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 11:09:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

So if you impose additional constraints like that all std dev are of comparable magnitude, you can have some sort of "transitivity of correlation" in that restricted universe of observations.

Pierre

by Pierre on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 11:11:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

You can have 50% percent correlation between A and B and between B and C and 50% anticorrelation between A and C.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 11:13:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

doh ! anticorrelation is just a special case of correlation (in the meaning that one is informative of the other)

Pierre

by Pierre on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 11:47:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

Well, okay, as long as the correlation between A and each of B and C is less than 70%, B and C can be uncorrelated.

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 11:50:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

Yes, you need strong correlations in the first two combinations and you will have less of it in the third, it is impossible to make the two planes orthogonal with true correlations in the first two couples.

Pierre

by Pierre on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 11:58:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

do you happen to actually have the formula of the angle at hand ?

Pierre

by Pierre on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 11:59:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

The correlation coefficient is the cosine of the angle. Is that what you mean? You then apply spherical trigonometry to the triangle. Assuming all three variables are on a plane, you get upper and lower bounds (from cosine of sum and cosine of difference formulas).

This all follows from considering that "covariance" is an "inner product". The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives you "covariance is less than the product of standard deviations".

Does that answer your question?

Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 12:10:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

yes

Pierre

by Pierre on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 12:42:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 1)

Anecdotal evidence: I had a polytechnicien as a lab supervisor during my grad student years, and he was indeed left-handed. (And, alas, somewhat uncharismatic.)

You're clearly a dangerous pinko commie pragmatist.

by Vagulus on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 10:38:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

Lefties are an oppressed elite, obviously. Just like French bureaucrats and atheists.

Four for four!

I win!

Mais c'est un scandâââle!!

by redstar on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 10:51:39 AM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 3)

Long term memory operates using calcium. One way it does this is to cause the release of glutamate. Too much glutamate will over-excite the neural system, killing-off neurons, causing strokes, seizures, and cardiac arrest. Second, calcium entering the synaptic cleft also causes the production of retro-grade neuro-transmitters which 'loop-back' to the pre-synaptic neuron; too much of this and the nervous system goes into a positive feedback loop causing problems with the development of long term memory.

I'd look to see if there is a genetic relationship in Lefties to the calcium cycle in their nervous systems.

No one could have predicted

by ATinNM on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 12:04:31 PM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (none / 0)

This rather ignores the role of the inhibitory neurons ;-)

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 12:26:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 3)

My brother (39 next month) should have been left-handed. But when he went to school, he had the pencil put in his right hand. His handwriting is still appalling (it's much better with his left hand, but slow due to lack of practice) and we had real worries that he wouldn't pass his exams at 16 and 18 because his writing was so close to illegible.

That apart, though, I've never heard lefthandedness referred to in a derogatory way at school, either as a pupil or as an adult. If anything, I can still remember the sting, aged nine, when our left-handed design teacher (who had had her left hand tied behind her back at school) sneeringly remarked that only left handed people were creative. It actually took me years to get over that one.

by Sassafras on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 01:13:00 PM EST

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 3)

and we had real worries that he wouldn't pass his exams at 16 and 18 because his writing was so close to illegible.

I had the same issue, though due to a premature birth fine motor control problem, and I simply typed my exams, or at least the ones with essay questions. For the high school ones that generally meant being sent to some teacher's office with a typewriter for the allotted time. In college it was most often a case of 'here's the exam, take three hours and drop it off in the box'.

The honour system actually worked. When I taught English in Poland after college, I was shocked by the amount of cheating, and even more at the way in which the students saw it as a normal thing (I was ordered to pretend I didn't speak Polish, so the students spoke freely in front of me, safe in the knowledge that I couldn't understand them. Heh. They were a little surprised at my uncanny ability to detect cheating. I also had the best knowledge of the school gossip, bar none - I knew exactly who was taking which drugs, having what spat, and sleeping with whom - it was sort of fun.)

by MarekNYC on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 01:22:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]

In reverse (4.00 / 3)

Nokia execs in the Nineties were fortunate to be able to use Finnish together in live meetings in the US secure in the knowledge that no-one else present would understand what was being said. That enabled them to exchange updates in negotiation tactics in broad daylight.

I was told of a meeting situation in NY in which 3 Nokia guys agreed that the brutal tactics of the other side required drastic action and that they should close up their briefcases in synch and walk out. They got what they wanted as a result.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Feb 24th, 2009 at 02:22:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Too many lefties here? (4.00 / 2)

I thought it all had to do with scissors not working properly when in kindergarten...

by asdf on Wed Feb 25th, 2009 at 10:03:13 PM EST

Too many lefties here? | 56 comments (56 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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