There are a lot of cool things that you can be born with.
Some people are born with horns.
Some people are born with gills.
Some people, like the people we're going to talk about today, are born ambidextrous.
But before we go into that, why don't you click the subscribe button and hit that notification
bell as well.
Heck, you can even be ambidextrous and hit them with either hand!
As that previous sentence implies, ambidextrous people are people that can write with both
hands.
To put it in more scientific terms, the people at RIGHT LEFT RIGHT WRONG.COM define ambidexterity
like this: "Ambidexterity - where people are able to perform any task equally well with
either hand".
Essentially, picture every thing that you can do with your dominant hand, now picture
being able to do it with BOTH of your hands.
Pretty neat, huh?
Well, today we're going to look at some other neat things about ambidextrous people.
Without further ado, here are some really cool facts about ambidexterity:
1) 1%.
No, with this we don't mean that you're really rich or that you belong to a group of unlawful
bikers.
You're just part of a very specific group of people.
MENTAL FLOSS reports it like this: "Even among a small population of ‘multi-handed’ individuals,
very few experience equal ease and skill with both hands.
In comparison, around 10% of people are lefties.".
Let's do the math here: there are 7.53 billion people on earth.
If you're a lefty, you're one in seven hundred and fifty three million.
If you're ambidextrous, you're one in seventy five million three hundred thousand.
Wow, looks like your mom was right about you!
2) Different Types.
Believe it or not, the term ambidextrous doesn't apply to one group of people.
In fact, the rarest form of ambidexterity is when you can use either hand for any skill
at any time (for example, you can write, pass a football or finger paint with either hand).
Other people, well, most people, in fact, use their left hands for certain tasks and
their rights for others.
Others don't have a dominant hand at all.
These people are called "ambisinistral" and are described by READER'S DIGEST as such:
"Another term altogether, “ambisinistral,” refers to people who have no dominant hand,
and use both hands… but neither hand is very strong."
To put it in perspective, these people essentially are in a situation where both hands have the
approximate skill of a right-hander’s left hand.
Yeesh, what a harsh life to live!
3) Symmetry.
The people that are right handed often show left brain dominance.
Can you guess what kind of brains left handed people and the ambidextrous have?
Well according to the people at MENTAL FLOSS: "the hemispheres of ambidextrous and left-handed
people’s brains are almost symmetric..."
Wow!
No wonder so many left handed people seem so smart AND creative.
4) Synesthetes.
Let's talk about synesthetes for a moment.
These are people who... experience reality a little differently.
The folks at MOTHER NATURE NETWORK describe Synesthesia (the condition synesthetes experience)
like this: "a perceptual condition in which the stimulation of one sense triggers an automatic,
involuntary experience in another sense."
To make that a little clearer, they give examples like: "I know that the number four is yellow,
but I have a friend who insists four is red." and "She also says four has a motherly personality,
where my four has no personality — none of my numbers do.
But all of my numbers have colors, and so do my letters, days and months".
The reason we bring this up is because those who are ambidextrous tend to be synesthetes.
It's because of their previously mentioned brain symmetry.
We'll let MENTAL FLOSS explain: "[a symmetrical brain] is the typical brain of a person with
synesthesia, or “mixed senses.”
So, if your friend starts talking about how January is blue, ask them which hand they
write with.
You may be surprised.
5) LRRTM1 Gene.
Life seems pretty good for people who are ambidextrous.
They get to have brain symmetry, they get to see colors in numbers and weeks, they get
to be a small percentage of bikers that are unlawful (wait, scratch that last one).
And also hold your horses, because being able to use both hands for anything isn't as awesome
as it sounds.
Mostly, because if you're ambidextrous or left handed, you're more likely to have the
LRRTM1 Gene.
That doesn't sound bad at first until you realize that the LRRTM1 Gene is linked to
schizophrenia.
Sounds awful we know, however even if you don't believe us, READER'S DIGEST proves our
point when they say: "schizophrenics are far more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous
than the rest of the population".
6) Ambi Anger.
Yes, it seems not everything is rosier on the side of those that are ambidextrous.
Not only are you more susceptible to something as horrific as schizophrenia, but you also
have some bad personality quirks as well.
Apparently, if you're ambidextrous, you're often quicker to anger.
Apparently, the ambi experts at MERRIMACK COLLEGE did a study that found that not only
are those that are ambidextrous quicker to get mad, but also that "increased hemisphere
connections correlate to increased awkwardness, clumsiness, and moodiness."
Wow!
So you'll be awkward, clumsy and angry all the time.
7) Celebrities.
Don't worry ambidextrous people, because it's obviously not all that bad.
In fact, many ambidextrous people have gone on to lead very awesome lives.
As the people from MENTAL FLOSS put it: "Being able to use both hands with (almost) equal
ease can really pay off, especially in sports, arts and music".
Some examples of ambis that have gone far in those areas are: Leonardo da Vinci, Pete
Rose, pitcher Greg A. Harris, Michelle Kwan, Paul McCartney, Benjamin Franklin and Harry
Truman.
That's PRESIDENT Harry Truman!
Ooh La La!
8) Intellect.
Listen, just because you're in a league with Leonardo Da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin doesn't
mean you'll automatically be smart though.
In fact, as someone who is ambidextrous, you might have a harder time than people who are
skilled with one hand in the world of academia.
Here's some proof of this, thanks to a Finnish Study done in 2010.
Apparently, during the study, they found: "seven- and eight-year-old children completed
several different academic tests.
87 out of the 8000 participants were comfortable using both hands.
The ambidextrous students were 90 percent more likely than the right-handed ones to
struggle with math problems and were also more likely to have difficulties with language"
There are a couple of reasons as to why this may be true.
MIND A MUSE.COM hypothesizes this: "ambidextrous people could score lower because they might
not have the ability to process information in the same way as a right or left-handed
person.
It could also be that they rely less on their mind to get through life."
We're not sure why, but what we know is that even though you might have a harder time in
studies, ambidextrous people, many of your kind have managed to push through and become
some of the most genius people ever to have walked the earth.
9) ADHD.
It seems ambidextrous people were dealt a pretty so so hand in life.
On the one strong hand, they get to use both hands for everything, they get to see colors
on numbers, they get to be in the super rich class (d'oh, wait, scratch that one again!).
On the other equally strong hand, they have to experience potential schizophrenia, they're
moody and also, they're more likely to have ADHD.
Remember that Finnish Study from 2010 we just talked about?
Good, you've been paying attention.
Well that same study found that "left-handed and ambidextrous teenagers were twice as likely
as right-handers to show signs of ADHD.
Of the teenagers in the study who’d already been diagnosed with ADHD, the ambidextrous
ones showed more severe symptoms".
So not only are you going to be possibly dealing with schizophrenia later in life, you might
have to deal with ADHD right now.
What a bummer!
10) Bi Sexuality.
And so, we end things off with a very interesting part of being ambidextrous, the fact that
you might just be attracted to both of the sexes.
The BBC SCIENCE did a study that found something very interesting, and we quote: "of the one
percent of 255,000 respondents who indicated equal ease writing with both hands, 9.2% of
men and 15.6% of women reported being bisexual.
In the same study, 4% of right-handed and 4.5% of left-handed men, and 6.2% of right-handed
and 6.3% of left-handed women said they’re attracted to both sexes."
Essentially what they're trying to say is that if you're , you're more likely to have
an attraction to both men and women.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you go both ways with your hands, so
you also go both ways in your love life?
Who knows.
And that just about wraps up our list!
Were you surprised about anything?
Did anything about ambidextrous people pique your interest?
How about you, are you ambidextrous?
If you are, did we make sure to say and get all the facts about your people correct?
Why don't you let us know in the comments section below every thing you learned or already
knew about this very interesting community.