Why It's Good To Have A Weak Hand

TL;DR

Animals, including humans, have preferred sides due to the efficiency of using one neural circuit instead of two different ones for tasks performed by hands or limbs.

Transcript

Hi, this is Kate from MinuteEarth - with...umm...hands. Anyway, when I want to write, flip a pancake, or take adorable hyena pictures, like most people, I use my right hand. Because despite being a near-mirror image of my right, my left hand is terrible at this stuff. Lots of other animals also have a so-called “preferred” side; gorillas generall... Read More

Key Insights

• 🙃 Many animals, including humans, exhibit preferred sides when performing tasks, such as using hands or limbs.
• 🙃 Having a preferred side is more efficient in terms of neural circuitry and energy expenditure than building and operating separate circuits for both sides.
• 🐦 Experiments with parrots have demonstrated the advantage of having a preferred side in tasks, with strongly-sided birds performing better than those without a specific preference.
• 🖐️ Our "weaker" side is not actually weak but optimized for different tasks, playing supporting roles and requiring its own circuitry and training.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why do some animals, like gorillas and orangutans, have a preferred side?

Animals, including primates, have a preferred side due to the efficiency of using one neural circuit in the brain for tasks performed by their hands or limbs. This allows them to avoid the extra time and energy required to build and operate two different circuits.

Q: What evidence supports the idea of handedness providing an advantage?

Experiments with parrots have shown that strongly-sided birds perform better in tasks. In a food-finding test, the strongly-sided birds did twice as well as those without a specific side preference. Additionally, in a more complex task involving coordinated motions, the strongly-sided birds were better at finding a clever solution.

Q: Are our weaker sides actually weak or just optimized for different jobs?

Our "weaker" side is not actually weak but is optimized for different tasks. It plays supporting roles, like holding and steadying objects, and also requires its own circuitry and training to perform well. Without our so-called weaker side, we would be unable to perform various tasks, such as hammering in a nail or playing the guitar.

Q: Why do humans predominantly use their right hand for activities like sword swinging?

While most humans have a preferred hand, whether it is the right or left varies among individuals. The dominance of right-handedness in activities like sword swinging may be influenced by cultural factors, as societal norms and training often shape preferred hand usage.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Many animals, like gorillas, orangutans, parrots, and Brazilian spitting spiders, exhibit preference for their left or right side when performing tasks.

• The preference for a particular side is due to the efficiency of using one neural circuit in the brain instead of building and operating two different circuits.

• Having a preferred side provides an advantage in tasks, as shown by experiments with parrots, where strongly-sided birds performed better in food-finding tests and complex tasks involving coordinated motions.