Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watdcsu.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!watnot!watdcsu!herbie From: herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong - DCS) Newsgroups: net.kids Subject: Re: Changing Left-handedness to Right-handedness Message-ID: <1620@watdcsu.UUCP> Date: Tue, 20-Aug-85 01:08:28 EDT Article-I.D.: watdcsu.1620 Posted: Tue Aug 20 01:08:28 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 20-Aug-85 22:42:56 EDT References: <127@unc.unc.UUCP> <464@petrus.UUCP> <1149@teddy.UUCP> <761@brl-tgr.ARPA> Distribution: na Organization: U of Waterloo Lines: 111 i'm a lefty that was "converted" earlier than i can remember. i was a righty by the time i entered grade 1. i have asked my mother many times why she did it and have yet to recieve a satisfactory answer. my youngest brother is a lefty too, but he's half way in between, eating and writing with his right hand and doing everything else with his left. Herb Chong... I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble.... UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!water!watdcsu!herbie CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet ARPA: herbie%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa NETNORTH, BITNET, EARN: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsu ---------------------------------- >>From: mwg@petrus.UUCP (Mark Garrett) >He now eats with his left hand, writes with his right, and claims >that the attempt at righting his dexterity has ruined his sense of >direction (which is lousy; mine is good). hmmm. i have a very good sense of direction. it comes from growing up in the country where there aren't any street signs. i mean here that i seldom get lost while driving or hiking. >>From: cher@ihlpm.UUCP (Mike Cherepov) >I also have very poor sense of direction and often say "right" >while distinctly having in mind "left". i do this a lot too. i will point one way when talking and say the other direction. "i" know what i mean, but i confuse a lot of people. >>From: jeand@ihlpg.UUCP (AMBAR) >On the positive side, she has beautiful handwriting with either >hand, and she is capable of simultaneous mirror writing. On the negative >side, she is slightly dyslexic (especially with numbers). my normal handwriting writing is indecipherable to almost everyone, including myself, most of the time. that's another one of the many reasons why i chose a computer related profession. why write when i can use a word processor? then i have half a chance of understanding what i wrote. on the other hand, my calligraphy (which is an entirely different thing from handwriting), is certainly acceptible and i have had friends admire it. >On a related topic, has anyone noted a high correlation between left-handedness >and 'intelligence' (as measured/used/defined by schools and so forth)? As >I think about it, most of the left-handed people I know are smarter than >average. hmmm. maybe i should change back. will that help my IQ any 8-)? seriously though, i have always been in the "exceptional" student category and i seem to notice more lefties too. i always thought it was my imagination. >>From: albert@harvard.ARPA (David Albert) >Changing, or attempting to change, a child's handedness is >the principle cause of childhood stuttering and similar speech >impediments. Other problems that come up are writing defects, >especially lousy handwriting, and a variety of unrelated problems >including bedwetting. my stuttering is confined to when i'm extremely nervous, but when it hits, it hits bad. the rest of the time, i keep it under enough control that people barely notice it. on the other hand, i have this habit of repeating whole phrases in sentences or transposing them when i'm talking. that's confusing to people. >>From: rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) >Although there's no way to prove a >connection, there was one very interesting phenomenon that occurred >at the same time: my wife started writing letters/short words in >"mirror-image". <...> shortly >after being allowed to write with her left hand, the mirror-image >problem went away by itself. i've always been able to read writing and the printed page upside-down almost as fast as right side up (i.e. well over 1000 wpm). i wonder if this is related or not. >>From: sct@lanl.ARPA > My son is showing a tendancy to use his left hand and I intend to let >him stay that way. There's nothing wrong with being left handed except for >having to live in a right handed world. it is sometimes very inconvenient. ever had a lefty eat with chopsticks next to you (if you're a righty)? unless you move FAR apart, it quickly turns into a fencing match. >>From: andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) >DON'T try to change the handedness of your children! Such attempts >have been implicated in reading disorders such as dyslexia and in >decreased coordination and manual dexterity. It's been eight years >since my last psych class, so the details are hazy, but it has been >firmly established that trying to change handedness is a very bad thing >to do to a kid. does this explain my tennis game? i have an excuse now for all the terrible playing i've done? seriously, in any sport i've been in (and there have been quite a few), i've been plagued with erratic control. some days, i'm incredibly good (not nearly as often as i'd like 8-(), and some days, i'm terribly bad. most of the time, i'm just bad. >>From: sidney@faron.UUCP (Sidney Markowitz) >By the way, a disproportionate number of mathematicians and computer >scientists (especially those that are female) are left-handed, and of >professional musicians (especially the more successful) are >ambidexterous. i hope that this is a phrophecy of sorts 8-).