#35982
08/12/2001 4:32 PM
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i dunno-- but even molocules exhibit 'hand" ness with most, but not all twisting or turning in a single direction.. so it not just living thing.. we really live in a right hand universe..
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#35983
08/12/2001 6:20 PM
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How did "handedness" evolve?
Unsure if my above question was contrary to AWAD etiquette, as not really being a linguistic question. If improper, please advise.
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#35984
08/12/2001 10:20 PM
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How did right-handedness come to be the most common condition? A previous post stated ( though citation not given) that God was right-handed So it figures that Adam was right handed. Maybe Eve too. Unless the rib used to create her was from Adam's left side.. I remember somewhere in the Bible the statement that the "righteous" would in heaven "sit on the right hand of God." There must be a big empty space on His left hand, since the unrighteous do not get past the Pearly Gates..( I do not mean to suggest that no lefties were allowed on His right side. The Bible didn't discuss that, as far as I recall.)
Psalms 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness ….
For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. (Isaiah 41:10, 18)
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#35985
08/13/2001 1:12 AM
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Posts: 3,409
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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#35986
08/13/2001 8:11 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
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> The dextral world is built on sinistral cells. That's right. Nice one Max  > There must be a big empty space on His left handBut Bill, surely you've heard of the Holy Trinity. The (albeit abstract) place to the left of The Father is reserved for 'the Holy Ghost' or 'the Spirit' - at least that's how I always thought of it.
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#35987
08/13/2001 11:44 AM
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place to the left of The Father is reserved for 'the Holy Ghost' or 'the Spirit'
... so proving He must be left handed - cheers!
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#35988
08/13/2001 12:42 PM
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Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 12
stranger
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stranger
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In reply to:
I thought there might be an etymological connection between "left" and "levo", but my dictionary does not confirm this.I think a better dictionary might.
I would guess you are correct- Levo is "left" in Slovene. Slovenija is a Slavic nation which was once deep in the Roman Empire (the upper right-hand corner of Italy including Trieste (Trst) was a part of Slovenija until the mid 20th century), and a living etymological museum. The Latin "sum" lives on as "sem", in some dialects even closer, the ancient "we two", lost in every other Indo-European language, is still in daily use, etc. As you move further away from the center of the Roman world, the sound shifts and such get busy, "levo" is already "ljevo" in neighboring Croatia.
The question of word origins is unfortunately often politically tainted, but linguists should at least be able to suggest the idea of a common origin without raising too many hackles. (Good luck! )
Just googled this one, and no surprise-
Destrer, Dextrer
[OF. destrier, fr. L. dextra on the right side. The squire led his master's horse beside him, on his right hand. Skeat.]
Slovene- desno, right, right-hand side, etc.
Dex- Des is hardly a far-fetched sound shift, but I can't think of any examples in English. Anyone?
-CB
PS. If you're into European traveling, languages, cultures that have retained their language against all odds, and nice people, not to mention good drinking, Slovenija is up there with Ireland and Wales.
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#35989
08/13/2001 2:46 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 218
enthusiast
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enthusiast
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I read yesterday that the keyboard we use highly favors the left-handed among us. Not only does the left hand do 56 percent of the typing, but the right hand's most dominant fingers are left on the infrequent J and K keys. I realize this doesn't even the scales, but it is interesting. Wonder if any studies indicate quicker typing from the Sinistrous.
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#35990
08/13/2001 2:52 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
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> left hand... 56 percent
and think how skewed it would be if the right thumb didn't type all of those spaces!
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#35991
08/13/2001 3:02 PM
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Brandon notes: the keyboard we use highly favors the left-handed among us
Way I heard it, the keyboard was originally designed to be inconvenient. The designers were afraid folks would type too fast for the mechanics of the old typewriters from which the keyboard was inherited.
Jammin' them keys.
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#35992
08/13/2001 5:27 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
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Au contraire, mon frere. The queen of mystery writers, Dorothy L Sayers, in The Documents in the Case, written with Robert Eustace, fashioned a plot that had the solution to a murder turn on the fact that the organic form of the poison which killed the victim had a lefthand twist but the synthetic form of the same compound had a righthand twist. A book I recommend very highly; it's one of my favorites. Written in the epistolary style and as notable for its literary qualities as for its ingenious plot. (No Lord Peter Wimsey.)
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#35993
08/13/2001 6:04 PM
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the keyboard was originally designed to be inconvenient. The designers were afraid folks would type too fast for the mechanics of the old typewriters from which the keyboard was inherited.
You're right (pun unavoidable). A while back, IBM made typewriter with the type on a ball (rather than a series of rods), and the balls were interchangeable: you could insert one to give you special symbols or keyboard arrangements. IBM offered a ball for a keyboard arrangement that's designed to be more efficient (the "Dvorak" keyboard), but it never caught on.
Windows offers some Dvorak keyboards (found in "control panel; keyboard"), most of them designed for a typist who has use of only one hand.
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#35994
08/13/2001 6:13 PM
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IBM offered a ball for a keyboard arrangement that's designed to be more efficient (the "Dvorak" keyboard), but it never caught on
My junk drawer memory has that it was very easy to convert to Dvorak and almost impossible to convert back to qwerty. This, of course, discouraged anyone from converting in the first place.
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#35995
08/13/2001 7:28 PM
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Posts: 13,858
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Re: optical isomerism. There are naturally occurring organic compounds which may have only right or left optical handedness. Synthesis of such compounds usually yields a mixture or dextro- and levo- rotatory molecules, which it may be possible to separate. At least that is the way it was sixty years ago. I am sceptical of a plot based as above.
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#35996
08/14/2001 1:19 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 618
addict
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addict
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Thalidomide is probably the most well known of these compounds. It exists in a right-handed (R) form and a left-handed (S) form. The currently accepted theory is that the S form is responsible for the therapeutic benefits (of which there are many) and the R form responsible for the side effects (including the birth defects for which the drug is most widely known). Naturally, thalidomide occurs as a combination of the two (a racemic mix), but can be separated. However, if a pure R form (for example) is created, over time it becomes a racemic mix (especially in the acid environment of the human stomach. Synthetic versions are being created which do not allow this interconversion to occur.
And that's the biology lesson for today, folks. As for that organic poison, did you really expect me to stay on topic?
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#35997
08/14/2001 2:14 AM
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Posts: 2,605
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There are naturally occurring organic compounds which may have only right or left optical handedness ...
My information is that each of the amino acids (except the simplest one) exists in two such forms, and that when multiple amino acid chain together to form a protein, the links the acids stable only if all the acids are the same form -- one or the other. As a result, life -- on earth, anyway -- uses only one form, which is the one we happen to call the L-form.
PS: In those few meteorites in which amino acids have been found, they are split roughly 50-50 between the two form. At least as of my the date of my source, from the 1970's.
But does this have anything to do with why most people are either right- or left-handed, or why the righthandedness is far more common?
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#35998
08/14/2001 6:13 PM
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veteran
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Keiva, of course we know why righthandedness is more common. Because God is righthanded. How do we know? Look at the picture on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He's reaching out to Adam with his right forefinger.
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#35999
08/14/2001 10:44 PM
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righthandedness is more common because God is righthanded. How do we know? Look at the picture on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He's reaching out to Adam with his (God's) right forefinger.
Witty -- but on that basis we'd have to conclude that mankind is lefthanded, because Michangelo's painting shows Adam touching God with his (Adam's) left hand. We might not trust Michaelangelo, however, for he also thought that Jews have horns on their heads (as appear on his statue of Moses).
(PS as to the latter: My understanding is that the Bible says that when Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from the mountain, rays of light were shining from his head. The Aramaic word for rays of light (halo) is "kerinim", and it has alternative meaning, "horns". When the Bible was first translated from Aramaic into Latin, the word was mis-translated as "horns" -- leading to the medieval belief that Jews have horns.)
EDIT upon checking the picture: on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He's reaching out to Adam with his (God's) right forefinger, and His left arm proctively shelters a young woman (the future Eve?). Checking further, I found that in madonna and child paintings, the baby is almost always cradled in the left arm. Could it be that the right is active because the left (where the heart lies) (1) is the vulnerable side, needing protection, and (2) comforts the babe with the rhythm of the heartbeat? How does that square with the experience of any lefties in our group who have raised babes?
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#36000
08/21/2001 2:38 PM
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 4
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jul 2001
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Left-handed scissors (the good kind) are hard to find. My daughter's a leftie, and her first grade teacher was constantly chewing me out for my daughter's tendency to take rightie scissors in her left hand and cut toward herself. But she just refused to use those ridiculous kindergarten left-handed scissors. She does mouse right-handed, though.
As for potato peelers, I believe most of them are symmetrical... when new. I always thought I should find a left-handed person to trade with, so the blades wear out evenly. <G>
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#36001
08/21/2001 3:06 PM
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Re Checking further, I found that in madonna and child paintings, the baby is almost always cradled in the left arm. Could it be that the right is active because the left (where the heart lies) (1) is the vulnerable side, needing protection, and (2) comforts the babe with the rhythm of the heartbeat? How does that square with the experience of any lefties in our group who have raised babes?
Most women find that babies are quieter when cradled in the left arm, and yes the thought is it's easier for the infant to hear the mothers hear beat. i suspect lefties have a harder time of it, since there stronger hand is engaged hold the baby, and not free for other tasks.
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#36002
08/21/2001 3:53 PM
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lefties have a harder time of it, since their stronger hand is engaged hold the baby, and not free for other tasks.
Thus giving right-handedness an evolutionary advantage?
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#36003
08/21/2001 5:31 PM
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...or, by the number of babies dropped from the weaker hand, giving an advantage to...? 
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#36004
08/21/2001 7:24 PM
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 4
stranger
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stranger
Joined: Jul 2001
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"Most women find that babies are quieter when cradled in the left arm, and yes the thought is it's easier for the infant to hear the mothers hear beat. i suspect lefties have a harder time of it, since there stronger hand is engaged hold the baby, and not free for other tasks. "
I've never understood why the dominant hand would be stronger. I'm right handed, and because of that my left arm is stronger. I carry things in my left arm (including babies) to keep my right hand free to "do stuff." As for heartbeats, my kids seemed to prefer smack in the middle of my chest.
(btw, how do you get the quote you're replying to to show up in a different color?)
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#36005
08/21/2001 7:26 PM
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I vote with Helen O'T -- sounds sensible to me.
And just now picked up an (unverfied) tidbit reinforcing her suggestion that handedness might relate to traditional child-rearing roles. I'm told that of all ethnic groups, lefthandedness is most common among Ashkenazi jewish men, but that Ashkenazi jewish women are no-more-often lefthanded than the general population.
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#36006
08/21/2001 7:56 PM
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i sent you a private note-- but you should also check the FAQ and the Information category for the thread for new comer's and beginners.. it has all the information you'll ever need or want about searching awad thread, finding on line dictionaries, and lots more..
we keep bumping it back to page 1-- and i will again right now if its not there already.
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#36007
08/22/2001 3:23 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
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>lefthandedness is most common among Ashkenazi jewish men
Very interesting. Could this be because A.j. men would historically write Yiddish and/or Hebrew, both of which are written right to left and therefore more conveniently with the left hand?
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#36008
08/22/2001 5:18 AM
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Which would also apply to most Muslim cultures since Arabic is also written right to left, but they have a very strong taboo against using the left hand in public, adding to the horrors of amputation of the hand for stealing.
Bingley
Bingley
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#36009
08/22/2001 1:35 PM
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>lefthandedness is most common among Ashkenazi jewish men
Very interesting. Could this be because A.j. men would historically write Yiddish and/or Hebrew, both
of which are written right to left and therefore more conveniently with the left hand?
Dear Bobyoungbalt: Do you then believe Lysenko was right?
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#36010
08/29/2001 4:45 PM
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Finley Peter Dunne iscredited with coining the expression "southpaw" when writing about left handed pitchers, because a left-hander's throwing arm was on his south side as he pitched in the White Stockings' stadium.
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#36011
08/29/2001 5:50 PM
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Didn't we hear from tsuwm (was it?) that the expression was first used for a left handed boxer? Didn't make sense to me then nor does it now, but there it is. But thanks for the name to add to the search, Dr. Bill.
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#36012
08/29/2001 6:02 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
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#36013
08/29/2001 6:50 PM
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If indeed it was a boxing term, Mr. Dunne, as a sports writer, would have had ample opportunity to have heard it and to introduce it to the world of base ball. It seems to have a fair spread of meanings in boxing, at least according to this site: http://www.hedbergska.sundsvall.se/roger/finalD.htmDon't be discouraged by the large blank screen. Scroll down to 3.4. The boxer.
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#36014
08/29/2001 6:53 PM
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Dear Faldage: before I made that post, I re-read all the previous posts, and just now searched all forums, and found no mention of tsuwm's posting about southpaws. I can't see any logic to OED talking about a southpaw boxer. Finley Peter Dunne started as a sportwriter at age 16. which would have been before 1900. The layout of the ballfield involved provides logic to the term. I like logic, and this is one more reason for me to say bad-word the OED/
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#36015
08/29/2001 7:17 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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I *did say that the base ball origin made more sense to me but I have, apparently, more respect for Sir James's modest collection than you do.
de gustibus non carborundum est
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#36016
08/29/2001 7:27 PM
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Regrettably we will be unable to stage a debate between Finley Peter Dunne and Sir Boyle Roche. But I would enjoy separating you from your cash support of Sir Boyle. That would require a virtuoso performance on the Ouija board.
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#36018
08/29/2001 8:46 PM
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You guys tempt me to take the name of the Lord in vain (which still reminds me of wehen) I thought going back six months was far enough. That quote was over a year old, six months before I joined, you pair of elephants. (alleged possessors of phenomenal long term recollection of affronts)
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