Ambidextrous people (Born talent vs developed skill)

[JeIubi]

Ambidextrous means being able to perform equally well with both the left and right side of your body.

According to several studies which I have been researching, a lot of people that are "ambidextrous" tend to perform poorly in terms of academic achievement as well as the possibility of having some sort of mental issues. This isn't true for ALL, however; it is the case for the majority of ambidextrous people in the world (which totals to 5 percent or less).

My question is, would the situation be different if somebody were to develop the skill of becoming ambidextrous rather than being born with the ability from the start? As in, would the developed skill somehow potentially possess the hindering of academic achievement or possibly carry the advent of a mental issue?

[Smudged_Makeup]

Well I can only answer partially from a completely personal stand point. I've been trying to develop the ability to be ambidextrous and sometimes I'll even start writing automatically with my left hand instead of my right. I've been working on this since I was about fourteen though it hasn't truly caught on yet.

I've been working on clinical depression and anxiety issues since I was ten at the very least, and had been born right handed. Trying to develop this skill, I feel, has neither helped nor hindered.

So

/shrug

[AliKat1988]

It is not ambidexterity in itself that is the problem, but the association with a deviation in early brain development. Learning to use a different hand should not be a problem.

[JeIubi]

Smudged_Makeup

Well I can only answer partially from a completely personal stand point. I've been trying to develop the ability to be ambidextrous and sometimes I'll even start writing automatically with my left hand instead of my right. I've been working on this since I was about fourteen though it hasn't truly caught on yet.

I've been working on clinical depression and anxiety issues since I was ten at the very least, and had been born right handed. Trying to develop this skill, I feel, has neither helped nor hindered.

So

/shrug

I see. I thought that ambidexterity might have affected mental stability because of how you'd be using both hemispheres in a new way...thank you for your response, it helps. Good luck and keep practicing on becoming fully ambidextrous, you'll get there smile

[JeIubi]

AliKat1988

It is not ambidexterity in itself that is the problem, but the association with a deviation in early brain development. Learning to use a different hand should not be a problem.

Thank you, I think this just about answered my question smile

[Willow_T]

I think the answer is quite obvious: you can develop the skill to use your other hand, but it certainly won't cause you to have mental disorders or academic hindering. Being Ambidextrous is not the cause to being mentally ill. It's the result of some brain malfunction or whatever you can call it.


I think the more interesting question is why there are less lefties than right handed people? I'm a leftie so naturally i'm interested to know the answer.

[AliKat1988]

JeIubi

Smudged_Makeup

Well I can only answer partially from a completely personal stand point. I've been trying to develop the ability to be ambidextrous and sometimes I'll even start writing automatically with my left hand instead of my right. I've been working on this since I was about fourteen though it hasn't truly caught on yet.

I've been working on clinical depression and anxiety issues since I was ten at the very least, and had been born right handed. Trying to develop this skill, I feel, has neither helped nor hindered.

So

/shrug

I see. I thought that ambidexterity might have affected mental stability because of how you'd be using both hemispheres in a new way...thank you for your response, it helps. Good luck and keep practicing on becoming fully ambidextrous, you'll get there smile

That is because it is less about using both hemispheres. Everyone uses them both. It is more like what I already mentioned about deviations in early brain development. I was just checking on something and apparently violin players tend to develop ambidexterity with practice and there are not serious problems

[JeIubi]

AliKat1988

JeIubi

Smudged_Makeup

Well I can only answer partially from a completely personal stand point. I've been trying to develop the ability to be ambidextrous and sometimes I'll even start writing automatically with my left hand instead of my right. I've been working on this since I was about fourteen though it hasn't truly caught on yet.

I've been working on clinical depression and anxiety issues since I was ten at the very least, and had been born right handed. Trying to develop this skill, I feel, has neither helped nor hindered.

So

/shrug

I see. I thought that ambidexterity might have affected mental stability because of how you'd be using both hemispheres in a new way...thank you for your response, it helps. Good luck and keep practicing on becoming fully ambidextrous, you'll get there smile

That is because it is less about using both hemispheres. Everyone uses them both. It is more like what I already mentioned about deviations in early brain development. I was just checking on something and apparently violin players tend to develop ambidexterity with practice and there are not serious problems

I know that humans use both hemispheres but I thought maybe there'd be some mix up between the two to cause someone to become a little "unbalanced". Violin players? Hmm...very interesting, I've also heard that people who play the piano and other classical instruments naturally stimulate their mind and work in different ways than the average person - but that's a bit irrelevant to the topic redface

[JeIubi]

Willow_T

I think the answer is quite obvious: you can develop the skill to use your other hand, but it certainly won't cause you to have mental disorders or academic hindering. Being Ambidextrous is not the cause to being mentally ill. It's the result of some brain malfunction or whatever you can call it.


I think the more interesting question is why there are less lefties than right handed people? I'm a leftie so naturally i'm interested to know the answer.

That's a relief, I'm sure developing ambidexterity has great advantages.

That's a good question about left handed people...I'd like to know as well. I wonder if the ability can be inherited through genetics?

[Katarina Online]

I am ambidextrous...

When I was younger I wrote with my left hand and no one stopped me. My sister brought it up with my mother when I was 6 years old, but they decided to leave me alone. So I wrote with my left hand and went through school like that, my right hand was so messy and unreadable because I didn't write with it ever.

My 13th birthday I got a computer though, and I drew a lot on it which meant using my right hand for the mouse. I think spending so much time using my right hand just trained my hand-eye coordination. Now I can write with my left and right hand (neatly) on paper. emotion_dealwithit

I've done really well academically but I do take anxiety medication.. I don't think that weighs in on the decision to learn my right hand though.

As for the fact that there are more righties than lefties, it's because a long time ago you would be caned if you wrote with your left hand. "You write with your right hand" was the saying all those years ago. Then when those children grew up and became parents, they taught their children to write with their right hands, and etc. These days, lefties are widely accepted due to how much has changed in society.

[JeIubi]

Katarina Online

I am ambidextrous...

When I was younger I wrote with my left hand and no one stopped me. My sister brought it up with my mother when I was 6 years old, but they decided to leave me alone. So I wrote with my left hand and went through school like that, my right hand was so messy and unreadable because I didn't write with it ever.

My 13th birthday I got a computer though, and I drew a lot on it which meant using my right hand for the mouse. I think spending so much time using my right hand just trained my hand-eye coordination. Now I can write with my left and right hand (neatly) on paper. emotion_dealwithit

I've done really well academically but I do take anxiety medication.. I don't think that weighs in on the decision to learn my right hand though.

As for the fact that there are more righties than lefties, it's because a long time ago you would be caned if you wrote with your left hand. "You write with your right hand" was the saying all those years ago. Then when those children grew up and became parents, they taught their children to write with their right hands, and etc. These days, lefties are widely accepted due to how much has changed in society.

Interesting. How many years did it take to develop efficient coordination with your right hand starting from when you got your computer?

Being left handed is a natural born ability, it's a shame that society in the past disproved of it. Thanks for enlightening me on the subject, I had no clue that it was due to something so simple as that.

[Katarina Online]

JeIubi

Katarina Online

I am ambidextrous...

When I was younger I wrote with my left hand and no one stopped me. My sister brought it up with my mother when I was 6 years old, but they decided to leave me alone. So I wrote with my left hand and went through school like that, my right hand was so messy and unreadable because I didn't write with it ever.

My 13th birthday I got a computer though, and I drew a lot on it which meant using my right hand for the mouse. I think spending so much time using my right hand just trained my hand-eye coordination. Now I can write with my left and right hand (neatly) on paper. emotion_dealwithit

I've done really well academically but I do take anxiety medication.. I don't think that weighs in on the decision to learn my right hand though.

As for the fact that there are more righties than lefties, it's because a long time ago you would be caned if you wrote with your left hand. "You write with your right hand" was the saying all those years ago. Then when those children grew up and became parents, they taught their children to write with their right hands, and etc. These days, lefties are widely accepted due to how much has changed in society.

Interesting. How many years did it take to develop efficient coordination with your right hand starting from when you got your computer?

Being left handed is a natural born ability, it's a shame that society in the past disproved of it. Thanks for enlightening me on the subject, I had no clue that it was due to something so simple as that.

Well, I had been drawing on my computer with my right hand for almost 3 years. Then eventually a friend brought it up with me at school and said "If you're left handed, why don't you swap the mouse to the left side?".

So I thought about it and realized that I had gotten used to my right hand just as much as my left. I started writing after that and it felt really easy, so I spent the next week writing out lines with my right hand.. Then it started to get really readable. Both hands have their own penmanship though, my left is sort of italic/cursive and my right is straight printed ^^

Have to say.. it's so much easier to write with my right hand because the ink won't get smeared .. ninja

[Kaltros]

Willow_T

I think the more interesting question is why there are less lefties than right handed people? I'm a leftie so naturally i'm interested to know the answer.

Maybe because they're scary or something. The word sinister, for example, came from a latin word meaning 'left'.

Even the word 'ambidexterity' apparently has the bias. In latin the word 'dexter' stands for 'right', so ambidexterity really means something like "having two right hands".

Lots of languages carry this bias against lefties. Not to mention the damn labels on pencils and pens are upside down when holding them in your left hand. The injustice!

[CH1YO]

No. Skills are not academic impediments.

[ChronoJoe]

I've always been left handed for writing, but right handed for everything else. Never really understood what it meant. It was suggested previously that I somehow accidently learnt to write with the wrong hand? Does that make any sense?

If I play football I use my right foot, if I play tennis I use my right arm, I use my right hand to use a mouse, yet to write, I use my left. Oddly enough writing has always been pretty difficult for me, in Primary School I was one of the last in my class to learn how to write joined up, correctly, and still write very slow / poorly. It becomes very painful after I've written about a page, too.

I've attempted to learn to write with my right hand, though, but haven't had much luck with that. Then again I didn't put that much effort in. I'm reluctant to learn in-case I'm actually left handed and forcing myself to be right handed just makes things even harder for me.