I was originally going to email this to Jim Heffernan in response to his blog entry "Left-handed commentary..." but I thought it might be of more general interest.
I too am an overhanded left-hand writer, but I will not compromise and move my watch to my left wrist. I hope that doesn’t make me a Republican.
I think left-handed actions come from mirror copying. That is, we learn many actions by mimicking others. If they sit across from us then we might mirror their actions by using the “hand in the mirror”. If side-by-side then we use the same hand. I think the overhand writing comes because we need to write overhand because we turn the paper the same way everybody else does. With the paper turned counterclockwise, a left=handed writer would have to put the elbow in front of the chest instead of at the side. If we turned the paper clockwise, then it would be easier to write underhanded.
Ah, that’s why left-handed people tend to be liberals! They don’t do things underhanded.
Having said that, I’m not really left-handed. When people see me write, they often say, “Oh, you’re left-handed!” My stock reply is, “You’re making an assumption on flimsy evidence.” For the most part, I seem to do fine movement things with my left hand and large movement things with my right hand. I can’t hammer worth a darn with my left-hand. Side-by-side mimicking? Surprisingly, I draw lines using a ruler with the pen in my right hand. Is that because I have better fine control of the ruler with my left hand?
