Research Reveals Lefties Have Advantages Over Righties

They may have trouble using scissors or getting enough elbow room at the dinner table, but left-handed people do have certain advantages over their right-handed counterparts, new research reveals.

The University of Oxford study, published Thursday, not only identified the genes that make people left-handed, but it also found that left-handed people may have better verbal skills. “This raises the intriguing possibility for future research that left-handers might have an advantage when it comes to performing verbal tasks, but it must be remembered that these differences were only seen as averages over very large numbers of people and not all left-handers will be similar,” according to the study’s findings.

Researchers also believe “the left and right sides of the brain communicate in a more coordinated way” in lefties, the study reveals. In what areas are left-handed people at a disadvantage? Is it a good idea to force left-handed children to learn to use their right hands?