From: Van oost Kenneth (kennethvanoost@belgacom.net)
Date: Sun 12 Dec 2004 - 15:40:32 GMT
<< Alexander The Great was one, Billy The Kid and John McEnroe were others.
Scientists now think how to explain why people use their left- hand and it all got
to do with winning a fight.
About 10% use their left- hand to do things instead of using their right one.
For biologists it was for many years unknown why such an important minority
was getting born. It is known however that left- handed people get worse health-
problems and are involved in more serious accidents than right- handed ones.
Because these people are for the rest totally identical, you should except that
for the greater part of the story the genetic defined left- handiness should had
died out.
So, there must be a hidden reason that contradicts the risks of being left-
handed all together, but biologists weren 't able untill now to find it.
In times that troubles were settled with our bare hands, left- handed people
got the advantage of the surprise/ sneak attack. That advantage could only
stay in existence if left- handed people stayed a minority, otherwise right-
handed ones could easily adapt themselves fighting left- handed adversaries.
Investigators of the University of Montpellier have now found strong arguments
for this controversial idea.
They are convinced that the extent of violence within a pre- industrial society
plays a role in how high the number of left- handed people will be.
Charlotte Faurie and Michel Raymond discovered that with the rising of violent
agression within a society the number of left- handed people increased.
Faurie:- " We discovered a direct relation between the extent of violence
within a certain society and the number of left- handed people. That points
to the fact that fighting is an important selectioncriteria for the evolution of
left- handiness. "
They admitted however that the numbers of manslaughter, wherein also the
number of executions and gangkillings were included, wasn 't a very reliable
standard for the number of man- to- man combats, but it was the best they got.
" The result is a strong argument for the fight hypothesis. But in general it
points to the importance of violence in the evolution of left- and right- handiness."
It is proven that left- handiness is an advantage in sports like tennis, cricket,
boxing or baseball, whereby there is a direct confrontation between 2 adver-
saries. By other sports, like gymnastics there is no advantage in being left-
or right- handed.
Faurie and Raymond believe that confrontationsports like judo and karate do
alike violent man- to- man combats.
" Interactive sports in Western society are special forms of combat, with strong
and severe ruling, including the interdiction to kill or to hurt the adversary on
purpose. If left- handed people do have an important advantage in fighting sports
when they are part of a minority than the same can be said for a real fight or
battle situation. " is their claim.
" If this is correct than is the advantage of left- handiness greater in a violent
environment, what in the end should result in even more left- handed people. "
And that is just what the 2 investigators determined while looking at the
numbers of manslaughter in 8 different societies. They concluded that the
Dioula- tribe of Burkina has the lowest level of murder and thus of left-
handiness. The Yanamamo and the people of the Jim- Valley in Papoea
New- Guinia have the highist number.
Faurie says that the advantage of being left- handed should only, in principle
stay in existence within man because those behave the most violently in
each investigated society.
Professor Chris McManus of University College of London however is not
yet convinced. He claims that the data is mis- interpreted and that the
test- groups were to small and the used methods unreliable.
There must be according the to professor an advantage in being left-
handed, but it is still unclear what it consist of.
According to his own theory, despite the many disadvantages of being
left- handed, left- handed people show a greater deal of creativity and
other positive aspects.
" And society needs a subgroup of people who are different. "
DM, Steve Connor 09/ 12/ 2004, translated by Kenneth Van Oost.
My comments,
If this is true we should atleast aspect an increase of left- handed
people amongst members of LA and New York streetgangs !
Do we possess data !?
If this were to be true, than atleast we will aspect an increase of
left- handed people amongst the decendents of those kid- soldiers
of Burundi and Rwanda !
Will we ever get to those !?
If this is not far away from the truth, we should atleast aspect an
increase of left- handed people amongst the decendents of those
who are now wandering the earth !
Will it ever reach its top !?
Regards,
Kenneth
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