The Left-Hander Syndrome: The Causes and Consequences of Left-Handedness

by Stanley Coren and Coren Stanley Ed

Book Overview

If you are among the 10 percent of people who happen to be left-handed, you've had to endure such derisive terms as "gauche" and "a left-handed compliment." At school you may have been forced to write... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0029066824
• ISBN13: 9780029066829
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Free Press
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

I love my left hand!

I cant be humble with this topic. I love to be left hander and i always watch when someone is left handed. In "The Left Hander Syndorm" you will discover the REAL differences between left handers ans right handers. And the more you read the more you will discover the connections between the two hemispheres. This book sometimes can get a little bit technical but is worthy. For an example of the infornation: Measuring sidedness. "When tested to see which hand used to throw a ball, aim a dart, cut with scissors, and the like, performed every single action with his left hand. His only detectable right handed activity was writing". So... not beause we are left handers we use all the time the right hemisphere. Approximately 90 percent of all humans are right handed. Tests of split brain patients have confirmed the fact that the right hemisphere is specialized for various visual spatial abilities. Another interesting point: "The right hemisphere may be more involved in the recognition of emotions". "Damage of the right hemisphere of the brain produces a different reaction, sometimes called la belle indiference". Emotion and empathy are controlled, processed, and appreciated in the right brain. The right hemisphere is the soft, empathic, sympathetic, creative, and insightful mind of the artist, the musician, the intuitive problem solver, the compassionate educator, the sensitive philosopher, and the driving force behind all the people who bring color, joy and innovation to society.

Interesting issues that are worthy of further investigation

This book doesn't tell left-handers how best to live in a right-handers' world, but it doesn't purport to. It does, however, live up to its title. Coren presents a range of very interesting theories and conclusions about left-handedness. Crucially, he also describes the actual studies and presents their results, and is fairly clear about when something's just a theory and why one might believe it, so you get to see some raw facts and judge for yourself. I'm strongly left-handed and am not in the least bit offended by the idea that it could have possibly been caused by something going slightly wrong somewhere. Some of the theories did actually explain a few things about my family and myself quite well, which was an added bonus.

All hands are equal,but one hand is more equal than theother

Well well, there is some very interesting stuff here. Why are only around 10% of the population left handed? Is this genetic or learned? And what does this mean for tool making, writing, driving, accident proneness, societal prejudice, sporting pursuits, and general living as a left hander? You might also be interested to know that around 20% of people are left footed, and around 40% of people are left eyed. Also more woman are right handed than men. And then there are the mixed types, the ambidextorous, and also those who mix different activities and their handedness- say writing and throwing. A surpising number of people are actually mixed types, and this increases for footedness and eyedness. This book is a good overview of various statistics, and what it means to live as a left hander in a right handed world. The author has conducted many years research into various studies, from identical twin studies, to family studies, to genes and learning, to the way tools are designed, and how left handers cope with these sorts of things in general. Bias, prejudice, and general policies are discussed, both historically and in recent times. (Everyone knows the old rap over the knuckle for left handed school students several generations ago, but where have we come from there?). The author mentions his university in the 1990s where all the chairs in his lecture theatre have right-sided writing areas. (Being left handed in writing, I also remember having to cope with this at university. I also remember smudging most of my first ink pen writing in primary school-left handed writers will know what I am talking about!).One of the best things about this book is the detail. Not only is there analyses of handedness, but as mentioned, footedness, eyeness, and even earness. Which ear do you listen to your watch with? Also, mixed handed types are discussed, along with various sports, and degree of lefthandness (and right handedness!) in each, and where it may be useful to be more of a mixed type for some sports (eg soccer with mixed footedness, and basketball with mixed handedness). Readers are given personal questionaires to determine their general level of left or right handedness, footedness, earness, and eyeness. Links with brain states and brain areas, personality types, tendancy to certain careers and so on is also discussed. Famous lefties are also listed. The book is a must for the curious leftie, and for those who are interested in where this curious, and rather little studied aspect of humanity is taking us.

Well-referenced and very interesting reading...

This is a great book! I read it many years ago when it first was released and I checked it out from the library. Now I'm buying my own copy. The author strives to prove that left-handedness is largely a concequence of brain trauma either during pregnancy early, or during birth that causes some level of brain damange. When I first read this, I was all offended thinking that I wasn't brain damanged! But after reading the book, his theories (which he has backed up with his own and other's research) make a lot of sense. If you are interested in this subject at all, this is a great book to read!

ONE BIG PROBLEM

My prime regret about this book is that it took me the better part of a decade to get to it. While I'm not left handed I've always been facinated by the topic. This book and the studies it covers sure blew away a lot of my pretense of knowledge about the subject and a lot of old wives tales to boot. Happily I'm not alone in my chagrin. Coren's investigation blew away a lot of his smug preconceptions too. Coren could of kept that to himself but he is honest enough to show himself bungling around in the dark like most of us do so much of the time.The book is part survey of left-handedness through the ages and part the adventure of bringing arcane disciplines of science to bear on problem. The author gets across the feelings of frustration and confusion when the results of careful research produce enigmatic and elusive results. The final part of the book is primer in understanding left handers and the burdens under which they gamely labor. And fianally it is a plea for ways in which we could make left handers lives,if not perfect,at least a little easier. Coren write with an ease, humor and heart that belies his intelligence and expertise.