Are you left-handed? If you are, you make up just 10% of the world’s population.  Most people write and play musical instruments with their right hands.
Why are so few people left-handed? A new theory, called “cooperation (合作) vs competition” may have the answer.    When making tools for a right-handed person — like a knife — it was easier if everybody could use the same hand. But some humans wanted to compete instead. So to have an advantage over right-handed people, they would use their left hand to surprise competitors.
German born American scientist Albert Einstein, British physicist Isaac Newton and British biologist Charles Darwin are some famous “lefties”. At least six US presidents were left-handed, including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Harry Truman.
“Lefties” are also often linked with creativity and visual (视觉) skills.
How can this be? Well, the left side of our brain is where we solve problems. The right side of our brain is where we develop creativity. Right-handers tend (倾向) to use the left side more than the right side.
“This is why there are more of them in creative areas, such as music, art and writing,” said Alan Searleman, PhD, from St. Lawrence University, New York.
They tend to have worse memories, often forgetting names and places.