Why are some people left-handed? - Daniel M. Abrams

Today, about one-tenth of the world’s population are southpaws. Why are such a small proportion of people left-handed -- and why does the trait exist in the first place? Daniel M. Abrams investigates how the uneven ratio of lefties and righties gives insight into a balance between competitive and cooperative pressures on human evolution.

Lesson by Daniel M. Abrams, animation by TED-Ed.

[veronicaodowd]

Worst thing for lefties is when we're made sit next to a rightie in school. I have made so many enemies just because of elbow clashing😂😂🙄

[hardikchoudhary]

Everyone: How do you write with your left hand?
Me : The way you write with your right

[SamvrithaRW_]

My mom was a left handed person, and she was forced to write with her right hand. She writes with her right hand, but chopping, sewing and all is done left hand. I'm very grateful I wasn't forced. I was asked to by the school, but my mother made sure that it did not happen. I'm grateful to her. 🥰🥰

[bosabarbosa]

Being leftie in sports is always an advantage. As he said that in baseball, the same applies for soccer... a leftie NEVER misses a penalty kick. We are all so used to everything and everyone doing things from the right, and when we face a leftie, it completely catches us by surprise and kinda throws us "off balance"; I myself have experienced that a few times, and IT DOES work.

[KarenFoo]

A lot of times when i write people always like "wow you're left handed?!" like im alien

[ali-gves]

Real life: 90% right handed people and 10% left handed people
The comments section: 10% right handed people and 90% left handed people

[adebisi]

As a left-handed person, I was forced by my uncle as a child to use my right hand. When my mum found out, she was mad. I'm happy to be the only left-handed person in my family and almost everywhere because when I take out a pen to write, a lot of people are awed🥰

[julianobrien]

Being a leftie I had to learn to use right-handed golf clubs growing up, but in Ireland we have a sport called hurling and because of playing this sport I learned to hit on both sides and as a result I can play golf with both sets of clubs (right and left handed). I also had to use right-handed objects like scissors so like most lefties I have become slightly ambidextrous. I was also led to believe that many left-handed people are more artistic and creative than normal and as a matter of fact I have noticed that a great majority of artists that I see working SEM to be fellow lefties. Long live the left-handed person, it used to be known as the "Devils hand" when I was growing up in Ireland.

[samtodd]

You know what the worst thing is for left handed people? It’s not scissors, or computer mouses, or pencil smudges or anything like that. It’s NOTEBOOKS. Those huge three ring binders and the spiral notebooks are impossible.

[theEVILonionRAT]

As someone who’s left handed, I’m very grateful that I wasn’t forced to learn how to write with my right hand

[Purplella]

I’m left handed, my grandmother is too. I was force to write right handed in school for years in elementary . I was the only student left handed in our small school system. Eventually they gave up because I just couldn’t write right handed. But still use some things right handed. My grandmother was my biggest help in life through all that 💕

[LNico]

I’m a leftie. I’m also Asian. My parents and entire family forced me to be right handed bc it’s Witchery and demonic to be a leftie. My family got all teachers to force me to write with my right and I constantly got yelled at by everyone and bullied bc of it. Teachers yelled at me, classmates noticed, I got bullied. I got pushed around physically and emotionally at school and home. I never felt safe anywhere. I had no friends or family to ask for help. All bc I couldn’t change my left handedness. Don’t get me wrong - I tried my best but i struggled a lot. Detentions bc I couldn’t write properly and neat enough, teachers made me sit inside and made me hyper focus on my writing so much that I didn’t have time for any other subjects (I was always told that I needed to change my hand before I can do anything else) so u can already tell how I struggle with other subjects growing up (side note - on a happier tone, I started doing better in highschool). I’m about to be 26 and I still haven’t changed. Family means nothing to me (they were INSANELY abusive and I’m glad to escape out alive (without being so grim)…all bc I’m a leftie…I was always in the wrong in their eyes and everything I sucked at or failed at was due to my “demonic left hand and nature” 😂🙄 It took me until the age of 20 to know that it’s normal to be left or right handed. Like it doesn’t matter at all and there’s nothing “demonic” about it. I wish I could go back in time to tell my younger self it’s okay bc I felt so alone all this time.

[arscenic]

My classmates are always like “dude you’re left handed?” Then they ask the exact same question a few months later -_-

[nqh]

Fun fact: In most medieval castles, the stairs are spiralled clockwise so that the defender would have the advantage against the aggressor if both are right-handed (more sword space to swing). That's why left-handed warriors are highly sought after for siege assaults and thus often put into the vanguard.

[cleartan]

I am left handed and right handed.

When I was in Grade school, we are not allowed to use left hand in writing, my mom, got scold me everytime she saw me using left hand so I was forced to used right handed. They didnt know that I got easily done everything by using my left hand.Whenever they are around I always use right hand (even its too hard for me) and when they are not around I always used left, I was always dependent on my Left hand. Now, I am an architect, I used both hands.No one scold me, they say, its cool.

[kevinmarcus]

I've been left-handed for the enirety of my life and have OUTRIGHT REFUSED to even try to change it, regardless of anyone's "suggestion". Not my parents, not my teachers, my grandparent (who had even tried to pay me to try), NOT ANYONE could change this! I've never felt the pressure, because it stopped before settling in, as I'm PROUD AND EVEN FEEL SUPERIOR (and not fearful to admit it) because of it! Even statistically, THIS IS A POWER! This IS special and whoever disagrees CAN'T offer any argument, just stereotypical bs! My left-handed fellows, WE ROCK! ;)

[jess-wpbb]

don’t get me STARTED on having a massive ink smudge on the side of my hand bro 😔

[diarmuidcremin]

Does anyone else find it hard when your left handed and the person on you left is right handed and keeps bumping there elbow off you while you write

[CreativeAnneliese]

I'm a lefty and have honestly never had a real problem with anything...I was never forced to be a righty, and my grandmother the teacher showed me how to do everything right-handed (because she was a righty) and let me adapt everything in my own way to being left-handed. SHe DID however, make SURE that my handwriting didn't look like a typical lefty...I have ALWAYS held a writing implement properly, which I REALLY appreciate :)

[hoog]

I'm a lefty. A few years ago in school I broke my left arm and was forced to use my right hand for most activities, and honestly looking back I'm not sure how I did it. But worst of all, I was taking Chinese. Dang near impossible to write Chinese characters with your non-dominant hand, I can tell you that. Thankfully my teacher was forgiving with my handwriting and still gave me an A by the end of the year 😅