A left handed view of creativity

If you have read anything about creativity, someone probably has said, that the right side of the brain is the creative side.
And that the right side of the brain is connected to the left side of the body. So you could assume that people who are left handed are probably more creative.
And since I am a left handed and creative, I thought it was about time that I looked into this trend myself.
What you may not know is; Only about 10% of us humans are left handed.
And it been like that for a very long time.
Someone discovered that 10% of cave paintings were done by left handers.
You would have seen pictures of cave painting where an ancient artist puts his hand up onto the cave wall and spate coloured ochers onto his hand to make a negative image of it onto the wall.
It turns out that only around 10% of these were images are of the left hand.
And the number of left handers are still about the same today.

But the question I have is: How many notable creative people from recorded history were left handed?
And: Did that make a difference to their life in a positive or negative way?

Firstly I would like to say sorry to the the other 90% of you out there. But I’m sure you will all be surprised at what I discovered in my research for this podcast.
To be honest, I’m not completely left handed. I do write and draw left handed, but of course I had to learn to use scissors with my right hand.
I use a tennis racket left handed but I use a cricket bat or Baseball bat right handed. But I do throw a ball with my left.
I don’t know how normal that is for a left hander, but that’s just the way I started doing things.

It turns out that left handers didn’t always get a fair deal in the past. Even languages didn’t have kind descriptions for the left hand.
For a long time these wasn’t even a word for left in some languages.
In Latin the word for left is sinistre, from which the word ‘sinister’ is derived.
In Greek, skaios means left handed and awkward.
In Hindi it is simply the wrong hand. In French it meant clumsy.
In other languages left hand implied; not correct, weak, worthless or paralysis.

I would like to think we are born in more enlightened times. Though I have a distant memory of a teacher trying to get me to write with my right hand. Fortunately it was obvious that I could never make the adjustment.
When I was I young child I can remember adults talking about my left handedness. It was suggested that I was held by my mother on the wrong shoulder as a baby.
Many times at school other kids used to call me, “Kacky handed”. Meaning I used the strange hand.

I used to write and draw normally but I used to watch some of the other left handers at school. Writing with their left elbow in the air. Even I thought that was strange.
I’m just so thankful I didn’t go to school when kids used to learn to write with a quill pen and a small bottle of black ink. Try doing that left handed and get away with it.
Now, having survived school, is there any factors that determine if a left hander can make his way in the world as a creative person successfully?
From neurological research done in the 20th century, the right side of the brain is mainly responsible for managing the visual & spatial aspects of sensory perception. There are particular professions that need those same qualities.
Like: Visual arts, Architecture, Music, Industrial design and even mathematics.
There a high number of left handed architects in the world for example.

Left handers also have a higher percentage of personality traits:
They tend to be more of a risk taker. They tend to be different, they like change
They don’t accept the rule of society that don’t make sense. They prefer to express their own ideals.
They tend to then focus on more solitary pursuits, where they can roam free to explore new ideas.
They can have a higher tolerance for solitude; either they can’t fit in or they enjoy personal challenges.
They learn to try harder than most right handers.
They can be more intuitive; they can read situations, solutions to problems and even people.
They sometimes develop an empathetic knowledge of others. They make good actors.
They have a definite visual-spacial ability; this ability has artistic, scientific, and even military applications.
They can have heightened ability in Lateral thinking; The ability to make new connections. They are more holistic.
They are adaptive and transformational.
They enjoy self-learning. They teach themselves what interests them or prefer to learn by doing. A formal educational structure can be more difficult for lefties.
They have an experimental tendency; Which is a combination of the other traits.
They tend to be forward thinkers; they like to make the previously impossible a reality.

So who are some of those lefties that have left there mark on history? Even changed it’s course forever.
Leonardo Da Vinci, 1452 – 1519
Michelangelo, 1475 – 1564
Raphael, 1483 – 1520
Isaac Newton, 1643 – 1727
Beethoven, 1770 – 1827
Lewis Carroll, 1832 – 1898
Mark Twain, 1835 – 1910
Marie Curie, 1867 – 1934
Charlie Chaplin, 1889 – 1977
Alan Turning, 1912 – 1954
Jimi Hendrix, 1942 – 1970
Paul McCartney, 1942 –
Other famous lefties are: Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons Cartoon)
A lot of current actors are lefties as well: Drew Carey, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Robert DeNiro, Whoopie Golgberg,
Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Keanu Reeves, Julia Roberts, Jerry Seinfeld, Christian Slater, Emma Thompson & Bruce Willis to name a few.

An unusually high percentage of US political leaders are lefties:
Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, (John McCain as well)
As well as: James Garfield, Hoover and Truman.
10% of people are left handed, but 16% of US presidents were lefties.

Of course for every famous lefty there are as much as 9 famous right handers. But for a predominantly creative person, some careers are better suited to left handers. Particularly if it is a new field in which a person hasn’t had the opportunity to invest much in the old ways of doing things.
Meaning; if you are young, have left handed tendencies, and possess a creative personality, you have a very good chance that you will find a way to move into a fulfilling career.

The famous lefties mentioned in this blog are credited to the book: A left handed history of the world, by Ed Wright.
Published in 2007 by Murdoch books.

Steve Supple can be found at http://www.ineedtocreate.com

Wasted talent disturbs me

I started life as a Graphic Designer for Newspapers & Magazines. Now I write on Creative Development for anyone who is looking for a home for their creativity.
Ever since I could remember, wasted talent has always disturbed me. I’ve heard of so many creative people who’s lives came to an abrupt end, or people who have long but totally frustrating lives. Due to the fact that they never found or nurtured their talents.
So I’ve set out to explore everything that makes up a deeply satisfying creative life. The solutions I’m finding & creating are the things people need to create again. These solutions have become my purpose.