10 Questions And Answers On Ambidexterity
October 20th, 2009
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“What resemblance more perfect than that between the hands, and yet what a striking difference there is!”
- Michael Herz
The release of my new ebook on ambidexterity is just around the corner. More on that later, but I thought this would be a good time to answer some of the questions I’ve received about being ambidextrous or mixed-handed.
1. How many people are ambidextrous?
It depends on your definition. Almost nobody on earth can do everything equally well with either hand. But about 40% of right-handers and 75% of left-handers are considered mixed-handed, meaning that they prefer their non-dominant hand for at least one task on an official handedness test.
In between are an unknown number of people who might be called ambidextrous – those who get significant use out of both hands, even if they’re not perfectly equal.
2. What famous people are ambidextrous?
It’s hard enough just coming up with a reliable list of famous left-handers, because so many people circulate rumors without consulting a primary source.
And reliably determining what famous people are ambidextrous is a million times more difficult for the same reason, and also because we’ve always thought in terms of left and right while ignoring everything in between.
However, there are lots of people who were known to be at least very mixed-handed, and possibly ambidextrous. The list includes James Garfield, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Robert Baden-Powell, Plato, Hippocrates, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Nikola Tessla, and Ludwig van Beethoven.
Not surprisingly, there are mixed-handed athletes from just about every sport, including LeBron James, Maria Sharapova, Mickey Mantle, Eli Manning, Pelé, and Gordie Howe.
3. Can you learn to be ambidextrous, or at least a little more ambidextrous than most people?
Yup! People who are born perfectly ambidextrous are extremely rare, and possibly nonexistent. But many people have learned to become ambidextrous or mixed-handed to boost athletic performance, improve left brain/right brain integration, do things more efficiently, reduce the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, and more.
4. Instead of practicing with both hands, doesn’t it make more sense to get really good with one hand?
That’s like saying you shouldn’t learn a foreign language because it takes time away from perfecting your native language. But there’s a point of diminishing returns, where continuing to work on your native language gives little benefit, while learning a new language lets you make progress much faster.
5. But doesn’t it take twice as long to learn something with both hands?
No, because you’re not starting from scratch. Put it this way – if you’re right-handed, you can probably write in the sand just fine with your right foot. Even if you’ve never tried it before, your foot has learned by osmosis. To a lesser extent, your left hand has learned by osmosis as well.
6. Are there advantages to being mixed-handed, other than the physical ones?
Yes, though we’re not entirely sure what they are yet. They may include the ability to read people better, see both sides of an issue, and recall details of an event and their context.
For a long time, scientists thought that left-handers and right-handers had certain psychological differences, but the findings weren’t always consistent. For example, they say that lefties are more creative and emotional, but there are plenty of counterexamples to that.
Only recently have they discovered that the important differences are not between left-handers and right-handers, but between strong-handers and mixed-handers.
7. If left-handers are more likely to be mixed-handed than right-handers are, then why are most switch hitters in baseball right-handed?
Because (1) most baseball players overall are right-handed, and (2) since left-handers have a big advantage when batting, they have less of an incentive to switch.
8. What is the biggest myth about handedness?
That left-handers are right-brained and creative, while right-handers are left-brained and analytical.
It’s true that each side of the body is mostly controlled by the opposite side of the brain, but motor control is just one of the many things our brain does. People of either handedness can be either left-brained or right-brained.
9. What is the weirdest fact you know about handedness?
The hand clasping thing. Clasp your hands, and see which thumb is on top. It’s almost a sure thing you always do it the same way (and it’s not correlated with handedness).
About 60% of people in England put their left thumb on top. Now, the weird thing is that this percentage drops steadily as you go east across Europe and Asia, reaching a low of 30% in the Solomon Islands. If anyone has a theory about how this evolved, I’d love to hear it.
10. When right-handers see somebody writing with their left hand, why do they so often say “Oh my God, you’re left-handed?”
I’m not sure. There are 700 million of us, you know. 
For more mixed-handed goodness, check out my ebooks Ambidextrous (for right-handers) and Ambisinistrous (for left-handers).
October 21st, 2009 at 7:56 am
Hey Hunter!
I see you’ve put out a new Ebook. I haven’t stopped by in a while, sounds like you really did your research. I have an two ambidextrous daughters, though one favors her left hand, so I started learning to write both ways a few years back. Love the concept.
Have a good Day and way to go on the site.
Ryan
October 21st, 2009 at 9:18 am
I read about a Japanese doctor who can do surgery in either hand, depending on the position and angle of where he needs to be operating. He says he practiced it, not born mix handed.
Btw I put my right hand thumb on top when I clasp. (I’m from far east, you know)
October 21st, 2009 at 3:05 pm
Interesting post! I think the clasping hand thing is neat – it is funny to do it the way opposite of how I normally do it (right thumb on top) feels sooooo strange!!
October 21st, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Hmmm…I already read people and see both sides of an issue almost too well, but I don’t recall details of an event or even notice the details in the first place.
So I’ll definitely be buying the e-book.
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:06 am
@ Ryan, thanks for the support. Are you still on Twitter? Haven’t seen you lately, though I’m usually on late at night. That’s interesting that you have two ambidextrous daughters.
@ Akemi, some stats have shown that left-handers are much less likely to become surgeons, because it makes it harder for the team to anticipate everyone’s movements. But I can see how it would be very useful for a surgeon to switch hands when needed.
I used to put my right thumb on top. Now it feels almost as natural with my left thumb on top.
@ Jamie, yeah, you wouldn’t expect it to be such a big deal, but switching thumbs almost feels like you’re in a parallel universe.
@ cd, but if you were paying attention to the details in the first place, maybe you’d recall them.
October 22nd, 2009 at 3:47 am
Being ambidextrous is important in critical situations, like needing to use chopsticks to eat Chinese food with (joking). Just like Akemi said, surgeons need to use both hands depending on the patient’s body. Another one I can think of is Kobe Bryant being able to use his left hand to shoot when his right side is being blocked. Thanks for this and I laughed on your #10 (I ask this question a lot
)
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:12 am
#10 is great.
I remember one time I was cooking with my sister and she came rushing to where I was stirring something on the stove – said she just couldn’t watch me, was afraid I was going to turn something over stirring counterclockwise with my left hand.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
There are many things that I like to do on an either or basis, like ping pong, passing the paddle back and forth depending on where the ball is likely coming to, same with tennis. In pool (billiards) it all depends on the shot to be made.
I have severe left right confusion, with the words left and right never being absolute, so my wife will say my side or your side, otherwise if she says right 50% of the time I’ll move over into the left lane preparing for a left turn. I wonder if L/R confusion is frequent with mixed handedness.
Now some are linking mixed handedness to ADHD, which I have had forever.
At least in my old age many things are finally becoming clear.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Hey, I like what u have done. I m mix-handed. I use my left hand for writing and using the fork (sometimes knife) but my right side is stronger about most of other tasks and more muscular.
Since today I wasn’t sure if I m left handed or right
now I m mix handed lol.
I think I should do some research. Today I read about that mix-handed kids more likely have ADHD problems …
I think we should know about good and bad sides of being mix-handed.
Thank you for this page..
June 13th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I never really paid much attention to my ability to use both of my hands until friends or family would bring it to my attention in amazment. My mother has told me that as a small child I would use both hands to color/draw and would write my name from right to left. I took the handedness test and scored at +0.2. Very interesting information!
August 15th, 2010 at 11:07 am
At a lecture Iattended many years ago we were told that, in the early 20th. Century, groups of children in Japan were taught to become ambidextrous. The experiment was apparently successful, the children showing great dexterity with either hand. But, as grown ups, many of them found it difficult to make quick decisions when the situation so demanded: their reaction time was longer than in the ordinary person.
I have tried to find any written reference about it, but have failed to. It might be found in a scientific journal from the nineteen-thirties. Has anybody read about it? I’d be grateful for some information. Thanks. César
October 14th, 2010 at 3:00 am
It breaks my heart to know that Kobe Bryant will have to hang it up in a few years.Long live number 24.
March 5th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
I am an Occupational therapist and have been working with a 6 year old girl for 6 months. She has always shown a prefernece for left handedness. Since starting grade one this year she is now addamant that she finds right handed work easier. She is even writing neater with her right hand. Her parents and I are very confused. What should we do?
March 5th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
@ Adele, that’s interesting. I’ve heard that kids usually decide on their preferred hand by age 5, though maybe some take a bit longer to make up their mind. If she really prefers her right hand now, then I guess you just go along with that.