adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) (08/16/90)
>geoff@actrix.co.nz (Geoff McCaughan) writes: >norm is around 10%) often groups of hackers have >50% left handers. >One group I am associated with has >70% Now there's a thing ... I wonder how common this phenomenon is? In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed. We always joked about how left-handers were superior ... I wonder what the distribution is across the industry? Perhaps it could become part of the recruitment process! Adam -- A. D. Curtin Tel : +44 438 753430 British Aerospace (Dynamics) Ltd. Fax : +44 438 753377 PB 230, PO Box 19, Six Hills Way, Email: adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk Stevenage, SG1 2DA, UK. UUCP : ...!uunet!mcvax!ukc!bae-st!adam Arse-covering : <This disclaimer conforms to RFC 1188> Fun-to-be-alive: "My other car is an FJ1200"
Doug Sewell <DOUG@ysub.ysu.edu> (08/16/90)
I've noticed that peculiar perversity, as well - quite a few DP people I know (more than the average societal average) are left- handed. Just don't misread this the 'backwards way' and assume that left- handed people are doomed to a career in DP/MIS ;) (It happened in soc.singles... there, it was lh vs gay, and started a brief shouting match when someone misread it 'backwards' and says "Wait! I'm left-handed and resent you saying...") Doug (a lefty)
jdarcy@encore.com (Mostly Harmless) (08/16/90)
adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) writes:
-In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed.
-We always joked about how left-handers were superior ... I wonder what the
-distribution is across the industry? Perhaps it could become part of the
-recruitment process!
Actually, there's a simple explanation. You see, hackers like to use EMACS,
and many important keystokes in EMACS (ESC, ^X, etc.) are left-hand-intensive.
For the humor-impaired: :-) :-) :-)
--
Jeff d'Arcy, Generic Software Engineer - jdarcy@encore.com
Nothing was ever achieved by accepting realitytoma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy) (08/17/90)
In article <jdarcy.650814205@zelig> jdarcy@encore.com (Mostly Harmless) writes: >adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) writes: >-In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed. [...] >-I wonder what the distribution is across the industry? >Actually, there's a simple explanation. You see, hackers like to use EMACS, >and many important keystokes in EMACS (ESC, ^X, etc.) are left-hand-intensive. >For the humor-impaired: :-) :-) :-) Well, I don't think you are far from the truth (assuming there is truth). The QWERTY keyboard favors lefties since it contains the most commonly used letters as well as the bulk of the control keys. In fact, the original carriage return (a lever on the carriage) was operated by the left hand as well. It could be that left-handed people are naturally attracted to the keyboard. Tom Almy toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com Standard Disclaimers Apply (I'm right handed)
cloader@kean.ucs.mun.ca (08/17/90)
In article <jdarcy.650814205@zelig>, jdarcy@encore.com (Mostly Harmless) writes: > adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) writes: > -In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed. > -We always joked about how left-handers were superior ... I wonder what the > -distribution is across the industry? Perhaps it could become part of the > -recruitment process! > > Actually, there's a simple explanation. You see, hackers like to use EMACS, > and many important keystokes in EMACS (ESC, ^X, etc.) are left-hand-intensive. > > For the humor-impaired: :-) :-) :-) > -- > > Jeff d'Arcy, Generic Software Engineer - jdarcy@encore.com > Nothing was ever achieved by accepting reality The escape key might be on the correct side BUT the key pad certainly isn't! Does such a thing as a left handed keyboard exist? How about left handed 3-key mice? Charles
stevedc@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Stephen Carter) (08/17/90)
From article <1990Aug16.080332.1572@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk>, by adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin): >>geoff@actrix.co.nz (Geoff McCaughan) writes: >>norm is around 10%) often groups of hackers have >50% left handers. >>One group I am associated with has >70% > > Now there's a thing ... I wonder how common this phenomenon is? > > In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed. > We always joked about how left-handers were superior ... I wonder what the > distribution is across the industry? Perhaps it could become part of the > recruitment process! > Now there's a good one. I remember when I was a student, 5 of the 6 of us in our house were left handed and we used to go to lectures and sit taking notes together - life's easier that way. For the record, in our household I'm lh, my wife is, and so isour daughter(6). No info on the cat or the hedgehog :-), and we're still wating to see if our 9month old is. His new nanny is....lh Stephen Carter, Systems Manager, The Administration, The University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK Tel: +44 273 678203 Fax: +44 273 678335 JANET: stevedc@uk.ac.sussex.syma EARN/BITNET : stevedc@syma.sussex.ac.uk UUCP: stevedc@syma.uucp ARPA/INTERNET: stevedc%syma.sussex.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
shurr@cbnews.att.com (Larry A. Shurr) (08/17/90)
In article <1990Aug16.080332.1572@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk> adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) writes: }}geoff@actrix.co.nz (Geoff McCaughan) writes: }}norm is around 10%) often groups of hackers have >50% left handers. }}One group I am associated with has >70% }In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed. }We always joked about how left-handers were superior ... I wonder what the }distribution is across the industry? Perhaps it could become part of the }recruitment process! I hope not since my "other left hand" :-) is the dominant one. Larry -- Larry A. Shurr (cbnmva!las@att.ATT.COM or att!cbnmva!las) The end of the world has been delayed due to a shortage of trumpet players. (The above reflects my opinions, not those of AGS or AT&T, but you knew that.)
ash@pawl.rpi.edu (Arthur Hyun) (08/18/90)
Actually, my high school physics teacher said that he knew a man
who owned a programmer/consultant place. Apparently, the owner
of the place would ONLY hire left handed people, making exception
only for quite exceptional people.
Believe it, or not!
cheers,
arthur
--
ash@pawl.rpi.edu 76 College Avenue, Apartment 1
sammael@clotho.acm.rpi.edu Arthur Hyun Troy, New York 12180
the.arthur@rpitsmts.BITNET 518-273-5295
"Art does not need praise; art is its own praise." (anon)chip@chinacat.Unicom.COM (Chip Rosenthal) (08/18/90)
In article <jdarcy.650814205@zelig> jdarcy@encore.com (Mostly Harmless) writes: >adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) writes: >-In my last job, in a development team of 4, 3 were left handed. >-We always joked about how left-handers were superior >Actually, there's a simple explanation. You see, hackers like to use EMACS, >and many important keystokes in EMACS (ESC, ^X, etc.) are left-hand-intensive. If this is true, then inferior programmers write CAD software, because they all must be right-handed. I'm tired of bozo programs which expect you to have a right hand on a mouse and a left hand on the keyboard... Reminds me of a story many years back... A VLSI test equipment company showed us the whizzy prototype of their new multi-million dollar tester. One of the features a nifty UNIX workstation as the system controller - complete with rodent and everything. The workstation was setup on a cute little roll-around cart. Forget the multi-megabit test pattern depth and sub-nanosecond timing accuracy. I took one look at the thing and said, "you need a left-hand mousepad option on the cart." They all just dropped their jaws, scratched their heads, and said, "oh yeah..." -- Chip Rosenthal | You aren't some icon carved out chip@chinacat.Unicom.COM | of soap, sent down here to clean Unicom Systems Development, 512-482-8260 | up my reputation. -John Hiatt
turner@webb.psych.ufl.edu (Carl Turner) (08/19/90)
In article <7968@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy) writes: >The QWERTY keyboard favors lefties since it contains the most commonly used >letters as well as the bulk of the control keys. In fact, the original >carriage return (a lever on the carriage) was operated by the left hand >as well. > >It could be that left-handed people are naturally attracted to the keyboard. > >Tom Almy As I understand it, the QWERTY keyboard was created in such a way as to make it somewhat difficult to use. Typewriters (some of you youngsters may not believe this) used to be purely mechanical devices; the early models jammed easily if they were struck too quickly. An optimal keyboard would put the most-used letters in the language (ETOANISHRDLU) within easy reach of the first two fingers of each hand. Question: what would be the problems involved in offering both an optimal computer keyboard (for the people who haven't yet learned to type) and the old QWERTY? Back to the subject of left-handers....I'm pretty sure (which means I could probably track it down in the lit if someone paid me to do it) that artists and poets are disproportionately left-handed. This would fit with the idea that was voiced in a previous post that hackers are as much artists as they are techs. As far as EMACS being left-hand intensive, I never really noticed that. It just seems to me to be not right-hand intensive. I wonder if RMS and the others who have worked on it are left-handed. By the way: nice pun on the words "left-handed" and "sinister." If you don't get the joke, look up the etymology of the word "sinister." Carl Turner left-handed sinister poet/artist/non-hacker turner@webb.psych.ufl.edu
ekalenda@cup.portal.com (Edward John Kalenda) (08/19/90)
EMACS is left hand intensive because the control key is on the left side and it's easier to type control characters with one hand than two. You just press control with your left pinky finger and then there are twelve easily reached keys to bind commands to. If there had been a control key on the right side, there would be left and right control key commands in EMACS with the middle group of keys unused since they would be the only ones difficult to reach. Remember, EMACS was designed to run on keyboards with NO extra keys other than cursor arrows. Keyboards with function keys were quite modern and innovative at the time. Hence the use of control keys for common commands. Ed ekalenda@cup.portal.com
jef@well.sf.ca.us (Jef Poskanzer) (08/20/90)
In the referenced message, chip@chinacat.Unicom.COM (Chip Rosenthal) wrote: }I'm tired of bozo programs which expect }you to have a right hand on a mouse and a left hand on the keyboard... And bozo keyboard designers too, like the ones at Xerox who put the function keys on the left side of the keyboard. Actually, there's a bright side. Since I was forced by this misdesign to learn to mouse right-handed, I can now write Post-It notes and mouse at the same time. --- Jef Jef Poskanzer jef@well.sf.ca.us {ucbvax, apple, hplabs}!well!jef Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left.
stevedc@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Stephen Carter) (08/20/90)
Does anyone know if Craig Shergold is left handed? Stephen Carter, Systems Manager, The Administration, The University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK Tel: +44 273 678203 Fax: +44 273 678335 JANET: stevedc@uk.ac.sussex.syma EARN/BITNET : stevedc@syma.sussex.ac.uk UUCP: stevedc@syma.uucp ARPA/INTERNET: stevedc%syma.sussex.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk (Adam Curtin) (08/20/90)
In article <1488@chinacat.Unicom.COM> chip@chinacat.Unicom.COM (Chip Rosenthal) writes: >... inferior programmers write CAD software, because >they all must be right-handed. I'm tired of bozo programs which expect >you to have a right hand on a mouse and a left hand on the keyboard... I'm left handed, but I use the mouse on the right. I find it harder to work the keyboard than the mouse, so I need the superior coordination of my good hand. Sometimes it's just a question of giving in ... you can't get cars or motorcycles with different controls for left handers, you just take what there is and learn to like it. EQUAL RIGHTS (!) FOR LEFTIES Adam -- A. D. Curtin Tel : +44 438 753430 British Aerospace (Dynamics) Ltd. Fax : +44 438 753377 PB 230, PO Box 19, Six Hills Way, Email: adam@ste.dyn.bae.co.uk Stevenage, SG1 2DA, UK. UUCP : ...!uunet!mcvax!ukc!bae-st!adam Arse-covering : <This disclaimer conforms to RFC 1188> Fun-to-be-alive: "My other car is an FJ1200"
scott@kong.gatech.edu (Scott Coulter) (08/20/90)
[continuing discussion about Lefties and keyboards/mice/etc.] OK, time for a brief survey; please respond (through e-mail) to the following: handed-ness : LEFT / RIGHT mouse hand: LEFT / RIGHT I've always been curious about how many people use their left hand for a mouse, and how many of those are lefties. E-mail replies to me, and I'll throw together a quick-and-dirty summary to post. Thanks, Scott D. Coulter uucp: ...!gatech!ics!scott Software Engineering Research Center InterNet: scott@ics.gatech.edu Georgia Institute of Technology "Everybody's talking to computers, they're all dancing to a drum machine..."
howell@bert.llnl.gov (Louis Howell) (08/20/90)
First, the opinions: I tend to react to all the left brain/right brain BS the same way I react to people who sharpen their razor blades with a pyramid. I write with my left hand, but I don't think there's a deep reason for it, just an accident when I was learning to write that grew into a habit. I use scissors with my right hand because virtually all scissors are built that way. I use a mouse with my right hand because the default placing on a public terminal is to the right. A pencil, however, has no preferred orientation. Here's my theory about left-handed hackers. These people are drawn from a pool which tended to be early achievers. Most of them were encouraged to draw, and may have actually learned to write, before they entered school. Their "handedness" is therefore essentially random, 50-50. The unwashed masses, however, mostly learned to write in school and, lacking any clear preference, were encouraged to use their right hand, the default choice. That's all. A simple explanation that doesn't require any New Age psychobabble about which side of the brain you pick your nose with. It could well be wrong, but without strong evidence I'll prefer the explanation which doesn't postulate some mysterious neurological tendency, every time. Louis Howell #include <std.disclaimer>
ps@fps.com (Patricia Shanahan) (08/21/90)
In article <1990Aug20.084113@bert.llnl.gov> howell@bert.llnl.gov (Louis Howell) writes: >First, the opinions: I tend to react to all the left brain/right >brain BS the same way I react to people who sharpen their razor >blades with a pyramid. > >I write with my left hand, but I don't think there's a deep reason >for it, just an accident when I was learning to write that grew >into a habit. I use scissors with my right hand because virtually >all scissors are built that way. I use a mouse with my right hand >because the default placing on a public terminal is to the right. >A pencil, however, has no preferred orientation. > ... >Louis Howell > >#include <std.disclaimer> I think there is more to the left/right handedness business. I am the same general way as you. I tend to do things either with the hand that I first learned to use for that activity, or with the more convenient hand if there is one. I write right-handed, draw equally badly with both hands, started using a mouse with it on the left because there was more room on my desk that way, but switched to right handed because it was easier to work out which button is which that way. (I actually first learned to write left handed, using a pencil. When I was switched from pencil to dip pen and ink I decided to switch to right hand writing.) However, I know a lot of people who will go out of their way, even when it is obviously inconvenient, to use a particular hand. They always learn new activities with the same hand in the leading role. They will do an awkward backhand throw rather than throw something with the wrong hand. It is especially obvious when someone is strongly left-handed, because they have trouble using commonly occuring right handed equipment. They look for and buy special scissors, rather than just using ordinary ones right handed. This seems to be a much deeper dependence on using a particular hand than the tendency I have to stick with the hand that I used when I learned to do something. Although it is difficult to understand without having experienced it, I think there is a genuine phenomenon of physiological handedness, that affects most, but not all, of the population. -- Patricia Shanahan ps@fps.com uucp : ucsd!celerity!ps phone: (619) 271-9940
zwicky@pongfs.itstd.sri.com (Elizabeth Zwicky) (08/21/90)
In article <1990Aug20.084113@bert.llnl.gov> howell@bert.llnl.gov (Louis Howell) writes: >First, the opinions: I tend to react to all the left brain/right >brain BS the same way I react to people who sharpen their razor >blades with a pyramid. You're throwing out the baby with the bath water. Handedness is a bona-fide neurological phenomenon, which real neurologists believe in. It comes in three flavours, not two; left-hemisphere dominant, right-hemisphere dominant, and non-dominant. (Left-hemisphere dominant people are right handed.) Approximately 10% of the population is non-right-handed; of those, a much smaller percentage are actually right-hemisphere dominant, and an even smaller percentage simply have the two hemispheres swapped in function. Some non-dominant people (for instance, me) appear to be right-handed for most purposes. Obviously, the left brain/right brain stuff cannot possibly be true for people who are left-handed because of a functional swap. For people who are non-right handed for other reasons, there are known effects of that, but they are mostly uninteresting to people who are not otherwise neurologically impaired. Non-dominance is associated with dyslexia, for instance, and is known to increase chances of full recovery from head trauma and strokes. Some research suggests that non-dominance may make small but theoretically interesting changes in language processing; however, these are in no way noticeable in day-to-day life. Most left brain/right brain stuff is massive overgeneralization and wild theorization, but there is a kernel of truth there; handedness exists, and many brain functions are lateralized. High order functions like "creativity" are not likely to be among them. Functions that are known to be lateralized tend to be at a particular somewhat odd level of precision; for instance, the ability to recognize tunes, the ability to recognize faces, vocabulary, and grammar all have specific brain sites. They also interact in ways that are not particularly well understood. Disclaimer: I am not a neurologist, nor do I play one on television. I have a casual interest in non-dominance, and a few college courses in neurology. Elizabeth Zwicky
mdb@ESD.3Com.COM (Mark D. Baushke) (08/21/90)
On 20 Aug 90 19:33:02 GMT, ps@fps.com (Patricia Shanahan) said: ps> I think there is more to the left/right handedness business. I am the same ps> general way as you. I tend to do things either with the hand that I first ps> learned to use for that activity, or with the more convenient hand if there ps> is one. I write right-handed, draw equally badly with both hands, started ps> using a mouse with it on the left because there was more room on my desk ps> that way, but switched to right handed because it was easier to work out ps> which button is which that way. (I actually first learned to write left ps> handed, using a pencil. When I was switched from pencil to dip pen and ink ps> I decided to switch to right hand writing.) ps> [...] ps> -- ps> Patricia Shanahan ps> ps@fps.com ps> uucp : ucsd!celerity!ps ps> phone: (619) 271-9940 I find that my experience matches that of Patricia. I do not have a strong preference for either hand, but the one that I learned with is slightly more proficient than the other hand. I usually consider myself to be ambidextrous rather than right or left handed, but that appears to be an even smaller group than being a left handed person. I can print with either left or right hand, but never bothered to practise cursive writing with the left and am not able to use the left for cursive writing. My mouse pad? Well, it is on the right because it is heavily biased for a right hand user and inconvient to use left handed (Control-Left mouse button is tough to do with the mouse on the left). -- Mark D. Baushke mdb@ESD.3Com.COM
mpw@planet.bt.co.uk (Mike Wood) (08/21/90)
Try buying a left-handed guitar :-) I started from scratch and it felt unnatural to play right-handed. Mike. a Leftie
mct@praxis.co.uk (Martyn Thomas) (08/21/90)
Back in 1974, I was designing telephone switches for ITT (128 Z80 microprocessors, state-of-the-art!). ITT held phase reviews: a group of high-powered reviewers flew in from New York and we presented the project for three days - at the end of the review they either cancelled the project or let it proceed. It was nerve-racking, and I was due to talk fifth on day one. We had a flip-chart set up in a corner of the room, which each presenter used. The first four presentations went fine. Then I stood up, talked for five minutes, went over to use the flip-chart, and walked straight into the wall! That's how I found out that *all* my colleagues in the design team were left-handed. -- Martyn Thomas, Praxis plc, 20 Manvers Street, Bath BA1 1PX UK. Tel: +44-225-444700. Email: mct@praxis.co.uk
tsnider@enint.Wichita.NCR.COM (Tim Snider) (08/21/90)
In article <10964@celit.fps.com> ps@fps.com (Patricia Shanahan) writes: > >However, I know a lot of people who will go out of their way, even when it >is obviously inconvenient, to use a particular hand. They always learn new >activities with the same hand in the leading role. They will do an awkward >backhand throw rather than throw something with the wrong hand. It is >especially obvious when someone is strongly left-handed, because they >have trouble using commonly occuring right handed equipment. They look >for and buy special scissors, rather than just using ordinary ones right >handed. I am left handed also and I'll agree with Pat. A majority of the tools I use put me in the HIGHLY unsafe catagory because of the way I'm forced to use them. E.G. the circular saw is a good example, I want to cut on the left side of the wood. I am forced to hold the saw up it will be somewhat square since the motor is on the left. Otherwise the cut would be at some undesirable angle. I also have looked at chain saws and can't buy one since the guards and general design is exclusively for righthanders. For me to use it my leg would be place on the unprotected side of the chain. I am a 'heavy' lefthander and things would definitely be a lot easier for me if I were not. But there is a small contridiction, my mouse is on the right hand side. Keyboard configura- tions don't bother me unless the keys are tiny/placed strangely. my .02. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tim Snider 316-636-8736 or 8048 NCR Peripherial Products Div. 3718 N Rock Road. Wichita Ks. 67226 tim.snider@wichita.NCR.COM
seanf@sco.COM (Sean Fagan) (08/22/90)
In article <1990Aug20.084113@bert.llnl.gov> howell@bert.llnl.gov (Louis Howell) writes: >I write with my left hand, but I don't think there's a deep reason >for it, just an accident when I was learning to write that grew >into a habit. Handedness is physiological, not psychological. In left-handed people, the right side of the brain is "dominant"; the reverse is true for right-handed people. (This is diverging from comp. Anybody really interested in it should move the converstaion to, say, sci.med.) "Handedness" is a bit hard to define. Very few people use one hand exclusively. I, for example, generally classify myself as "left-handed," but am, for the most part, ambidextrous. I can write with either hand, although the left-hand is much more legible, I can use a mouse with either hand (although I have more practice with the right), I can shift with either hand (manual transmission, that is), etc. Some things I do one way only, such as, oh, playing baseball or bowling (right-hand). Most "left-handed" people are like that, but that's where the psychology creeps in. They prefer to use their left hand for lots of things, but, because of society, they tend to get taught to use their right-hand (I was taught, for example, to throw a baseball with my right hand; when I tried it left-handed and did miserably, I was told that was to be expected, go back to throwing right-handed [even though that didn't change things]). >Here's my theory about left-handed hackers. These people are >drawn from a pool which tended to be early achievers. Most of >them were encouraged to draw, and may have actually learned to >write, before they entered school. Their "handedness" is >therefore essentially random, 50-50. The unwashed masses, >however, mostly learned to write in school and, lacking any clear >preference, were encouraged to use their right hand, the default >choice. Not meaning to be overly snide, but there are dozens of studies which "prove" you wrong. Handedness is *not* random, at least not in the sense you mean. The odds are more like 90-10, instead of 50-50. There seems to be some indication that it's genetic, but, if it is, it isn't related to a single gene, but, rather, to a whole slew of them. >It could well be wrong, but without strong evidence I'll >prefer the explanation which doesn't postulate some mysterious >neurological tendency, every time. Go down to a library or, better, yet, a university, and try to find some articles on the subject. Some of the studies are really quite fascinating... -- Sean Eric Fagan | "let's face it, finding yourself dead is one seanf@sco.COM | of life's more difficult moments." uunet!sco!seanf | -- Mark Leeper, reviewing _Ghost_ (408) 458-1422 | Any opinions expressed are my own, not my employers'.
aduncan@rhea.trl.oz.au (Allan Duncan) (08/22/90)
Well, I find that the keyboard is not hand sensitive like writing is. I
happily use my right (non-writing) hand for the mouse which gives me the
option of using a pen at the same time!
As a left hander in a right handed world I find that in other than writing
there are advantages (my left-handedness is not pathological) since I
find that using most tools where gross motor skills only are needed I am
equally at home with either hand (if my right hand gets tired, I can
change the hammer to the left). Makes using the left side in billiards
easy too!
Big bitch on keyboards:
Who was the sod who fixed the control key at the left side only?
In the early days of tty's there was one each side, so when the Wordstar
people decided to lay out a sensible mapping for cursor movement the
left hand made the moves whilst the _right_ little finger held down the
control key. Loss of that right hand key has slowed down touch typists
for a decade and cost multi-millions in lost time.
Allan Duncan ACSnet a.duncan@trl.oz
(03) 541 6708 ARPA a.duncan%trl.oz.au@uunet.uu.net
UUCP {uunet,hplabs,ukc}!munnari!trl.oz!a.duncan
Telecom Research Labs, PO Box 249, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia.DN5@psuvm.psu.edu (08/23/90)
In article <1990Aug20.084113@bert.llnl.gov>, howell@bert.llnl.gov (Louis Howell) says: > >First, the opinions: I tend to react to all the left brain/right >brain BS the same way I react to people who sharpen their razor >blades with a pyramid. >Louis Howell > >#include <std.disclaimer> Good you you! Most of the left-brain/right-brain tests were done with people who had the connection between the left and right halves of their brain cut. Normally their is a connection between the two halves, which allows them to communicate fully. This connection is one of the reasons for the power of the human mind and though. Just my not-so-humble-opinion (and that of my Ed Psych instructors, of course). ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() D. Jay Newman ! All syllogisms have three parts, dn5@psuvm.psu.edu ! therefore this is not a syllogism. CBEL--Teaching and Learning Technologies Group
zwicky@sparkyfs.istc.sri.com (Elizabeth Zwicky) (08/23/90)
In article <1990Aug21.154720.4513@sco.COM> seanf@sco.COM (Sean Fagan) writes: >Handedness is physiological, not psychological. In left-handed people, the >right side of the brain is "dominant"; the reverse is true for right-handed >people. It's truer to say that for right-handed people, the left side of the brain is dominant, and for everybody else, it isn't. Most "left-handed" people are actually people with no clearly dominant hemisphere. It does depend on how you define "right-handed"; I am usually considered right-handed, because I write with that hand, although I am actually non-handed, so to speak. This is not uncommon, because so many teachers insist that children write right-handed if they can be forced to do so. You can be purely left-handed for some tasks without actually being right-dominant, too, which confuses the issue further for people who are trying to be exact. Generally, it doesn't bother psychologists any, because they divide the world simply into right-handed and not-right-handed, where "right-handed" really means "left-hemisphere dominant". They have tests, although one once told me that there was no point in scoring them, really; everyone who has to pantomime things to answer the questions (which mostly ask which hand or which foot you do things with) is not-right-handed, and the scores are only a matter of degree. Elizabeth Zwicky
seanf@sco.COM (Sean Fagan) (08/23/90)
In article <90234.141257DN5@psuvm.psu.edu> DN5@psuvm.psu.edu writes: >Good you you! Most of the left-brain/right-brain tests were done >with people who had the connection between the left and right halves >of their brain cut. Normally their is a connection between the >two halves, which allows them to communicate fully. Most of the *early* tests. Now, some tests are done that way, others are done while monitoring brain usage (CAT-scan and other, better methods), and the use of some drugs which can, temporarily, disable one side of the brain (or the communication between them; I forget which). >This connection is one of the reasons for the power of the human >mind and though. Not really. It allows for the *versatility*. Dolphins' brains are even more seperated. Usually, a dolphin will "sleep" by letting one half dream at a time. Physical rest is, as most people know, the least part of sleep; it's mostly a time for the brain to rest and "unwind." Dolphins are rather intelligent; however, most of their intelligence is dedicated to echolocation (an analogy: a large portion of the human brain is dedicated to language processing [or, more accurately, symbol processing]; symbol plus vision would, I believe, account to the same percentage in human beings as echolocation does in dolphins). N.B.: the above information is about 2 years out of date. Sorry... Back to humans: the two sides do communicate, of course, and some functions are spread throughout both sides of the brain, and need to work as a unit. Other functions, such as language processing, or mathematical ability, seems to (mostly) be concentrated in a single side of the brain, and which side is dominant will determine how much it works. For a computer analogy, think of the brain as a bunch of processors, all operating independently, and in parallel. Think of the BBN Butterfly 8-). Consider the Language Center as a specialized function of some of the processors; and side-dominance as a priority scheme for allowing one side to grab more resources. If the side the LC is in is dominant, than that side will be able to grab more resources, and, as a result, the LC will be able to do more than if that side *weren't* dominant. You know, I shouldn't try doing physiology lectures at 5:30 AM 8-). -- Sean Eric Fagan | "let's face it, finding yourself dead is one seanf@sco.COM | of life's more difficult moments." uunet!sco!seanf | -- Mark Leeper, reviewing _Ghost_ (408) 458-1422 | Any opinions expressed are my own, not my employers'.
paul@actrix.co.nz (Paul Gillingwater) (08/24/90)
In article <32590@sparkyfs.istc.sri.com> zwicky@pterodactyl.itstd.sri.com.UUCP (Elizabeth Zwicky) writes: >In article <1990Aug21.154720.4513@sco.COM> seanf@sco.COM (Sean Fagan) writes: >>Handedness is physiological, not psychological. In left-handed people, the >>right side of the brain is "dominant"; the reverse is true for right-handed >>people. > >It's truer to say that for right-handed people, the left side of the >brain is dominant, and for everybody else, it isn't. Most >"left-handed" people are actually people with no clearly dominant >hemisphere. It does depend on how you define "right-handed"; I In the "Mind-Brain Bulletin", there was a report of some research which looked at the question of sinistral dominance. It was found that there is no significant statistical correlation between people who are left handed, and who have the normal left/right brain associations reversed. HOWEVER, it was found that a large percentage of left-handed children of left-handed mothers do indeed have this reversal. So being left handed is not enough -- your mother also has to be left handed, and then you have a better chance of being in your right mind. :-) -- Paul Gillingwater, paul@actrix.co.nz
iann@cnw01.storesys.coles.oz.au (Ian Nicholls) (08/24/90)
I suppose I'm a mixed up person, because I use my right hand for writing and other fine work, and my left arm for golf, archery, and ten-pin bowls. I can use either hands for things such as squash, tennis, chopsticks and table- tennis, although I'm better with my left hand (it's a good show-off to swap hands between every shot, especially when your opponent tries the same.) Whenever I realise I've been using one hand for a task more often than the other hand, or my hand gets tired doing something, I make a concious effort to swap hands for a while. Some studies I have read (ages ago!) suggest that most left-handers are somewhat ambidextrous, while few right-handers are, and that there is a higher than normal mental breakdown and suicide rate among left-handers. This last point I've seen from a few sources, and they all make the guess that left-handers have more trouble coping with a right-hand world. Left-handers might even run in families. My father and I are left-handed, but the other five in the family aren't. I also know a family with two girls, two boys, and two parents. One of each pair are left-handed, so they're a fairly balanced family. -- "He who laughs, lasts." Ian Nicholls Phone : +61 3 829 6088 Fax: +61 3 829 6886 Coles/Myer Ltd. E-mail: iann@cnw01.storesys.coles.oz.au L1 M11, PO Box 480, Glen Iris 3146, Australia
diamond@tkou02.enet.dec.com (diamond@tkovoa) (08/27/90)
In article <1990Aug21.154720.4513@sco.COM> seanf@sco.COM (Sean Fagan) writes: >I can shift with either hand (manual transmission, that is), etc. Good for you. Right-handed people in half the world have to shift with their left hands. Even in some countries where society discriminates against the use of the left hand. -- Norman Diamond, Nihon DEC diamond@tkou02.enet.dec.com Steering like a sports car: I use opinions; the company uses the rack.
wsm@ccadfa.adfa.oz.au (Wayne Myles) (08/31/90)
cloader@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes: > How about left-handed mice? >Charles Yep, no worries. DECwindows allows you to remap the buttons right-to-left! :-) Wayne Myles.
ge@wn3.sci.kun.nl (Ge' Weijers) (09/05/90)
cloader@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes: >Does such a thing as a left handed keyboard exist? You can switch the keypad around on a Macintosh portable (or exchange it for a trackball) >How about left handed 3-key mice? In many GUIs you can switch the function of the keys. Sunview does it, I believe. >Charles Ge' -- Ge' Weijers Internet/UUCP: ge@cs.kun.nl Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, (uunet.uu.net!cs.kun.nl!ge) University of Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1 6525 ED Nijmegen, the Netherlands tel. +3180652483 (UTC-2)
keating@rex.cs.tulane.edu (John W. Keating) (09/05/90)
In article <2135@wn1.sci.kun.nl> ge@wn3.sci.kun.nl (Ge' Weijers) writes: >cloader@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes: > >>How about left handed 3-key mice? > >In many GUIs you can switch the function of the keys. Sunview does it, I believe. As does MSWindows 3.0. (Not sure about earlier versions) OS2 1.2's PM has the same ability, I believe. -- ***************************************************************************** * Internet: keating@rex.cs.tulane.edu * * * * Usenet: ...!pyramid!rex!keating * Seen hanging in window of * John W. * * Bitnet: CS6HECU@TCSMUSA (caps!!) * Iraqi tank: * Keating * * CI$: 73737,733 * <BABY ON BOARD!> * III * * Flames: /dev/null * * * *****************************************************************************