h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hang about, this only works if you consider that "Rule One" applies regardless of whether the person is right or left handed.

Surely it's the case that for left-handers like me, the brain hemispheres are also switched - which in one school of thought is the reason WHY left-handed persons exist? (ie, the brain is cross-wired so that the opposote conditions apply)

Therefore for a left-hander the equation becomes:-

Rule 1. The RIGHT hemisphere of the brain is used for logic and language.
Rule 2. The LEFT hemisphere of the brain is used for emotion and expression.

The hunting hypothesis doesn't hold water: the reason why I find it implausible is that while in the Army, I learnt to fire a variety of weapons. Some are designed so that they may ONLY be fired from the right shoulder. (well, you COULD fire them from the left, but only if you don't mind being hit in the face by a stream of extremely hot cartridge cases which are ejected from the right-hand side of the weapon)

Others are "unidextrous" - they can be fired equally by a left or right-handed person.

Once I'd got the hang of right-handed firing, I don't think I was any worse at it and I still attained a high standing as a rifle shot!

As one lefty to another, it's not the anatomy of left and right-hander that's switched, only the dominance of that hemisphere. This is why left-handers sometimes appear to have greater artistic or logical strengths due to the dominance of the appropriate areas of the brain's function.

>> greater artistic or logical strengths due to the dominance of the appropriate areas<<

I agree (but then I would, I wrote the entry). My missus worked in the past with head-injured patients. A head injury (eg. a blow to the head, or a stroke) would result in various symtoms: Some patients lost speech, some the ability to understand, some movement of the left or right side of the body, some a combination of these. All dependant on where the injury occurred in/on the head, and whether the person was - apparently - left or right side dominant.

Paff

I will admit though, that the >>hunting hypothesis<< is, indeed, a hypothesis.

This is a fascinating article and has help explain many of the things that have been wrapped up and lost in medical jargon.

I have some experience with the testing of left and right sided dominance, having recently undergone medical examinations prior to surgery. Despite being left handed I still appeared to be left side dominant. This surprised us a little as I always seemed logical/science based (right side) with a flair for music but have a love of word and number problems (left). This discovery of myself is another sign that handedness and dominance are not strictly linked. Part of the post-surgery testing will evaluate how the centres of my brain have been affected, whether there have been any changes to the bias of my abilities.

About the rifle shooting; when I was in the army (yawn) our best shot was left-handed with a rifle (SA80) that is the one referred to that can only be used right-handed. Also, the corpus callosum, which connects the right and left sides of the brain, is larger for women than for men so does that mean that women are more adept at approaching things in a holistic way?

I don't know about the "corpus callosum" of which you speak, but I guess it would explain women's apparent ability to approach things more holistically than men.

Paff

currently attempting 5-7,000 wds on schizophrenia - any thoughts?

I suppose that as with all other generalizations, there must be exceptions. I'm a lefty and express an interest in both music and logic. I never could get the hang of drawing though... I enjoy playing guitar or piano just as much as I would taking an hour out of my day to solve a complex problem or two.

I wonder, when you listen to music, do you hear the whole thing, or do you end up listening to the individual parts?

It depends. If I'm listening for musical enjoyment, I follow individual parts. Otherwise I listen as a whole.

That wasn't very accurate. To be more specific, I do listen to all parts of the song but actively follow one instrument (or vocals) in my head. But when the music is just in the background or serving as a distraction...well I suppose I'm only hearing the music not listening to it.

Sounds a bit like me then. If I'm _listening_ then I find myself following one particular part rather than the whole, although, as you say, when it's background music it becomes one whole mish-mash.

I possibly hear the stereo more acutely than others too: My right-handed son can't always tell if a particular instrument is played on the left or right - even when listening through headphones! He's only 13, but I know that at his age I had a totally thorough grasp of what was being played and 'where', on exactly the same things he listens to now.

I'm also not sure about the absoluteness of the "rules". In answer to the title of the original article, I'm left handed and I always hold the phone to my right ear (I find it very difficult to concentrate on the call if I use my left ear - and I'm not hard of hearing that side)... it's probably because I've trained my brain to focus on the right side through habituation, and originally chose the right side to hold the phone because it keeps my left hand free to write information or doodle.