London - They like to think that their superior brainpower means that others are left behind. But left-handed people may not be right.
A professor reckons he has dispelled the myth that “lefties” are more likely to be gifted. In fact, he says left-handers’ brainpower is depleted to the same extent as someone born prematurely.
The finding is unlikely to find favour with the 10 percent of the population who favour their left hand, including David Cameron, Barack Obama, Angelina Jolie, Paul McCartney and Prince William.
Professor Mike Nicholls, from Adelaide’s Flinders University - who is left-handed - studied 5,000 five-year-olds. He examined their performances at school and listened to what teachers said about them and came to the conclusion that “left-handers tend to do worse as a group than right-handers”.
Professor Nicholls said: “It’s untrue to say that being left-handed is a result of something going awry at birth, as has been popularly believed.”
He added that the reduced cognitive ability of “lefties” was small but similar to the “negative outcomes” of being born prematurely. - Daily Mail