Are You Ambidexterous?

[Belinda Barfield]

I was just reading a tidbit about President Garfield, it is said that you could ask him a question in English and he could write the answer in Latin with one hand and in Greek with the other - simultaneously. Michelangelo painted with his right hand until it became tired then switched to the left hand. I started wondering how many woodworkers, and other Creekers, are ambidexterous. Me? I can write with either hand but much more legibly with the right. I iron with the left, open jars with the left, and dress left leg first. I throw a frying pan equally well with either hand.

[Dan Hintz]

It is said that you could ask him a question in English and he could write the answer in Latin with one hand and in Greek with the other - simultaneously.
There's a whole lot more going on there than just ambidexterity! I've seen people draw with their left and work an equation with the right... but to do same-side brain stuff with both hands, that's darn impressive.

[bob svoboda]

I dodge frying pans equally well going left or right!

[Zach Dillinger]

I'm an ambidextrous woodworker. I saw left handed, but plane right handed. I can write with either hand (naturally lefty), can play tennis with either hand, and can bat from the lefty or righty side of the plate when playing baseball. I cannot play golf left handed, mostly because my father taught me to play righty (lefty golf clubs are hard to find). Had to learn to use scissors righty, since the lefty scissors in school were dull and usually trashed.

[Belinda Barfield]

Another question along the same lines, can you raise both eyebrows - not at the same time? I can only raise my left brow, or both together, but not the right alone.

[Dan Hintz]

Another question along the same lines, can you raise both eyebrows - not at the same time? I can only raise my left brow, or both together, but not the right alone.
The raise isn't as high if I do one at a time, but I think that may be due to tightness of the surrounding muscle. I can curl my tongue into a circle, but I cannot fold it back on itself while sticking it out as some can... and I certainly can't do the double/triple fold along the edge I've seen one or two do.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm a straight righty- but - my wife is bi
:D

[Larry Edgerton]

I'd give my right arm to be ambidexterous.........

[Chris Kennedy]

I'm right handed, but left-eyed. Anything that requires significant aiming (shooting pool for example) I do left handed because I need my left eye to aim down the cue.

Chris

[Jim Koepke]

My abilities are somewhat ambidextrous, but most things are done righty. If one is a lefty, it becomes quickly evident that we are in a right hand world.

I am also mildly dyslexic so things can get interesting at times. In my opinion, the dyslexia helped when my work was in the printing and photographic trades.

Muscle memory has to be trained. That is why in grade school we had to draw each letter of the alphabet so many times. Muscle memory can also be retrained. Just like we did so many years ago in school.

It is like hammering nails. Before about 10 years ago my nail hammering left a lot to be desired. Most of the time as many as 50% of the nails would get bent before they were fully sunk in the wood. Then my luck on a bid for a set of "Adel's Carpentry and Builder's Guide" lead to me being set straight on how to drive nails. Now my nails are sunk true unless there is something in the wood like a knot.

jtk

[Jim Rimmer]

Another question along the same lines, can you raise both eyebrows - not at the same time? I can only raise my left brow, or both together, but not the right alone.

Don't know how you discovered this tidbit of information but I would say you've got too much time on your hands (right or left). :D

[ray hampton]

having to write with each hand come in handy if the writing
hand are in a sling or heavy bandaged

[hank dekeyser]

I can hammer, router, drill left handed and thats about it- here's a good trick to play on someone though - bet them they can't fold a piece of paper in half on itself 7 times. try it. I have to give "mythbusters" credit for it. they tried . . . and sort-of succeeded

[Dan Hintz]

I can hammer, router, drill left handed and thats about it- here's a good trick to play on someone though - bet them they can't fold a piece of paper in half on itself 7 times. try it. I have to give "mythbusters" credit for it. they tried . . . and sort-of succeeded
It's perfectly doable... to make sure someone cannot do it, you need to provide a limitation such as the paper is a standard 8.5x11. If you had a sheet of paper 1 mile long, you would have no issue doing it. It's simply a matter of the length to thickness ratio being high enough. A standard sheet of paper doesn't have a high enough ratio, so by the time you get to 5-6 folds, it's really tough.

[Jim Rimmer]

It's perfectly doable... to make sure someone cannot do it, you need to provide a limitation such as the paper is a standard 8.5x11. If you had a sheet of paper 1 mile long, you would have no issue doing it. It's simply a matter of the length to thickness ratio being high enough. A standard sheet of paper doesn't have a high enough ratio, so by the time you get to 5-6 folds, it's really tough.

Belinda, you've been hijacked. :D

[Belinda Barfield]

It ain't the first time, Jim, and probably won't be the last!:rolleyes: Dan is easily bored.

[Callan Campbell]

Yes, the world forces we left-handers to adapt pretty early on. For me, it started in 1st grade. I was taught to write with my right hand before anyone noticed I was left hand dominant[So they say, I say conspiracy!!!!] Later, I found that many tools and machines are better used with your right hand, so I adapted to that as well. I have much less trouble at my line of work since I freely switch hands to do most jobs, or get the best access by using which ever body position, left or right, works for the small spaces I have to deal with. Others are NOT so lucky. I regularly watch total right- handed people freak out with trying to use their left arm or hand for something. My hand writing position to this day does look a bit strange to people since it's really a left-handed person using their right hand, but it's readable to everyone, so that's what counts....

[ray hampton]

Belinda, some portable power/or hand tools can be use by
either hand, but all factories need to make more left-hand tools

[Jim Koepke]

here's a good trick to play on someone though - bet them they can't fold a piece of paper in half on itself 7 times. try it. I have to give "mythbusters" credit for it. they tried . . . and sort-of succeeded

Most people in the printing trades know about this. It has to do with the paper bursting in machine folders as the radius of the bend increases.

It is not so much as impossible, as was pointed out with a big enough piece of paper, it gets to a point where the edges do not meet cleanly.

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

I have much less trouble at my line of work since I freely switch hands to do most jobs, or get the best access by using which ever body position, left or right, works for the small spaces I have to deal with.

Same here, it bugs some people.

What bugs them even more is when I do assembly jobs is picking up a handful of screws in each hand and then start putting them in with both hands working independently. Managers love it, co-workers hate it.

jtk

[Belinda Barfield]

What bugs them even more is when I do assembly jobs is picking up a handful of screws in each hand and then start putting them in with both hands working independently. Managers love it, co-workers hate it.
jtk

I never even thought about that Jim, I do the same thing. When I have to remove the rear panel from the laser engraver, or when I put something together I insert/remove bolts with both hands. I get funny looks in fast food places that have serve yourself soda. If I have two cups I fill one cup with ice, and while I am filling that cup with soda I fill the second cup with ice. Apparently this is somewhat unusual . . . go figure.

[Dan Hintz]

What bugs them even more is when I do assembly jobs is picking up a handful of screws in each hand and then start putting them in with both hands working independently. Managers love it, co-workers hate it.
I do that, too, but I don't consider myself ambidexterous... maybe it's because putting screws in doesn't take much thought?

[ray hampton]

that is nothing, I could drive a fork-lift with one hand -cup of
coffee and a cigarette in the other hand

[Bruce Volden]

Does nose picking count??

[Tom Green]

I'd give my right arm to be ambidexterous.........

I sure hope humor was intended, cause that's really funny!

[Bill Cunningham]

I write 'on paper' with my left hand, but for doing anything else it doesn't matter, and I don't even think about it.. In the house, my mouse is on the right, in the shop it's on the left. I use hammers and any other tool in either hand makes no dif. When I was teaching, I would start writing on the board with my left hand, and as the chalk passed in front of me, I would just switch hands and keep on writing. I was a weldor for years, and you had to be able to weld using left or right hand depending on where you were. Most weldors are ambidexterous they need to be.. As a teenager, well... It was also very handy...

[Jim Koepke]

Does nose picking count??

No and neither does butt scratching.

jtk

[Brian Kent]

When I check out my scars, it seems I can cut my right fingers with power tools, but I cut my left fingers with chisels and hand saws. Hmm - always my left thumb with the hammer.

By the way, I am watching an old episode of "Airwolf". Can you really outrun an explosion by diving out the door away from the blast?

[Dan Hintz]

As a teenager, well... It was also very handy...
I'm not going to touch that with a ten foot pole ;)

[Belinda Barfield]

There have been a couple of replies I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole . . . held in either hand.:D

[ray hampton]

There have been a couple of replies I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole . . . held in either hand.:D



unless you are as strong as Paul Bunyan, a 10 foot pole will
be held in both hands except when you are marking logs for
sawing

[Rod Sheridan]

that is nothing, I could drive a fork-lift with one hand -cup of
coffee and a cigarette in the other hand

Ray, that's such a good start to a lift truck safety video.:D

Regards, Rod.

[Bob Turkovich]

Like Callan, I was born left-handed but forced to go right-handed at an early age. I ended up doing everything right-handed except for two-handed sports activities like golf or baseball batting. You'd think I would be somewhat ambidexterous. Nope. Totally uncoordinated doing one handed activities left-handed.

I've heard that you never force your left-handed kid to be right-handed - can lead to mental issues. I haven't seen any side effects...;)

So when my kids were born, I hoped one of them would be left-handed. Great opportunity to get new golf clubs for myself every couple of years and cut down the old ones for the kids. My son was born righty. My daughter was born lefty but wanted to play golf right-handed. Go figure. As a result, my wife got new clubs every couple of years as hers were cut down for my daughter.

[ray hampton]

Ray, that's such a good start to a lift truck safety video.:D

Regards, Rod.


ROD, you are right, this is a case of DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO

[Callan Campbell]

Ray, that's such a good start to a lift truck safety video.:D

Regards, Rod. While on a cell phone and yelling at someone else who's 30 feet away............Too funny Rod, and probably too true in the world

[ray hampton]

what, the jail cell got phones now

[Lee Koepke]

Left handed, forced to learn lots of things right handed.

I play golf (poorly) right handed because they were the only clubs I had available to me. I can also play left handed (equally poorly) so that can really mess with someones mind !!!

Most hand tools I can use either, but left is my dominant one. Power tools, mostly forced to be right handed by the evil right handed tool industry !!!! I can use my lathe tools with my left hand sometimes ....

[John Neel]

Ok with the hands already. Can you wiggle your ears? Can you wiggle one at a time?

Do you have a dominant eye? You can check eye dominance by holding up a thumb and, with both eyes open, hold the thumb over some distant spot. It may appear to you that you are looking through the thumb at the spot. Close one eye, if the distant spot remains behind the thumb, you have closed the non dominant eye. If the spot jumps to the side, you have closed the dominant eye.

Special educators talk about cross dominance. That is when a person's dominant eye is on one side, but the dominant hand is on the other. This means that certain alignments will be more difficult for a person with cross dominance. This could be a problem for woodworkers trying to cut or paint to a line.

Even given equal hearing ability in both ears, many people when presented with a word in one ear and an equal volume different word in the other ear will either hear only one word or be able to recognize only one word easily. So there is ear dominance as well. I have always wondered if there is any sort of nasal dominance? :confused:

Of course there are always people like myself: no cross dominance and still have difficulty cutting to a line and left with no excuse. I am improving slowly.

[ray hampton]

do you sweat more on the right side or the left side
I know,I know ,ladies do not sweat

[Tim Janssen]

I don't know, but I know I'm heterosexual!

Tim

[Belinda Barfield]

I can wiggle my ears slightly, together but not individually.

Left eye dominant, right ear dominant.


do you sweat more on the right side or the left side
I know,I know ,ladies do not sweat

Either ladies sweat, or I'm no lady - I'll have to think on this one. I live in Savannah - everyone sweats! It was 78 here yesterday.


I don't know, but I know I'm heterosexual!

Well, this knowledge should serve you well in life. :D

Tim

[ray hampton]

I can wiggle my ears slightly, together but not individually.

Left eye dominant, right ear dominant.



Either ladies sweat, or I'm no lady - I'll have to think on this one. I live in Savannah - everyone sweats! It was 78 here yesterday.


I been told by certain women that ladies do not sweat, they perspire

[Belinda Barfield]

Old Southern saying . . . "Horses sweat, men perspire, ladies glow."