10 Areas Where Left-Handed People Excel

Important Insights

Left-handed individuals may represent a smaller fraction of the population, making up just 10 percent of the Western world, but their impact is significant. While right-handed individuals vastly outnumber them, lefties have experienced a history of discrimination. In earlier times, left-handers were often linked to witchcraft or sinister forces. The Latin word for left, 'sinistra,' is the root of the word 'sinister' [source: Rothman]. Even famous figures like England's King George VI, who was naturally left-handed, were forced to use their right hands, a practice thought to contribute to his stammering [source: Farndale].

Thankfully, left-handed people no longer face the same stigma they once did. Research suggests that handedness is largely determined by genetic factors in the womb, with up to 40 genes involved in the process. Other factors such as cultural influences, prenatal conditions, and random chance also play a role [source: U.S. National Library of Medicine]. Studies have shown that men are 23 percent more likely to be left-handed than women.

While no one is claiming that right-handed individuals lack ability, there are certain activities and skills where left-handed people seem to have an edge. Here’s a list of those areas in which Southpaws may have a natural advantage.

10: Artistic and Musical Talent

It's widely known that the human brain is split into two hemispheres: the left and the right. Interestingly, the left side of the brain is responsible for controlling right-handed movements, while the right side handles the actions of left-handed individuals. Historically, the right hemisphere has been linked to creativity, encompassing areas such as art, music, perception, and even genius.

This idea of brain dominance supposedly explains why many left-handed individuals gravitate toward creative endeavors. Among the most renowned left-handed artists are luminaries like Leonardo da Vinci (who might have been left-handed due to a defect), Raphael, and M.C. Escher. Though rare, left-handed guitarists have made a significant impact on music, with legends like Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, and Dick Dale, the 'King of the Surf Guitar,' all playing left-handed [source: Hall].

However, it's not entirely clear whether there is a solid connection between left-handedness and creativity. The scientific evidence supporting this theory is somewhat lacking [source: Jarrett]. Moreover, the human brain is far more intricate than previously thought, with both hemispheres contributing to creative thinking in different ways [sources: Jarrett, Lombrozo].

That said, one study discovered that left-handed men excelled at divergent thinking, the ability to generate novel and imaginative ideas from given information [source: Coren]. In contrast, most individuals are more adept at convergent thinking, approaching problems with a more black-and-white mindset.

9: Make Money

Left-handed men with college degrees are reported to earn 15 percent more than their right-handed peers with similar educational backgrounds, according to a 2006 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research. This phenomenon, however, was not observed among left-handed women, with the study suggesting gender discrimination and a tendency for women to pursue lower-paying fields as potential explanations [source: Ruebeck, Harrington and Moffitt].

A 2014 paper by Harvard University professor Joshua Goodman found that left-handed individuals earn 10-12 percent less than their right-handed counterparts, attributing the wage gap to emotional, behavioral, and cognitive differences linked to left-handedness. Goodman suggested that left-handed people often work in more physically demanding jobs, further implying that their disadvantage in the labor market may be cognitive rather than physical. However, notable left-handed billionaires like Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, and Oprah Winfrey still defy this trend.

8: Solve Math Problems

Mathematics may appear to be full of rigid rules and calculations, but it is, in fact, a highly creative and intricate process. Left-handed individuals, who are known for their proficiency in divergent thinking, often excel in math as well. This connection has been long recognized, and a 2017 study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology has added more support to this theory.

In a study involving over 2,300 student participants, left-handed individuals—especially male adolescents—performed significantly better when faced with complex mathematical problem-solving tasks. However, handedness made no impact when solving basic math problems. Interestingly, participants who identified as extremely right-handed (as opposed to moderately right-handed) performed worse across all tests [source: Sala and Gobet].

7: Play Baseball

Some of the greatest baseball players to ever step onto the field include Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Lou Gehrig. Interestingly, all of them were left-handed batters [source: Trueblood]. Many legendary pitchers were also southpaws, such as Sandy Koufax, Tom Glavine, and Randy Johnson [source: ESPN]. Given that only about 10 percent of the population is left-handed, why do 25 percent of Major League Baseball players bat left-handed? The unique mechanics of the game give lefties a competitive advantage.

Left-handed pitchers benefit from a few unique advantages. For one, they naturally face or 'open up' toward first base, making it more difficult for runners to steal. Their directional advantage gives them an edge in picking runners off. Additionally, since left-handed pitchers are relatively uncommon, batters have fewer opportunities to practice hitting against them from an early age, making it harder for right-handed batters to adjust. Left-handed batters face the same challenge when going up against left-handed pitchers.

Left-handed batters enjoy a natural visual advantage, as they face the ball as it approaches. In contrast, right-handed batters must track the ball coming over their left shoulder. Once they make contact, left-handed batters can follow through with their swing more naturally, giving them a 5-foot (1.5-meter) head start toward first base. This slight advantage allows them to reach first base about one-sixth of a second faster than righties [source: Live Science].

6: Play Tennis and Other One-on-One Sports

Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, and Rod Laver are all legends in the world of tennis, and they also happen to be left-handed [source: Smith-Johnson]. For years, left-handed players enjoyed a notable competitive advantage, particularly in lower-level competitions. This advantage stemmed from the strategy of serving from the left, directing the ball toward an opponent's weaker backhand. However, in modern tennis, the backhand of pro players is rarely a weak spot, and this has lessened the edge left-handed players once had [source: Liew]. Interestingly, among the ATP 2017 top 35 men's rankings, only a few left-handed players remain, such as Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez. Nadal, who was born right-handed, later switched to using his left hand to play after some childhood training with his racquet.

Prominent left-handed female tennis players such as Angelique Kerber, Lucie Šafářová, and Petra Kvitová have all enjoyed notable success in recent years, though they still remain outnumbered by right-handed players in the rankings [source: Liew].

At the recreational league level, left-handed tennis players continue to hold a slight advantage over their right-handed counterparts, mainly because they have more opportunities to face right-handed opponents. A small study of players from various levels found that both right- and left-handed players were better at anticipating the directional strokes when playing against right-handed opponents [source: Hagemann].

The left-handed advantage also applies to other one-on-one sports, like boxing and fencing, and is known as the fighting hypothesis, which suggests that left-handedness has persisted through evolution because it provided an advantage in combat [source: Jarrett].

5: Become an Astronaut

Becoming an astronaut is no easy task. Those applying typically face a rigorous series of screenings, tests, and training to earn the coveted title. In 2016, NASA sifted through over 18,000 applications, with only about 120 individuals called for interviews. From there, a select few were chosen for an intensive two-year training program [source: Wild].

If history is any guide, being left-handed may improve an applicant's chances of advancing to further consideration and future missions to Mars or beyond. Among the Apollo astronauts of the 1960s, one in four was left-handed, a 250 percent increase in probability. Some of these extraordinary individuals included Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, who both made history as members of the Apollo 11 lunar landing crew [source: Sherrod].

4: Recover from Stroke

Left-handed individuals tend to recover speech more rapidly than their right-handed counterparts after a stroke. This is because speech is usually controlled by the left side of the brain, and since lefties are less reliant on the left side, they often bounce back faster. In fact, 95 percent of right-handed people have left brain language dominance, while only 70 percent of left-handed individuals do, with the remaining 30 percent having language dominance in the right hemisphere or it being distributed across both hemispheres [source: Jarrett].

This advantage of left-handedness may also apply to spatial neglect, a condition that occurs when someone with a brain injury or recovering from a stroke fails to acknowledge one side of their environment, such as not noticing food on the left side of a plate. Once again, lefties, with their more evenly distributed brain function, may have an edge, though more research is required to confirm this [sources: Madhusoodanan, Bareham, et. al.].

3: Become President of the U.S.A.

President Donald Trump is right-handed, but prior to him, there was a notable string of left-handed U.S. presidents. Tracking handedness throughout American presidential history is a challenge, though, since up until recently, many naturally left-handed children were forced to write with their right hands.

In the last few decades, however, the trend of left-handed presidents has resurfaced, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Herbert Hoover. Ronald Reagan was considered ambidextrous due to being born left-handed but compelled to write right-handed as a child. Harry S. Truman and James Garfield were also ambidextrous. With Trump now in office, seven of the last 15 presidents were either left-handed or ambidextrous, a proportion notably higher than the general left-handed population [source: Marcin].

Why are there so many left-handed presidents? While it's hard to pinpoint a definitive reason, the natural ability of lefties to excel in complex thinking processes may be a contributing factor.

2: Create Architecture

In 1977, researchers speculated that more left-handed architecture students would finish their six-year program successfully. Surprisingly, 21 percent of men who enrolled were lefties, which is much higher than the 10 percent average in the general population. While there were women in the program, none appeared to be left-handed, as left-handedness is significantly rarer in women than in men. Left-handed students did indeed graduate at a higher rate and outperformed right-handed students in design and other academic assessments [source: Peterson and Lansky].

The exact reason for this trend remains uncertain, but a widely accepted theory is that lefties have superior 3-D thinking and spatial perception, skills essential for the design and construction processes.

1: Drive

Are left-handed drivers better behind the wheel than their right-handed counterparts? The answer seems to be yes, according to a couple of studies. The Zebra, an online car insurance agency, funded the Center for Handedness Research to examine the driving behaviors of 1,500 motorists over a decade. The results showed that left-handed drivers were involved in fewer accidents than right-handed drivers.

Dr. Glenn Haversham, the lead researcher, suggests this might be because left-handed drivers in the U.S. have to consciously adjust their instincts, as Americans drive on the right side of the road. Following the publication of these findings, The Zebra offered discounted auto insurance rates for left-handed drivers.

In addition, a study in the United Kingdom, commissioned by the AA Driving School, found that left-handed individuals are 10 percent more likely to pass their driving test on their first try.