Original photo by Vladimir Sukhachev/ iStock
True ambidexterity is the ability to use one’s left and right hands equally well when it comes to tasks such as writing or throwing a ball. This rare trait naturally occurs in roughly 1% of the global population (around 82 million people). In a 2019 study, 1.7% of respondents said they could use both hands interchangeably, far fewer than the 89% who were right-handed and the 9.3% who were lefties.
The study also found a higher predisposition for ambidexterity among males than females (2.1% and 1.4%, respectively), which some theorize may have to do with the effect higher testosterone levels have on brain development (though this has yet to be conclusively proved). This is just one of several studies on handedness — the tendency to use one hand over another — and while the exact percentages of right-handed, left-handed, and ambidextrous people vary, the results are largely consistent across the board.
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It's a factThough he was a natural righty, Jefferson learned to write with his left hand after dislocating his right wrist in 1786. The founding father’s left-handed letters were surprisingly legible, though the handwriting slightly differed from those written with his right hand.
The root cause of ambidexterity — or any handedness, for that matter — remains tough to pin down. One 2009 study suggests it may be determined by a combination of genetics and environmental influences (for instance, being taught to write with a certain hand in school). It’s also believed that ambidextrous people possess atypical brain laterality compared to right-handed individuals, which forms during development.
This cerebral asymmetry is arguably why ambidextrous people have a higher propensity toward conditions including ADHD, and also why they generally are less proficient than right-handed people in topics such as arithmetic and logical reasoning. Ambidextrous people also possess a unique versatility when it comes to sports, playing music, or performing everyday physical activities.
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Despite being left-handed, ______ often played right-handed guitars flipped upside down.
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Despite being left-handed, Jimi Hendrix often played right-handed guitars flipped upside down.
Leonardo da Vinci wrote from right to left.
Italian, like most languages, is traditionally written from left to right, yet the famed Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci wrote his notes from right to left — a unique style known as mirror writing. Not only was the direction reversed, but each letter was also flipped horizontally as if viewed through a mirror.
Some theorize that Leonardo practiced mirror writing to make it more difficult for people to read his notes and steal his ideas. Interestingly, he only used mirror writing when composing personal notes; if the text was intended to be read by anyone else, he wrote in the standard direction.
Others believe that Leonardo used mirror writing to avoid ink smudges on his left hand, which he used to write. The Renaissance man was a lefty (though some argue he was actually ambidextrous) and was known among his contemporaries as “mancino” — Italian slang for a left-handed person.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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