Lord_Cathaseigh
Like a sir.
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2012
Handedness is a big area of study today. It affects not only dexterity but also pathing, reading, gaming, and much more. While a lot of this is information readily available on the internet, I have also added my personal observations on topics such as pathing and gaming. If you notice any errors, please PM me and I will correct them ASAP.
1. A History of Handedness
Many theories exist to explain why we favor one hand (and eye) over the other. Today, right-handed people account for 70-90% of the total population, with left-handed people taking a measly 10%.
While no one theory has gained ground as the SOLE theory, we can largely explain why we're left or right-handed with the theories that have come forward.
One theory goes on to explain that tribal people preferred to use their left hand to wipe their, um... butt, while they used their right hand for handling objects and shaking hands. This kind of behavior is found in third world countries, with varying consequence for using your left hand. Some countries cut off your left hand if you used it to shake hands or handle food, while some cut off your right hand if caught stealing. This kind of behavior was also present in medieval civilization, where people who used their left hand were considered unruly or even heretical. Even in the 20th century, writing with your left hand was punished with a swift rap of a ruler.
Another theory goes on to explain that tribal warfare caused trends in handedness based on minority advantantages, that is to say, moving in a way not anticipated by the enemy. Over time as we moved on from tribal combat, right-handed people became more common as they were able to produce more. It's probable that the RH people who survived encounters with LH people passed on tales of such encounters. In time these tales became myths that, over time, lead to the shunning of LH people.
LH people weren't always a symbol of evil; in fact in many cultures the opposite was true. Pharaohs and egyptian dignitaries expected people to approach with the left foot forward, so that the heart would be leading. Walking with the right foot forward was probably looked down upon as a sign of a treacherous or dishonest person, while those who walked left foot forward were viewed as honest, standing members of society.
Even today, a wedding ring is worn customarily on the left hand simply because it's closer to the heart.
2. Dexterity
One of the consequences of handedness is preference for arabic script (the act or writing left to right.) Righties generally have no problem writing from left to right; lefties, however, have more difficulty writing because their hand drags across the writing. This is another reason why there are more right-handed people than left. The world is practically made for righties. This makes it easier to learn right-handedness compared to left.
Take a look around the room. What do you see that's geared toward right -handed people? If you said clocks (both analog and digital), doors that open to the right, controllers ect. you'd be correct. Clocks read left to right; doors open to the right so you can pass to the left (I'll get to that later,) and controllers usually assign more complex actions to the right side (compared to the D-pad.) In fact, a great many things are designed with right handed people in mind. Knives, saw, and even traffic in some countries are designed to cater to right-handed people.
Does that mean that righties are better than lefties? Certainly not. The current state of handedness is more effected by trends than anything. In fact, lefties generally have better spacial reasoning than righties. Studies have also found that 2 out of 10 people who make honor roll are in fact lefties; compared to 1 out of 10 that make up the population. If anything, I'd say that lefties have the advantage.
3. Pathing and gaming
Have you ever noticed the way a rightie turns around? In general, a rightie turns counter-clockwise. Why is that?
Well, right-handed people tend to be right-eyed dominant (and vice versa.) Because they look out their right eye more, their left periphary vision is more developed (eyes tend to cross to the inside.) Righties also use their right arm more than their left, so when they punch or reach out the body twists counter-clockwise. This is a lot more noticable with right-handed pitchers; they use that arm so much, it actually stretches and becomes noticably longer than their left.
But what does this have to do with pathing? Simple. Imagine you come to a dead-end; which way would you go? Chances are you go left (or right if you're leftie), simply because your body is used to turning counter-clockwise. From here we can see how this affects gaming. Top-down and 3d games generally expect you to turn to your left. They may also place secret treasure in your natural blind spot; behind and to the right for righties, and behind and to the left for lefties.
But what about side-scrollers?
The answer is staring you in the face. We are in fact reading the video game. In a world designed for righties where reading and writing trends to the right, video games have followed suit. This is an ingenious design and probably contributed to the success of video games.
Conclusion
The world is full of knowledge, waiting to be discovered. I hope you learned something from this, no matter what it is. Thanks to those who were patient enough to read the whole thing, and I really hope it gets you thinking. If you want to share this, please feel free. All I ask is that credit be given.
(Copyright 2012, Casey Asbury)
1. A History of Handedness
Many theories exist to explain why we favor one hand (and eye) over the other. Today, right-handed people account for 70-90% of the total population, with left-handed people taking a measly 10%.
While no one theory has gained ground as the SOLE theory, we can largely explain why we're left or right-handed with the theories that have come forward.
One theory goes on to explain that tribal people preferred to use their left hand to wipe their, um... butt, while they used their right hand for handling objects and shaking hands. This kind of behavior is found in third world countries, with varying consequence for using your left hand. Some countries cut off your left hand if you used it to shake hands or handle food, while some cut off your right hand if caught stealing. This kind of behavior was also present in medieval civilization, where people who used their left hand were considered unruly or even heretical. Even in the 20th century, writing with your left hand was punished with a swift rap of a ruler.
Another theory goes on to explain that tribal warfare caused trends in handedness based on minority advantantages, that is to say, moving in a way not anticipated by the enemy. Over time as we moved on from tribal combat, right-handed people became more common as they were able to produce more. It's probable that the RH people who survived encounters with LH people passed on tales of such encounters. In time these tales became myths that, over time, lead to the shunning of LH people.
LH people weren't always a symbol of evil; in fact in many cultures the opposite was true. Pharaohs and egyptian dignitaries expected people to approach with the left foot forward, so that the heart would be leading. Walking with the right foot forward was probably looked down upon as a sign of a treacherous or dishonest person, while those who walked left foot forward were viewed as honest, standing members of society.
Even today, a wedding ring is worn customarily on the left hand simply because it's closer to the heart.
2. Dexterity
One of the consequences of handedness is preference for arabic script (the act or writing left to right.) Righties generally have no problem writing from left to right; lefties, however, have more difficulty writing because their hand drags across the writing. This is another reason why there are more right-handed people than left. The world is practically made for righties. This makes it easier to learn right-handedness compared to left.
Take a look around the room. What do you see that's geared toward right -handed people? If you said clocks (both analog and digital), doors that open to the right, controllers ect. you'd be correct. Clocks read left to right; doors open to the right so you can pass to the left (I'll get to that later,) and controllers usually assign more complex actions to the right side (compared to the D-pad.) In fact, a great many things are designed with right handed people in mind. Knives, saw, and even traffic in some countries are designed to cater to right-handed people.
Does that mean that righties are better than lefties? Certainly not. The current state of handedness is more effected by trends than anything. In fact, lefties generally have better spacial reasoning than righties. Studies have also found that 2 out of 10 people who make honor roll are in fact lefties; compared to 1 out of 10 that make up the population. If anything, I'd say that lefties have the advantage.
3. Pathing and gaming
Have you ever noticed the way a rightie turns around? In general, a rightie turns counter-clockwise. Why is that?
Well, right-handed people tend to be right-eyed dominant (and vice versa.) Because they look out their right eye more, their left periphary vision is more developed (eyes tend to cross to the inside.) Righties also use their right arm more than their left, so when they punch or reach out the body twists counter-clockwise. This is a lot more noticable with right-handed pitchers; they use that arm so much, it actually stretches and becomes noticably longer than their left.
But what does this have to do with pathing? Simple. Imagine you come to a dead-end; which way would you go? Chances are you go left (or right if you're leftie), simply because your body is used to turning counter-clockwise. From here we can see how this affects gaming. Top-down and 3d games generally expect you to turn to your left. They may also place secret treasure in your natural blind spot; behind and to the right for righties, and behind and to the left for lefties.
But what about side-scrollers?
The answer is staring you in the face. We are in fact reading the video game. In a world designed for righties where reading and writing trends to the right, video games have followed suit. This is an ingenious design and probably contributed to the success of video games.
Conclusion
The world is full of knowledge, waiting to be discovered. I hope you learned something from this, no matter what it is. Thanks to those who were patient enough to read the whole thing, and I really hope it gets you thinking. If you want to share this, please feel free. All I ask is that credit be given.
(Copyright 2012, Casey Asbury)
Last edited:
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