Who is ambidextrous? Why? How?

[robnplunder]

Are you ambidextrous? How did you become one?

 

[njhowie]

I am not, but my sister is - kind of. Quite strange...she writes with her left hand, but throws right-handed. Never understood it, but she's been that way from day one.

 

[DatumPoint5]

I am ambidextrous for writing cursive and printing. I am "naturally" a right handed writer, however, as a lark, over 30 years ago, I started building the muscle memory in my left hand for writing and printing. Whenever I found myself in a long, boring meeting, I started doodling, and then I decided to start doing the alphabet in both cursive and printed letters. After about 3 or 4 years I became fairly competent.

 

[Gumby]

I am naturally right-handed. However, when I was 14, I broke my right thumb playing football and was in a cast for a couple of months, so I learned how to do some things left-handed. I can write legibly with my left hand and can play racquetball and squash left handed. Eliminating the need for a backhand has proven useful on many occasions. I continue to use my left hand every morning to shave with a straight razor, which requires the same fine motor skills from each hand.

 

[ckelly78z]

Playing lots of basketball helped me out with my left hand coordination, but I am still predominately right handed. My wife is right handed, but her dominate eye for shooting is her left eye. she looks strange when aiming for a target.

 

[Montecfo]

I write right, throw left. Shoot a basketball left, rifle right, kick right. Tennis right.

As a young accountant I needed to run a 10-key calculator for my job. "10-ket by touch" as it was called. I trained myself to use my left hand so I never had to switch hands as everyone else did. This was not difficult but people seemed amazed at it.

My son can throw with either hand.

 

[Nemo2]

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

 

[Montecfo]

Man 1: "Is it true you can do things equally well with either hand?"

Man 2: "Yes, I am amphibious"

 

[cbo111]

I use my left arm/hand to play tennis, golf, throw balls, and my left foot to kick balls. But I use my right arm/hand to do delicate things like writing, holding eating utensils, wiping my bum. Don't know if there was ever a conscious decision to separate activities.

 

[RunningBum]

Man 1: "Is it true you can do things equally well with either hand?"

Man 2: "Yes, I am amphibious"

The late Charles Shackleford, NC State basketball player from the 1980s. He did not graduate.

 

[street]

I'm not sure you can call me ambidextrous because I consider myself right handed. I can say I do things with my left hand naturally, like tie shoes and put a key in a door to open it etc.. It is just natural for me to use my left for certain tasks that are small tasks.

 

[big-papa]

I am not, but my sister is - kind of. Quite strange...she writes with her left hand, but throws right-handed. Never understood it, but she's been that way from day one.

That's not really ambitextrous but I am similar. I write and eat right handed. I throw and play racquet sports left handed. I golf and swing a bat right handed. I shoot a rifle and bow and arrow left handed. On none of these can I switch hands. Always been this way. I'd like to say that it all just seems natural to me but even I recognize that it's odd.

 

[aja8888]

I was a switch hitter all the years I played organized baseball, but do everything else from the right side.

 

[Jerry1]

Not really ambidextrous but I once had a job with heavy data input. I learned to use the mouse with my left had while I used the ten key on the keyboard with my right. Took awhile to get good at it, but it helped me be much more efficient in the job. Didn’t realize at first that there are settings to allow the buttons on the mouse to be swapped. That helped a lot too.

 

[SecondCor521]

I'm odd, sort of like big-papa.

I was a left leg lead in high school track when I did hurdles. I high jump from the "wrong" side (I approach from the left.) I deal cards and do cartwheels the opposite way as well. But in all other things I am right-handed.

I attribute it to my Mom being left-handed, but I have no idea if that's true.

 

[travelover]

The late Charles Shackleford, NC State basketball player from the 1980s. He did not graduate.

....though he went on to become a distinguished herpetologist. It turned out he was a natural.

 

[easysurfer]

I'm somewhat. Had a fracture on my writing hand once in college and had to use the other hand for about 6 weeks to take notes. I survived.

Also, somethings things, like eating or using the mouse I favor one hand while other things like throwing a football or using tools, I favor the other hand.

 

[imoldernu]

Only 10% of the population is left handed. An interesting phenomenon. A fun read on the internet.

When I was a kid, right handedness was taught in school in no uncertain terms. It wasn't until the mid to late 1940's that left handedness was accepted as somewhat "normal". At that, in subtle ways, we lefties are still discriminated against based on designs of many goods. We accept this today as a given, but developers are well aware of the RH bias.

 

[robnplunder]

I see that some were forced to be ambidextrous. I am right handed but due to injuries and such, I was forced to develop many usages for left hand. I am not sure playing some sports with different hand makes one ambidextrous. IMO, if one can do most things equally well with either hand, that makes one truly ambidextrous. I've got some ways to go.

 

[Sunset]

I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.

ha ha ha ha

When I type I'm ambidextrous

I use both hands for various distinct things, so not truly ambidextrous as it's awkward to switch to the other hand for the same task.

I have noticed especially for eating some people only use 1 hand, so they:
put knife in right hand.
cut food.
put fork in right hand and eat.
Then repeat.

It's so much easier to keep the knife in 1 hand and the fork in the other and eat.

 

[easysurfer]

Maria Sharapova is a celeb who is ambidextrous. She serves right handed, then in mid-point sometimes switches to a left-handed forehand.

 

[W2R]

Both?

As a little girl, I was naturally left handed but in those days, it was considered best to force left handed children to write and do other things with their right hand instead. My parents and teachers went with that approach, since my older brother was allowed to remain left handed and it had been a problem for him since it's a right handed world. So anyway, I was never allowed to be left handed.

As I grew older, I was very ambidextrous as a child and teenager, and that was an AMAZING help when playing piano. Pieces that were difficult for my friends at the conservatory to play, were so easy for me.

In my 20's and 30's I experienced some severe neurological problems which were diagnosed but deemed incurable. Among other symptoms, my left hand and arm were severely affected with both sensory impairment and spastic paralysis. But by now (age 71), my left arm and hand have partially recovered over the years. At present the level of disability in them has lessened and is no longer perceptible to other people any more, although I still have to use my right hand and arm more than my left. Actually the neurological problem just puts me on the same level as those who have been right handed all along.

 

[robnplunder]

It's so much easier to keep the knife in 1 hand and the fork in the other and eat.

There are a lot of (more practical) instances where using ambidextrous can be advantageous. A few weeks ago, I was cutting down tree branches. There was one that I can only saw off using my left hand. I think it took a lot more time than if I were to use my right hand. How about raising our children to be ambidextrous at a rule? They will thank their parents later left and right .

 

[Rustic23]

I fall into the sort of camp. I believe I am a natural left hander. However, my older brothers were right handed. So most of my sports gear was right handed, thus right handed. My dominant eye is left. I found this out in the Air Force, I qualified both left and right handed. By the way the M-16 kicks it's spent cartridge out to the right, so if you shoot it left handed it pops into your face! NOT FUN. I eat with either hand, it just depends which side the food is on. I write with my left hand. I hurdle left, high jump right. They did not try to force right handed in shcool, but often desk were right handed.

 

[cbo111]

I fall into the sort of camp. I believe I am a natural left hander. However, my older brothers were right handed. So most of my sports gear was right handed, thus right handed. My dominant eye is left. I found this out in the Air Force, I qualified both left and right handed. By the way the M-16 kicks it's spent cartridge out to the right, so if you shoot it left handed it pops into your face! NOT FUN. I eat with either hand, it just depends which side the food is on. I write with my left hand. I hurdle left, high jump right. They did not try to force right handed in shcool, but often desk were right handed.

Boy that brings back memories. I was an ALO (air liaison officer) and had to qualify on the M-16. I chose to shoot left handed. On my first shot, the cartridge flew down the right sleeve of my BDU. I continued to fire because it was a timed event. I ended up qualifying, and had the bonus of a nice raised burn on my arm from the spent casing.