Peter Moore: Living as one of the ten per cent

I am a member of a small, persecuted minority. Unlike race, religion or sexual orientation, we have no protection in law.

There are even derogatory words about us in everyday use. Should I object to the word gauche which means both left and clumsy, or word sinister which is Latin for left?

Even religion talks about sitting on the left hand of God which assumes God is right-handed. It is tough being one of the 10% of people who are left-handed.

Just like other minority groups us lefties were persecuted in the past. Being left-handed was a sign of the devil, although I am not sure where it says that in the Bible. There was even a risk of being burnt at the stake for witchcraft, which would make me use my right hand more often. 

The world is designed for right-handed people. At the table, the knife is on the wrong side for me. I still have to write from left to right, meaning that I smudge anything I write, although my writing is so bad no one notices. 

Some languages are written from right to left but only because they were first craved into stone. It is easier for a right-handed person to carve right to left. 

In the armed services guns are for right-handed people. If a gun is used left handedly the cartridge is ejected into the face. 

But us lefties have some advantages. Musicians such as Paul MacCartney, Jimmy Hendrix, Justin Bieber, David Bowie and Lady Gaga are all left-handed. Further back in time, it is likely that Mozart was left-handed as well as Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Prokofiev. 

Other left-handed great artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Rembrandt. 

There are left-handed British politicians such as David Cameron and Winston Churchill. Of the fourteen US Presidents since the Second World War, six were left-handed including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Even King George VI and today’s Prince William are lefties. 

Lefties excel at sport with Rafael Nadal, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Phil Mickelson all left-handed. In tennis having a slightly different return shot may confuse opponents.  

Even Bart Simpson is left-handed but that might have something to do with his creator, Matt Groening also being left-handed. 

So, why am I not a great leader, musician or sportsman? Whenever overall statistics suggest a trend, there will always be exceptions. Messi had an advantage in being left-handed, while I had the disadvantage of having two left feet. I am also not very left-handed. I play tennis and bowling left handedly but when I tried golf, I naturally played right handedly. I was so bad that the pro suggested I might be better if I played left handedly but that made me even worse. I also play the guitar right-handedly but even if I tried it left-handedly, I would not be another Jimmy Hendrix. 

Why has left-handedness survived in our species and why are us lefties disproportionally successful in some areas? A recent study from the University of Chieti-Pescara in Italy suggests a possible explanation. We are more competitive. Looking at over a thousand people, they found that left-handed people embraced competition. They were keen to come out on top and less likely to let anxiety get in the way. 

There is another theory. Our brains work slightly differently making the two sides of the brain more coordinated. This helps especially in the use of language. It had also been suggested that left-handed people are more creative. There is little scientific evidence behind that theory but, perhaps, as a leftie, I can be creative and invent some evidence. 

Just like my left-handed daughter in law I get left and right muddled up. When she was in the car giving me directions, she said turn right when she meant left. I turned left anyway so we ended up going the correct way. 

Left-handedness is not a choice. There is a genetic element but it is not due to a single gene but several distinct genes. It has even been shown that most babies in the womb suck their right thumb. Those that suck the left are more likely to be left-handed later in life. 

It is time we followed the example of other protest groups and demanded our rights or perhaps our lefts? “What do we want?” “To write from right to left”, “When do we want it”, “Won”.