Number 10: Lefties Are Better at Sports.
It has been observed that left-handed people do well when it comes to individual sports like boxing, fencing, baseball, and tennis. One of the reasons for this is the element of surprise and different angle that lefties bring when facing right-handed opponents.
In addition, Nick Cherbuin from the Australian National University found in a series of tests that left-handed people are better and faster at processing information across the two sides of the brain.
Number 9: Lefties Have Higher IQ.
According to Mensa, the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world, whose membership has a 98th percentile or higher IQ, 20 percent of their members are left-handed.
Dr. Oz says. “Left-handed people can deal with more incoming information that doesn’t come in an organized way,” and “it allows the other side, the right brain, to become an equal partner.” Consequently, lefties “can deal with a lot of complicated issues at once, and work pretty effectively.”
Number 8: Lefties Earn More Money.
U.S. study found that college graduate lefties earn 10-15% more than their right-handed counterparts. Psychologist Stanley Coren credits this earning difference to “divergent” thinking which is defined as a move away from conventional knowledge into unexplored association.
In an experiment where subjects devised uses for pairs of common objects, lefties on average came up with nearly 30% more uses. This creativity allows them to earn more.
Number 7: Lefties Spend Less Time in Line.
You’ll enjoy accompanying your left-handed sweetheart on dates to amusement parks, ski resorts, concerts, and any other venue typically associated with long wait-times.
Studies show that people tend to veer towards their dominant side: right-handed go right, left-handed go left. As a result, the queues on the left are often shorter, which means lefties spend less time waiting in line.
Number 6: Lefties Are Better Drivers.
According to the findings conducted by AA Driving School, almost six out of ten left-handers passed their driving test first time, making them 10 per cent more likely than right-handers to pass at the first attempt.
It should come as no surprise that left-handers appear to be the more accomplished drivers – some of the best drivers in history have been left-handed, including: Ayrton Senna and Valentino Rossi.
Number 5: Lefties Are Better at Multi-Tasking.
Living in a dominant right-handed world, lefties are challenged to think more quickly and creatively. Consider, for example, a lefty playing a guitar with all the chords in the opposite way. This challenge alone enables lefties to regularly adapt but it also makes them better at multitasking.
Researchers found that conversations between the left and right sides of the brain happen more quickly in left handed people. The more dominant the left handedness is, the better these abilities are.
Number 4: Lefties Tend to Become Leaders.
The goal in brain function and development is to achieve balance and symmetry between all four brain hemispheres. Several studies reveal that lefties have more brain symmetry than righties.
Brain symmetry between all four hemispheres makes one more likely to be a champion and leader. Not surprising that five of the last seven American presidents – Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama – have been left-handed.
Number 3: Lefties Recover Faster.
Left-handed stroke victims reportedly recover faster. While the reason is unclear, some believe it’s due to left-handed people having to strengthen both sides of the brain to succeed in a right-handed world.
Because many lefties are better at using their non-dominant hand, it’s less difficult for them to recover from a stroke that damages one part of their brain. Of course, recovery for those suffering from a stroke is never easy, no matter which is their dominant hand.
Number 2: Lefties Have Better Memory.
In two experiments, researchers found that people better remembered whether they had seen a word before if they were either related to left-handers or shown the word twice on different sides of the visual field, which stimulates both halves of the brain.
Because lefties seem to have larger corpus callosums, the bridges of neurons linking the brain’s hemispheres, these results suggest that interaction between the two halves strengthens memory for events.
Number 1: Lefties Are Better Fighters.
In a 2005 French study, researchers found that southpaws made up just about three percent of the population in the most peaceful primitive societies, but 27% in the most warlike ones.
Why? It goes back to the idea that lefties have a physical advantage over righties. In violent societies, researchers theorize, left-handers benefit from their unexpected left hook.