• Question: why do i write with my left hand and cut with my right?

    Asked by leeliebert to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 16 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by Emily.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 16 Jun 2011:

      Hi @leelibert
      Handedness is not an ‘all or nothing’ thing. There is a scale called the ‘Edinburgh Handedness Inventory’. Some people are really strongly right or left handed, but other people (like you) do some things with one hand, and some with the other. However, being truly ambidextrous (able to use both hands equally well) is really rare. It happens most commonly if a child injures their main hand when they’re about 4 or 5 and it’s out of action for a while.

      People are currently looking to find the gene involved in handedness, and I was speaking to a scientist yesterday who thinks she may have done this – watch this space!
      🙂

Comments