As a southpaw, I've "researched" a bit on the so-called disorder. One thing
I've read and seen is that lefties/right-brainers (the two are *not* the
same thing, although they are somewhat correlated) tend to accumulate in
*both* the arts *and* the sciences! They are considerably more common in
both fields than in the public at large. One explanation for the latter is
the "Eureka!" response, which is a right-brained, non-verbal, non-linear,
synthetic thing.
Lefties/right-brainers are quite scarce in the linear-deductive fields (such
as law, math, writing/editing, and clerical jobs) and manual labor (probably
because the tools are often right-handed, and genuinely dangerous for
left-handers to use).
It is true that right-brained, non-linear people often have reading (hence,
learning) difficulties, but the correlation is *not* strong, and it's *not*
common for the problem to be a significant impediment.
The other thing I've found in my researches is that studies of handedness
usually end up with 3 results for lefties. One group acts, for the purposes
of the study, just like the righties. One group acts, as you might expect,
the opposite. The third group responds ambiguously, inconsistently, or in
an intermediate manner. Since there are never enough lefties in the study,
the results are never significant. I've always wondered if one could pool
the results of all the studies and perhaps end up with 3 statistically
significant groups. I've also heard about the fetal/birth trauma theory,
but I've heard a lot of its proponents ***really*** stretching things trying
to fit all the data into it. A much better explanation for left-handedness,
in my opinion, is that there is more than one cause (perhaps 3,
corresponding to the 3 categories of lefties? pure speculation on my part).
just my 2 cents,
Robin
Robin K Panza [log in to unmask]
Collection Manager, Section of Birds ph: 412-622-3255
Carnegie Museum of Natural History fax: 412-622-8837
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh PA 15213-4008 USA
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter McAllister [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
...but although my personal experience
with lefties is that they tend as a group to be high achievers, I had to do
some research on left handedness while at Vic a couple of years ago & the
prevalent medical explanation for left handedness seemed to be that it
results from a minor deficit in brain development during the early stages of
fetal growth.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Burke, Laurence M. II [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
> <<One colleague told me that many young artists have reading disorders and
> so should not be expected to do academic work. This disorder, she said,
> is indicated by the fact that they are left-handed.>>
>
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