The Puzzle of Left-handedness
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Review
'There is a ''whiff of negativity'' around left-handedness, admits the science journalist and left-hander Rik Smits in this fascinating study of the phenomenon . . . popular legends about left-handedness - and left v right in general - are scarcely less virulent, and Smits dispatches them entertainingly and ably . . . thoroughly enjoyable.' --Sunday Times
'In his highly entertaining and erudite book, left-handed linguist and science journalist Rik Smits dispenses with the positive myths alongside the negative ones.' --The Dubliner
'In his highly entertaining and erudite book, left-handed linguist and science journalist Rik Smits dispenses with the positive myths alongside the negative ones.' --The Dubliner
Product Description
Left-handedness seems to be no big deal. Many of us are left-handed and those of us who aren't don't tend to give left-handedness much thought. Yet throughout history left-handers have been associated with clumsiness, untrustworthiness and insincerity. The Latin word for left, sinister, is redolent of all kinds of ominous connotations. Rik Smits uncovers why history has been so unkind to our left-handed forebears. Through an array of historical anecdotes, strange superstitions and old wives tales, Smits explains why left-handedness continues to be associated with maladies of all kinds, including mental retardation, alcoholism, asthma, hay fever, diabetes, insomnia, suicidal urges, criminality and shorter lifespans. But apart from folklore and myth, the notions of left and right have a real and deep influence on the way we experience the world. These influences show up everywhere, from engineering and architecture to music, painting, photography, film and comics. This book shows how, contrary to what many might think, left-handers can write just as well as the rest of us, and explores how and why we came to prefer one hand over the other and how left- and right-handedness are represented in the brain. The greatest puzzle is why in every country one in ten people favours the left hand. It is a mystery as yet largely unsolved, whose solution may very well lie in the secrets of twinning. The Puzzle of Left-handedness is an enlightening and entertaining odyssey through the enigmas and paradoxes, theories and experiments surrounding the left-handed among us.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Disappointed with content. Not as interesting nor revealing as I expected. Overall was worth reading but superficial and basic. Did capture attention enough to read from beginning to end. Or was this because I hoped it would get better!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Being left handed myself i was hopeful this book would shed some light on what that means scientifically. In short i wanted to know more about myself and how i differ from right handed people, other than the obvious.
So to the book itself: Its first chapters begin with the history of left handedness and the history and superstition surrounding not just being left handed but the left itself, for example an actor entering on stage from the right and leaving to the left would always be the barer of bad luck. And although this is somewhat interesting it is also to much of the book with no real information about being left handed. When we do get to the more scientific side of things the book still does not pick up that well. It is more a case of psychology experiments with no real outcome or flawed data only to be rebuked later.
By the end of the book i found very little substance and nothing concrete about how the let handed persons brain works.
I found the book easy to read the writing style was good enough. Shame then it has so little to say.
So to the book itself: Its first chapters begin with the history of left handedness and the history and superstition surrounding not just being left handed but the left itself, for example an actor entering on stage from the right and leaving to the left would always be the barer of bad luck. And although this is somewhat interesting it is also to much of the book with no real information about being left handed. When we do get to the more scientific side of things the book still does not pick up that well. It is more a case of psychology experiments with no real outcome or flawed data only to be rebuked later.
By the end of the book i found very little substance and nothing concrete about how the let handed persons brain works.
I found the book easy to read the writing style was good enough. Shame then it has so little to say.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
31 of 39 people found the following review helpful
So, who said anything about a malady?
29 Oct 2011
Format:Hardcover
Full disclosure: I haven't read the book yet, just an excerpt and a couple of reviews. I'm responding to the fact that at this moment, there is one Amazon review of the book, by someone who either hasn't read it or didn't understand what he read.
It looks to me like a pretty good book; looks like there is more to be interested in about left-handedness than I would have thought, even. But the main thing is, Smits definitely does not say that left-handedness is a malady, and from what I've seen he doesn't say that about homosexuality either. In fact, he compares the two, and from what I've read, he seems to be saying exactly what the other reviewer says: that homosexuality and left-handedness are both natural phenomena, that left-handers and homosexuals are perfectly normal, just happen to be gay or left-handed, and neither one is a bad thing. There is a discussion of how homosexuality could be maladaptive (my term, not his, meaning, that it conveys a reproductive disadvantage). That is, if homosexuals don't reproduce, it means the whole species reproduces a little less.
Of course, in practice homosexuals of both sexes often do reproduce, and some straight people (me, for example) don't have children, but even assuming that homosexuals don't reproduce, the result is that the species as a whole needs to have 2.5% more children to maintain the same population, which is eminently do-able; in fact, we have the opposite problem now, overpopulation.
According to a review I read elsewhere, Smits is left-handed himself (straight or gay, I don't know). In any case, he clearly has nothing against left-handers. He does say that there is a genetic component to it, but it isn't as simple as being a dominant or recessive trait; there is debate about how it arises and how it's inherited. Sounds pretty interesting. I plan to read it, and maybe I can provide a more informative review then, but I just didn't want what is apparently a perfectly good book to have an "average" rating of one star because one person made a completely baseless and false accusation against it.
It looks to me like a pretty good book; looks like there is more to be interested in about left-handedness than I would have thought, even. But the main thing is, Smits definitely does not say that left-handedness is a malady, and from what I've seen he doesn't say that about homosexuality either. In fact, he compares the two, and from what I've read, he seems to be saying exactly what the other reviewer says: that homosexuality and left-handedness are both natural phenomena, that left-handers and homosexuals are perfectly normal, just happen to be gay or left-handed, and neither one is a bad thing. There is a discussion of how homosexuality could be maladaptive (my term, not his, meaning, that it conveys a reproductive disadvantage). That is, if homosexuals don't reproduce, it means the whole species reproduces a little less.
Of course, in practice homosexuals of both sexes often do reproduce, and some straight people (me, for example) don't have children, but even assuming that homosexuals don't reproduce, the result is that the species as a whole needs to have 2.5% more children to maintain the same population, which is eminently do-able; in fact, we have the opposite problem now, overpopulation.
According to a review I read elsewhere, Smits is left-handed himself (straight or gay, I don't know). In any case, he clearly has nothing against left-handers. He does say that there is a genetic component to it, but it isn't as simple as being a dominant or recessive trait; there is debate about how it arises and how it's inherited. Sounds pretty interesting. I plan to read it, and maybe I can provide a more informative review then, but I just didn't want what is apparently a perfectly good book to have an "average" rating of one star because one person made a completely baseless and false accusation against it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Evasive Enigma
16 Jan 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Mankind has essential needs: food, water, clothing, shelter, and reproduction. Around the world, and throughout history, groups develop standard methods for obtaining and sustaining these needs. We have legal, social, religious and governmental norms within each culture. Normality is necessary for survival. Where cultural norms are consistently observed, our sense of normality becomes a deeply rooted part of our beliefs, virtually unshakable.
Until someone does something different, like walk on a freeway. Whatever isn't normal is noticed, examined, studied, prosecuted. We simply must understand why the anomaly occurred, so we can correct, punish, or come to accept it; like women wearing pants.
Approximately 90% of the population, throughout the globe and throughout history, is right-handed. This is the norm. Left-handedness is an aberration. It creates discomfort and piques curiosity.
Smits illustrates our dual nature: yes/no, black/white, right/left and disserts on how our dual nature affects, or even creates our perceptions. He evaluates the persistent posits of left-handedness. Mental health issues, criminality, brain damage, in utero trauma, antisocial behavior and more explanations have been put forth, because of our need to address the left-handed phenomenon. He insists that left-handedness is not a problem - for left-handed people, anyway.
He also discusses attempts by cultures to correct left-handedness, and how left-handed people deal with those attempts. He explains the challenges that left-handed people face.
This is an absorbing read, whether you are right- or left-handed. Nearly every question conceivable regarding left-handedness is addressed. This is a rational work with a formidable bibliography, thoroughly researched. I recommend this highly to anyone with an interested in handedness, and especially parents, teachers, and child care providers. Pseudoscience in regard to handedness is prevalent today. This book explains all that away.
Until someone does something different, like walk on a freeway. Whatever isn't normal is noticed, examined, studied, prosecuted. We simply must understand why the anomaly occurred, so we can correct, punish, or come to accept it; like women wearing pants.
Approximately 90% of the population, throughout the globe and throughout history, is right-handed. This is the norm. Left-handedness is an aberration. It creates discomfort and piques curiosity.
Smits illustrates our dual nature: yes/no, black/white, right/left and disserts on how our dual nature affects, or even creates our perceptions. He evaluates the persistent posits of left-handedness. Mental health issues, criminality, brain damage, in utero trauma, antisocial behavior and more explanations have been put forth, because of our need to address the left-handed phenomenon. He insists that left-handedness is not a problem - for left-handed people, anyway.
He also discusses attempts by cultures to correct left-handedness, and how left-handed people deal with those attempts. He explains the challenges that left-handed people face.
This is an absorbing read, whether you are right- or left-handed. Nearly every question conceivable regarding left-handedness is addressed. This is a rational work with a formidable bibliography, thoroughly researched. I recommend this highly to anyone with an interested in handedness, and especially parents, teachers, and child care providers. Pseudoscience in regard to handedness is prevalent today. This book explains all that away.
3 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Not a malady!
24 Oct 2011
Format:Hardcover
Homosexuality is not a malady! Just like left-handedness, it is a natural variant in the human species. Step into the 20th century, Rik Smits.
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