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First dayMy first day, I played with my right hand. If I had to play down the left hand side of the mat I had to move my arm across my body and turn my hand a little – backhand. That's what everybody did. Left handers just did the same in reverse. At home , I thought about it. Two forehandsAmbidextrous?Am I ambidextrous? Almost certainly not. All the articles and papers I've looked at this week say the truly ambidextrous, constitute only one per cent of the world population. Truly ambidextrous means being able to write well, and equally well, with either hand. There is another group, ambisinistral who use both hands equally, but not very well, Then there are those who are cross dominant – favouring one hand for some tasks and the other for others. The Wikipedia article 'Ambidexterity' is littered with cross dominant notables in many sports and arts. Our New Zealand cricket captain Kane Williamson, for instance, plays right handed but writes with his left hand and within the game, has toyed with bowling left handed. Four famous achievers who apparently could write equally well with either hand? Who are they? To check, read to the end then look at the references. HandednessHandedness, for that's what we are talking about, is, according to what I've read, now thought by most researchers to be determined by as many as 40 genes. Handedness usually becomes clear by about three or four years of age. In so called western countries 85%-90% of the population is right handed; 10-15% are left handed. Ambidextrous 1%. But that's not the end of the story. Handedness is guided and changed by both direct and indirect teaching within our culture, our schools and our families. "Use your knife with your right hand." So, as a person grows what they habitually do with their hands may change. More ambidextrous getting olderDuring this week I came across an interesting article in How Stuff Works, entitled Can you become ambidextrous later in life? 'Can we teach ourselves to become ambidextrous as adults? A 2007 study found that as we age, we actually become more ambidextrous on our own, in part because the hand we use loses its dominance. The study was small, and included 60 participants, all strongly right-handed according to the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (EHI). The participants completed various computerized dexterity tests, which included line tracing, an aiming task and tapping.' Is that is what is happening to me? Is that why my level of proficiency with either hand when playing indoor bowls is about the same? InheritanceMy father played outdoor bowls but I don't remember his playing two forehands. As far as I remember he was quite orthodox. Nonetheless I grew up to fascinating stories from my mother and father, of my father playing badminton using two forehands (strongly) and being a perfect nuisance batting in cricket because he would sometimes face righthanded and sometimes left. Unfortunately I was a child of my father's older age so I never saw these phenomena. But the stories intrigued. Could I have inherited any two handedness from him? Authorities I've consulted say 'No, you can't be partially ambidextrous.' Left wonderingYet I wonder. I read of a Finnish study of ambidextrous children who were poorer than others at language and math. That made me think. When I lived and worked in India I struggled with Hindustani. I learnt much more slowly than Marion my wife. I didn't pass any assessment tests. Before that, at school I achieved 37% in School Certificate French and had countless attempts at the French Reading Standard at university in order to complete my degree. and I couldn't get my head around maths. So am I ambidextrous – just a little? Indoor bowls is a fantastic little game
John McInnes Friday 28 August 2020 References: Scientific American - Can training to become ambidextrous improve brain function? How Stuff Works - Can you become ambidextrous later in life? Live Science - Ambidexrous or cross handed individuals have language and math difficulties The two hand writers are, left to right: Albert Einstein; Benjamin Franklin; Nikola Tesla; Leonardo da Vinci ##########
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