Dimapur, Aug 12 (EMN): Monday, Aug. 13 is ‘International Left-Handers Day’ and though many might not know about the significance of the day, yet from a psychological point of view, the day gains significance because it deals with the personality of the person.
It is said that only about ten percent of the world’s population are left-handed; however, psychologists are still undecided on the question of who is better; the right handed person or the left handed person.
But like the saying every dog has its day, the left handed people also celebrates their ‘left handedness’ on August 13 every year.
The International Left Handers Day is observed annually on Aug. 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of the left handed persons. The day was first observed in the year 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of the Lefthanders International, Inc.
The day was created to celebrate certain people’s distinctiveness and raise awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of being left-handed in a predominantly right-handed world.
Coming back home, the day will have no significance since everything has been conditioned where the right hand ‘has to do the good things’ like eating and writing etc while the left hands are left to do the seemingly ‘bad or dirty things’. Most of the Naga youths who grew up during the nineties would narrate how their teachers or their parents forced them to write with their right hands instead of the left hands. Fortunately, the trend is changing now; the modern enlightened parents are giving a free hand to their child (or children) to choose whichever hand they like to write.
Looking from an educational psychological point of view, it has been proven that the human brain which comprises of a ‘left and right’ and each individual -- apart from those mentally deranged or having psychotic problem -- are either left rained or right brained which is pronounced through the use of either their left or right hands.
Unfortunately, many parents remained ignorant of this issue for many years while simply holding the thought that using the right hand is the ‘right’ thing. And unfortunately, many left handed Naga youths are also conditioned to use their right hands. An associate prof. at the department of Psychology, Nagaland University also conceded that a thorough study has not been conducted especially with regard to children in the schools in Nagaland.
An academician, who has a master in psychology, when contacted, said that a study of such kind -- like the importance of using the left or right hands -- has not been conducted in the state and therefore failed to give any insight into the whole issue. Other academicians also could not offer much information about the psychological implications of being a left or a right handed person.
As the ‘International Left-Handers Day’ is observed across the world, the Naga society, especially the those in the education department to explore the psychological implications of the simple things like being ‘left or right handed’; who knows, such simple things might determine the future of the children and also the state.
There have been countless number of both right- and left-handed artists and forward thinkers in history and currently. But in honor of Left-Hander’s Day, it’s worth it to explore the most notable lefties of all time. Some researchers believe lefties are capable of more complex reasoning, which is why there’s a particularly high number of lefty Noble Prize winners, artists, writers, architects, musicians, and mathematicians. Others theorize that lefties are forced to find solutions in order to survive in a right-dominated world, which means they experience extra mental resilience.
