From: Rick.Moen@f207.n914.z8.rbbs-net.ORG (Rick Moen)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Biological Sex diffs.
Date: 9 Sep 92 00:16:54 GMT

In article <14865@mindlink.bc.ca>, greg_goss@mindlink.bc.ca
(Greg Goss) wrote as follows:
 
> In a mechanized society, left-handed people tend to die earlier.
> Equipment is generally not designed for them, and as designs get
> more intricate, things get more awkward.
 
> If someone had a choice, I think it would make sense to choose
> right-handedness.  This makes left-handedness "not good".
 
> Stick shift cars are on the wrong side.  Our written language is 
> designed to smear handwritten text written by a leftie.   Keyboard
> ENTER keys, and cursor and numeric keypads are right-handed. 
> Control panels on MOST equipment (TVs, zapper ovens, cars are
> all right-handed.
 
> Are you saying that our society gives no advantages to
> right-handed people?
 
I love theological arguments over whether left-handedness is good
or bad.  They're difficult to come by, alas.
 
It _may_ be true that in a mechanised society, people tend to die
earlier, but the above reasoning doesn't terribly well support that
contention.  You see, the problems with it are (1) the equipment-
related awkwardness alluded to is vastly over-stated, and (2) very
few of us sinister people are THAT dominantly left-handed.
 
Stick shift levers being on the wrong side, for example: Now, I do
regard Canadian chauvinism as an admirable thing, but not all the
world drives they way you do in B.C., Greg.  ;->   I used to live in 
Hong Kong, where my right-handed parents and a few million other people
did quite well with their stick shifts on the left. Is that situation
life-threatening for right-handed Hong Kong-ese, Britons, Irishmen,
Japanese, etc.?  I very much doubt that it's seen as even a _nuisance_.
 
Keyboards: Only mildly right-hand-oriented. Lefties' typing speeds
aren't significantly different.
 
Control panels: Yes, they _are_ on the right, but that just means
you either reach across, or stand a bit to the right side, or use your
right hand.
 
Smudged writing: Good point, although I got my revenge while
learning to write in Hebrew.  ;->  Left-handed Arabic-speakers would
have the same consolation, if Arabic-speakers were not in general
strongly urged towards right-handedness. Please note, however,
that neither this nor ANY of the other cited concerns could remotely
be considered life-threatening.
 
SOME equipment you _didn't_ mention is tough to use left-handed, e.g.,
some power saws, standard golf clubs, bowling balls, and (the biggie)
scissors. One either uses a leftie variant, or uses one's right hand.
The point is that hand-dominance is fairly weak in most lefties, 
through some combination of adaptation and just innate near-
ambidexterousness. Mostly, left-handedness in practice means (1)
a _preference_ for reaching out to objects with one's left hand, and
(2) near-inability (absent practice) to write right-handed. What it 
does NOT mean is an incapacity to use the right hand well, when that
is more convenient.
 
"Our" (European/North American) society does indeed give advantages
to right-handed people, but they are very slight, and almost NEVER
critical to survival, in part because of almost all lefties having only
slight hand-dominance -- making left-handedness only very, very
mildly maladaptive to that environment.
 
Best Regards,
Rick Moen
(speaking for himself alone)

 * Origin: The Skeptic's Board in San Mateo - Bay Area Skeptics (8:914/207)
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