BEING LEFT-HANDED
No-one has come up with a definitive reason for WHY some people are
left-handed, but about 13% of the population around the world are, and it
is thought to be genetic - it definitely runs in families. Researchers
have recently located a gene they believe "makes it possible to have a
left-handed child " so if you have that gene, one or more of your children
may be left-handed, whereas without it, you will only have right-handers -
sorry! The good news is, that if you are left-handed yourself, you have
that gene and will pass it on through the generations! Left-handers sometimes slip naturally into mirror-writing flowing from
right to left and perfectly readable to them (or to anyone with a mirror).
Famous examples of this were Leonardo da Vinci and Lewis Carroll. Origin of left-handers
Stone Age implements discovered seem equally divided between left and
right and studies of cave drawings have indicated a preference for the
left hand. When tools became more sophisticated, a clear hand preference
emerged. The right hand preference may have originated in sun worship. In the Northern hemisphere you have to face south to follow the
sun and move from left to right until the suns sets in the west. This gave
moving to the right and the right hand side a great significance. Another
theory says that as the heart is on the left hand side, a shield would
have to be in the left hand to defend it and any weapon therefore had to
be held in the right, which became the dominant hand. Recent theories have
included one that right-handedness is the normality and left-handedness is
a deficiency which results from a traumatic birth! Left-handers have done
quite badly over the years and many old superstitions still survive today. Christianity is strongly based towards the right hand. It is the right
had that gives the blessing and make the sign of the cross. On one count,
the Bible contains over 100 favourable reference to the right-hand and 25
unfavourable references to the left-hand .Those on the right inherit the
kingdom of god while those on the let depart into everlasting fire. The
devil is nearly always portrayed as left-handed and evil spirits lurk over
the left shoulder (which is why you throw spilled salt over your left
shoulder to ward them off). The reason of differences
The way the brain works is incredibly complex, but this simplified
explanation will give you some understanding of where our left-hand
dominance comes from. The brain is "cross-wired" so that the left
hemisphere controls the right handed side of the body and vice-versa and
hand dominance is connected with brain dominance on the opposite side -
which is why we say that only left-handers are in their right minds! The left hemisphere (right hand control) controls Speech, Language,
Writing, Logic, Mathematics, Science. The right hemisphere (left hand
control) controls Music, Art, Creativity, Perception, Emotions,Genius.. This brain dominance makes left-handers more likely than right-handers
to be creative, and visual thinkers. This is supported by higher
percentages of left-handers than normal in certain jobs and professions -
music and the arts, media in general. Left-handers are also generally
better at 3-dimensional perception and thinking, leading, for example, to
more left-handed architects than normal. Left-handers are also usually
pretty good at most ball sports and things involving hand-to-eye
co-ordination. The view that left-handers are clumsy is not down to their
natural abilities, but being forced to use right-handed tools and
machinery which is completely back-to-front for them.
Check how left-handed you are
We all, of course, know in which hand we hold a pen, but how far does
this bias extend throughout your body? Are you left-eared? Left eyed? Here
is a simple test you can apply to yourself. 1. Imagine the centre of your back is itching. Which hand do you
scratch it with?
2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost?
3. Imagine you are applauding. Start clapping your hands. Which hand
is uppermost?
4. Wink at an imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which
eye does the winking?
5. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand
is doing the holding?
6. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words.
Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup?
7. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other
hand. Which forefinger do you use?
8. Tilt your head over on to one shoulder. Which shoulder does
it touch?
9. Fixate a small distant object with your eyes and point directly at
it with your forefinger. Now close one eye. Now change eyes. Which eye was
open when the fingertip remained in line with the small object? (When the
other eye, the non-dominant one, is open and the dominant eye is closed,
the finger will appear to move to one side of the object.)
10. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost?
If you have always considered yourself to be right or left-handed you
will probably now have discovered that your body is less than total in its
devotion to its favoured side. If you are right-handed the chances are
that you were not able to be \'right\' 10 times. Famous Left-Handers
Julius Caesar
Napol?on Bonaparte
Michelangelo
Raphael
Leonardo da Vinci
Fidel Castro, Cuban leader
Henry Ford, automobile manufacturer
David Rockefeller, banker
Lewis Carroll
Mark Twain
Paul McCartney
Charlie Chaplin
Greta Garbo
Nicole Kidman
Marilyn Monroe
UNKNOWN WORDS
hemisphere [\'hemIsfIq] полушарие
clumsy [\'klAmzI] неловкий
itching [\'ItSiN] зудящий
to wink [wINk] подмигивать; перемигиваться
to tilt [tIlt] наклонять(ся)
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