Life as a left hander

I annoy my wife because I pick things up with my feet.

Pass the bananas...

Neil

I use the PC mouse right-handed. I have a pair of left handed scissors, but I find them difficult to use.

Not only is my brain wired upside down but back to front and left to right too. That's probably why I find visual ideas and concepts very easy, but languages are a complete blank. I had enough trouble with English, let alone anything else.

Andrew

> Watch the movies, see how many people using a rifle hold and fire it left handed(maybe someone turned the film inside out)

Quite possible they flip scenes so that the two sides come from the opposite sides of the screen.

I used to have a Deep Purple poster where all their shirts buttoned up on the 'wrong' side its surprising how often you can spot flipped photos in this way.

I car ads they sued to use registrations that read both ways so that they could have the cars on the correct side of the road for the country it was aired in, but now they just use CGI to add a registration plate.

Neil

Andrew,

I do not know which way i am wired but I can "spin" visual images in my brain to get the same effect as rotating on the PC screen. Ambidextrous with tools, write right handed, shoot right hand with left eye.

Max Tolerance wrote "I have written in the past to various tool manufacturers pointing out this obvious H&S issue but I have never received a reply."

I had a drill button lock as I was using it and it sprained my wrist when the drill bit seized as it broke through some metal I was drilling.

I wrote to Black and Decker pointing out the danger inherent in the design. They did reply, and just stated that they do not make tools for left handers!

Edited By norman valentine on 21/03/2015 11:27:06

Joking apart.... My daughter is left hand which we noticed from an early age. I suppose since then I've been more aware of the everyday problems that left handed people have. In particular when I' did an instructors course I was reminded that when teaching a manual operation, always consider the left handed user.

John

I used to be able to pick up pens with my toes but the Nueropathy put pay to that, I have trouble with power tools lock buttons and if I can I tend to turn the electric drill upside down, I can eat with a fork and spoon in my left hand but put a knife in my right and I become a demented moron, no control at all.

When I was in the Air Training Corp on the firing range with a .303 I used to drive the instructors round the bend as I had the rifle in my left shoulder and used to put my left hand over the top to operate the bolt to load a round, the instructors tried to get me to put the rifle in my right shoulder but gave up and found it safer to stand in front of me when I was using the rifle right handed.

Martin P

Right handed, but use my left for mouse operation.

Taught myself to do within weeks of getting my first computer, as was touch typing.

Right hand now deals with the keyboard.

I wonder how many hours are wasted daily by computer users who continually move their hand from keyboard to mouse and back ad nauseam.

Every time I see this happening I shake my head at so called improvements.

DOS had keystroke shortcuts for every command.

Brother is ambidextrous, and this first time I saw him switch whilst doing homework, I just gaped. He said he did so when his fingers/hand/arm became tired. No noticeable difference in writing style that I could/can see.

Geoff - Cutting keys that locksmith couldn't do.

Key stroke short cuts are all well and good if you can remember them

Martin P

It's worse when you accidentally hit some obscure key combination, or click the mouse in the wrong place, and the screen changes in an unintended way. Not only don't you know how you got there, you have no idea how to get back.

Andrew

Edited By Andrew Johnston on 21/03/2015 13:43:42

Never seen advertised as such, but left hand wrist watches are available - winding stem at 9 o' clock instead of 3. Fairly rare.

Rgds

Bill

> DOS had keystroke shortcuts for every command.

So has windows! very useful when the mousepad on your laptop dies in the middle of a meeting...

You can even operate windows by speech control (although it's a convoluted nightmare).

I type with forefinger and middle finger of each hand -pretty fast, but lots of errors!

Neil

P.S. if you want to test your co-ordination press <alt-gr> and <right arrow> at the same time. The brain knows what to do but the mouse-hand won't obey.

Do<alt-gr> and <up arrow> when you give up!

That raises another point; on which wrist do people wear their watch? Mine is on the right. I don't worry about the winding stem 'cause mine has a battery.

Andrew

Nothing appears to happen when I press alt gr and right arrow, I wear my watch on my left arm, this may sound daft but I tried it on my right arm but my brain then cant see the watch.

Martin P

Watch Inside of left wrist, I can see it without waving arm about. I can use knife, fork and spoon with either hand as required, a by product of school days and cramped dining arrangements.

Edited By KWIL on 21/03/2015 14:59:14

Left handers are mean;t to be more intelligent and are about 2% of the population. A mate of mine did a maths degree and in the final year 8 out of 9 students were southpaws! My Father was left handed, I am right handed, my son is left handed and my daughter ambidextrous. I once had a Lecturer who was ambidextrous, he started writing on the board with the chalk in his left hand then changed it over to his right hand to finish the line. He also lectured with his eyes closed. Bit of an odd ball, but a brilliant lecturer.

Frank

For years it was said that Billy the Kid was left-handed.

There was even a film about his life called The Left Handed Gun

BUT he wasn't. Due to the reverse image of the only known photograph of Billy the Kid, it gave the incorrect impression that he was left-handed because his revolver is positioned on the left side. Someone finally realized the imaged was flipped by looking at the Winchester rifle.

Roger

Edited By Roger Provins 2 on 21/03/2015 17:15:02

What a wonderful posting subject - it can run for ever, even more than 'What did you do today'.

I have a suspicion that eventually the subject will deteriorate into 'how did you progress (not how did you get on, that would be too simple) on your wedding night'.

Left Wrist. Not that I wear a watch much these days...

I remember one watch that had a metal strap the kind that makes a hairless ring around your wrist

I made a dramatic sweeping gesture to my chairman with my left hand and my watch flew across the room!

Neil