The fascinating world of left-handedness
Summary
TLDRGillette Cox, a Brisbane-based artist, overcomes childhood trauma from being punished for being left-handed to create stunning art with her non-dominant hand. The script delves into historical discrimination against left-handers and explores the genetic and environmental factors influencing handedness. Highlighting the work of Professor David Evans, it discusses the largest study on genetic factors of handedness, identifying genes associated with left-handedness and ambidexterity. The narrative also touches on the challenges left-handers face in a right-handed world, featuring Steve mcquirk's business catering to left-handed products and the adaptability of left-handers, exemplified by notable figures like astronauts and artists.
Takeaways
- 🎨 Gillette Cox, an artist in Brisbane Studio D, creates art using her left hand, which was discouraged in her childhood.
- 👧 As a child, she faced physical punishment and humiliation for using her left hand, reflecting a historical stigma against left-handedness.
- 🌏 Historically, left-handedness was considered bad luck or evil, and such treatment was common worldwide until about 50 years ago.
- 🎨 Art history reveals that Eve in the story of Adam and Eve is portrayed with two left hands, symbolizing the negative perception of left-handedness.
- 🧬 Genetic epidemiologist Professor David Evans explains that handedness is linked to brain function, with right-handers having more lateralized language centers.
- 🧠 Left-handed individuals are more likely to have less lateralization in brain function, with language abilities spread across both hemispheres.
- 🧬 In 2020, a study at the University of Queensland identified 41 genes associated with left-handedness and seven with ambidexterity, providing clues to the biology of handedness.
- 🧩 Handedness is predominantly influenced by environmental factors, unlike most traits which are a mix of genetic and environmental influences.
- 🛠 Steve mcquirk, a left-handed man, started an online business, Lefties Australia, after struggling with right-handed designed products.
- ✂️ Left-handed products, such as scissors, are designed to accommodate the different way left-handers push with the thumb and pull with fingers.
- 👨🚀 Notable left-handed individuals include astronauts and U.S. presidents, suggesting that left-handedness is associated with creativity and adaptability.
Q & A
What was the treatment of left-handed children like in the past according to the script?
-In the past, left-handed children were often punished for using their left hand. The script mentions that the artist, Gillette Cox, was made to stand on her desk and had her legs beaten with a wooden ruler for using her left hand, which was considered a 'heinous hideous evil thing' during her primary school years.
Why was being left-handed historically considered bad luck or wicked?
-Historically, left-handedness was considered bad luck or wicked due to its rarity, making up only about 10% of the population. This trait was often associated with negative connotations and superstitions.
What surprising fact about the portrayal of Eve in art was discovered by the script's narrator?
-The narrator discovered that Eve, in historical portrayals, is depicted with two left hands, suggesting an extra level of evilness, as having one regular left hand was not considered evil enough.
What does Professor David Evans suggest about the correlation between handedness and brain function?
-Professor David Evans suggests that handedness is correlated with brain function. Right-handed individuals are more likely to have lateralized brain function with language centers in the left hemisphere, while left-handed individuals may have less lateralization and language in both hemispheres.
What implications does understanding brain laterality have according to the script?
-Understanding brain laterality has implications for developing treatments in cases of stroke, epilepsy, or trauma, where there is damage to a particular part of the brain.
What was the significance of the largest study on genetic factors determining handedness conducted in 2020?
-The study was significant because it identified 41 genes associated with being a left-hander and seven genes associated with ambidextrousness, providing clues to the underlying biology of why people become left-handers.
What percentage of the handedness trait is determined by genetics and environment according to the script?
-The script states that handedness is predominantly determined by environmental factors, unlike traits like height or diseases which are around 50% genetic and 50% environmental.
Why did Steve mcquirk start his online business 'lefties Australia'?
-Steve mcquirk started 'lefties Australia' after a fruitless search for a left-handed can opener when his daughter struggled to open a can of dog food with a standard right-handed can opener.
What is the most popular product group sold by 'lefties Australia' according to the script?
-The most popular product group sold by 'lefties Australia' is scissors, which are designed for left-handed individuals to cut effectively.
What challenges do left-handed individuals face in a predominantly right-handed world according to the script?
-Left-handed individuals face challenges with everyday items that are not designed for left-handed use, such as turnstile card readers, microwave oven keypads, and various tools like chainsaws, circular saws, and power drills.
What notable figures are mentioned in the script as being left-handed and what message does this convey?
-Notable left-handed figures mentioned include astronauts, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and several U.S. presidents. This conveys the message that left-handed individuals are adaptable and can excel in various fields, serving as role models for creativity and success.
Outlines
🎨 The Left-Handed Artist's Journey and the Science of Handedness
Gillette Cox, an artist from Brisbane Studio D, creates remarkable art using her left hand, a practice that was considered taboo during her childhood. She recalls the harsh punishment she faced for being left-handed, which included physical abuse and humiliation. The script delves into the historical stigma against left-handers, tracing it back to the Stone Age, and notes that left-handedness has often been associated with bad luck or evil. The narrative then shifts to the scientific perspective, discussing the correlation between handedness and brain function, as explained by genetic epidemiologist Professor David Evans. He highlights that right-handed individuals tend to have more lateralized brain functions, while left-handers may have language centers distributed across both hemispheres. The summary also mentions a significant study conducted in 2020 that identified genes associated with left-handedness and ambidexterity, emphasizing the environmental factors that predominantly determine handedness. The paragraph concludes with a personal account from Steve mcquirk, a left-handed entrepreneur, who faced difficulties with everyday tools designed for right-handers and subsequently started a business catering to left-handers.
👐 The Challenges and Triumphs of Being Left-Handed in a Right-Handed World
This paragraph discusses the everyday challenges faced by left-handed individuals in a world predominantly designed for right-handers. Steve mcquirk, the founder of lefties Australia, shares his daughter's struggle with a standard can opener, which led to the establishment of his business. The summary highlights the most popular product group, left-handed scissors, explaining how they function differently from right-handed ones. It also lists other everyday items that are not left-hand friendly, such as train station turnstiles, microwave oven keypads, and various power tools. The paragraph concludes with a note on the pride and adaptability of left-handers, mentioning famous left-handed individuals like astronauts and artists, and the wish of the narrator to show her former teachers the accomplishments she has achieved with her left hand.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Handedness
💡Stigma
💡Genetic Factors
💡Laterality
💡Epidemiology
💡Brain Function
💡Trauma
💡Adaptability
💡Cultural Perception
💡Left-Handed Products
💡Inclusive Design
Highlights
Gillette Cox creates art in Brisbane using her left hand, despite being punished for it as a child.
Being left-handed was considered evil and bad luck historically, with left-handed children often punished.
Eve in Adam and Eve is portrayed with two left hands in historical art, symbolizing evil.
Hand preference is linked to brain lateralization, with right-handers having more language function in the left hemisphere.
Left-handers tend to have less brain lateralization, with language centers in both hemispheres.
Understanding brain lateralization has implications for treating stroke, epilepsy, and brain trauma.
A 2020 study identified 41 genes linked to left-handedness and 7 genes linked to ambidexterity.
Genetics only play a small role in handedness, with environmental factors being the primary determinant.
Steve mcquirk founded Lefties Australia, a retailer for left-handed products, after struggling with a right-handed can opener.
Left-handed scissors are designed differently to allow the blades to cut properly when pushing with the thumb.
Many everyday items, like microwaves and power tools, are not designed to be left-hand friendly.
Left-handers are overrepresented among astronauts, artists, and U.S. presidents.
Left-handers are adaptable and able to work with whatever comes their way, making them valuable in various fields.
Gillette Cox wishes she could show her old teachers how successful she has become despite being left-handed.
Transcripts
every day in her Brisbane Studio D
Gillette Cox creates breathtaking works
of art by doing something she would
never have dared to do as a child using
her left hand when I was a wee girl in
Primary School it was apparently a
heinous hideous evil thing to be
left-handed so what they would do when I
was caught using my left hand to right
or the like I mean I'm five what was I
doing drawing things I don't know but I
would have to stand on top of my desk
and then they would beat the back of my
legs with a wooden ruler to punish me I
remember bleeding from from being hit so
hard and I remember the humiliation and
I was five so I super remember being
scared that I'd pee my pants while I was
standing on that desk being smacked it
was horrible it was truly traumatizingly
horrible
it's hard to believe today but until
about 50 years ago this sort of
treatment was common for left-handers
all over the world
as far back as the Stone Age lefties
have only made up about 10 of the
population which means throughout
history this trait has been considered
bad luck at best and just plain Wicked
at worst I research a lot about art I
did discover that Eve as in Adam and Eve
is historically portrayed as having two
left hands because having one regular
left hand didn't make the woman evil
enough that that was shocking to
discover that it turns out that you
can't tell whether someone's good or
evil by looking at which hand they favor
but genetic epidemiologist Professor
David Evans says there's a lot we can
learn from studying this trait whether
you're right or left-handed is
correlated with what's going on in the
brain so for example people who are
right-handers are much more likely to be
very lateralized in terms of their brain
function and have their language centers
in the left hemisphere whereas
individuals who are left-handed it's
more likely that they have less
lateralization and you have language in
in both hemispheres rather than just the
left if we've got a good understanding
of laterality in the brain then this has
implications for developing treatments
in the case of stroke epilepsy or trauma
where you've got damage to a particular
part of the brain in 2020 Professor
Evans and his colleagues at the
University of Queensland collaborated
with the qimr Berg offer Medical
Research Institute to conduct the
largest study to date into the genetic
factors that determine handedness we
found 41 genes which were associated
with being a left-hander and seven genes
that were associated with being
ambidextrous so the reason why that's
significant is that nobody knows what
causes left-handedness so if we can find
genes that are involved in somehow
determining whether someone is
Left-Handed or not that provides us with
Clues as to the underlying biology of
why people become left-handers but it
turns out genetics are only a tiny piece
of the puzzle handedness is a really
unusual trait in that it's mostly
determined by the environment so
normally when you look at traits like
Heights or various diseases normally
it's kind of around about 50 genetic and
50 environmental but handedness is
really unusual in that it's
predominantly due to environmental
factors just what those environmental
factors are remains unclear but as
Sydney based Lefty Steve mcquirk will
tell you there's no question we live in
a right-hander's world back when our
youngest daughter who's left-handed was
seven
she decided one night she wanted to feed
the dog and we went to open the can of
dog food and she struggled with the
right hand the standard can opener the
owner can opener we had and we ended up
having major tantrums and of course the
dog had to be fed by somebody else Steve
fruitless search for a left-handed can
opener inspired him to start up his
online business lefties Australia's only
retailer of left-handed products so the
most popular product group that we have
is scissors when we use a pair of
scissors we are pushing with the thumb
and pulling with the fingers and what
that does is it moves on the pivot to
cause the blades to actually rub against
each other and cut the piece of paper if
you're using the wrong scissors in those
hands then it causes the blades to splay
apart and they don't cut since starting
up in 2003 Steve's little family
business has grown to stock over 300
products including left-handed veggie
peelers garden tools and measuring jugs
for but he reckons most right-handers
would be surprised at just how many
other everyday items aren't left hand
friendly well where do you start the
turnstiles at the train station you know
when you put your opal card that's the
right hand the microwave oven the f plus
machine if you're swiping your card this
the swipe spot the slot is on the right
hand side of the keypad chainsaws and
circular saws The Whipper snipper and
the lawnmower the zipple on those power
drills all those sorts of things they're
all set just for the right-hander
despite the many little challenges Steve
couldn't be prouder to be part of this
exclusive Club after all he's in pretty
good company one out of four astronauts
was left-handed so you know double the
normal population we have you know
perfect role models for us of examples
of creativity and like you know Leonardo
da Vinci Michelangelo six of the last
eight U.S presidents were all
left-handed as a group we're adaptable
whether it be through necessity or
ability and that lends us to be able to
work with whatever comes our way I wish
I could get those old teachers who beat
me for being left-handed my sewing
teacher who would look at my work that
had
four dodgy right hand stitches from when
she was watching me and seven good
left-handed ones for when her vision was
elsewhere all of them I'd like to line
them all up and go right everybody
excuse me do you see what the hand does
now
[Music]
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