zarjay.net

Becoming Ambidextrous

February 3rd, 2010 · ambidextrous, dexterity, handedness, learning, resolution

Time to reveal another one of my goals for this year. Learning Latin is one of them. So, what’s next?

I want to be ambidextrous.

I’m left-handed, so that means I want to be right-handed, too.

I think I can do it. I know I can. Besides, the odds are in my favor.

I’ve always wanted to be ambidextrous. It just sounds cool, doesn’t it? The question is, though, can you teach yourself to be ambidextrous?

I’m no expert on the subject (although I did read a book on handedness once), but here are my opinions on the subject:

All of us are born with a certain level of dexterity and handedness preference. They say that handedness has something to do with what hemispheres of your brain control speech and language. While we may be born with a preference to use one hand or the other, it doesn’t mean we can’t teach ourselves to use the other hand. Many young left-handers are forced to learn to write with their right hands, for instance. It becomes even more important when we lose one of our hands, and we’re forced to learn how to use the other.

I think hand dominance is largely a trait of the brain to simplify tasks and not waste time perfecting both hands. Why bother learning with both hands when one is sufficient?

I may not need to use my right hand to write and eat and whatnot, but I’d like to. And with practice, I’ll be able to, perhaps almost as easily as my left hand. I’m already at an advantage, as I’m technically mixed-handed. Granted, I think most left-handers are mixed-handed. When you live in a right-handed world where many things are right-hand only, you kinda learn to be right-handed for some tasks. In fact, I bet it’s a lot easier for a left-hander to learn ambidexterity than a right-hander.

I don’t want to replace my left hand, and I’m not going to get too serious about this. This is how I’ll grade myself at the end of the year:

• I should be able to hold an eating utensil comfortably in my right hand.
• I should be able to write legibly and at a decent speed with my right hand.

I’m already right-hand dominant when it comes to throwing (Hmm, so maybe that means I should practice throwing with my left?). I can also write legibly with my right hand; I just write rather slowly, and my hand isn’t quite used to the pencil grip yet.

To work on becoming ambidextrous, I’ve been writing exercises from my Latin book using my right hand. That way, each day, I can study Latin and practice using my right hand at the same time! ^_^

Yeah, I know; you’re bored already. Sorry. But it means something to me, and I think it would be cool if by the end of the year, I could write Latin and call myself ambidextrous.

If you have the time and patience, you should give it a try. It’s an easy way to challenge your brain, as you’re doing something it’s not using to doing at all. And who knows? You might actually find a use for that extra dexterity you’ve worked so hard to achieve.