Yes, this guy looks really creepy. But don’t judge him because he’s different. Perhaps we just don’t know beauty when we see it.

Notice the unmistakable look of utter serenity on his face. His left and right sides are brought together in perfect harmony, forming a new being that knows no limits, united with the oneness of the universe.

OK, that’s about all I can say with a straight face. Anyway…

After my initial post on mixed handedness got some attention, I began a deep exploration into the mysteries of handedness: left, right, and especially mixed. I wasn’t just looking for trivia; I wanted to know how we can use both sides of our brain and body to our best advantage.

Seven months later, that search now culminates with the release of my new ebook, which comes in two versions:

Ambidextrous: A Right-Hander’s Guide to Developing Two Dominant Hands
Ambisinistrous: A Left-Hander’s Guide to Developing Two Dominant Hands

The word “ambidextrous” sounds balanced but it’s actually a very biased term, being Latin for “right on both sides.” Its counterpart, “ambisinistrous,” is Latin for “left on both sides.”

I’m using these terms to refer to a right-hander or left-hander who has made their weak hand into a strong hand. These people are more formally called Penwald ambidextrous, and I’m now one of them.

Why two versions of the ebook? Because I’m so sick of books that explain how to do something right-handed, and expect left-handers to just reverse everything! They deserve something specifically for them.

Also because these are really two different audiences. For example, left-handers and right-handers learned to write differently and they have different motivations for writing with the other hand, so you can’t treat them exactly the same.

(To keep things simple, both versions are included together in one download for one price. Read the version for you, and ignore the other.)

After a lot of research and personal experimentation, I’ve learned that:

1. You can change your natural handedness. I learned to do many things with the other hand, and even went from -0.2 (mildly left-handed) to +0.2 (mildly right-handed) on the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory (whose scale goes from -1.0 to +1.0).

2. There are cases where it’s very practical and beneficial to switch hands, but also cases where it’s not. That’s why I explain how to know when it’s worth it, and also how to practice efficiently and effectively.

3. Two hands are way better than one.

If you want to boost your physical prowess, balance your brain and body, and awaken your sleeping half, check out the right-handed sales page or the left-handed sales page. Any questions? Ask away.

Photo by striatic.

“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).