My daughter would like to know why we have a dominant side. I’m pretty darn curious too.
In: Biology
Among the other answers we can also add the concept of “chirality.” The molecules that make up the matter in the universe may have a sort of “handedness” to them. For instance, look at your hands. They are essentially identical, with a palm, 4 fingers, a thumb, similar bones, and so forth. But they are swapped in a sort of mirror image. Various molecules in the human body(and other living things) are similar. They turn a certain way, and if they went the other way wouldn’t work properly in relation to other molecules in various processes. These ongoing processes are commonly known as being alive. The body has a certain preference toward a specific chirality, which may at least partially explain why there is a preference for one direction or another, since our life processes do in fact have a preference for one direction over another.
A theory by Iain McGilchrist, if I can simplify it correctly is that the brains are split into two hemispheres as an optimization. The right one is specialized on not being eaten and has a wider/higher level understanding of situations. The other hemisphere is focused on eating and that requires a more narrow focus.
Think locating prey versus looking around for predators.
The use of tools and anything related to getting something seems to fall within what the left brain does best and that would explain why most are right handed. I do believe he discusses left handed people in his book, but I have not read that part.
What I’m curious about is why do all of my physical issues tend to be on my left (non dominant) side? Psoriasis, cysts, eye problems, nerve pain in left thigh, TMJ issues… it’s like two different bodies. Anyone else or am I just decaying?
At first I thought this was a sex thing and then I realized how badly unrestricted internet access has affected me
Imagine if every time I threw a ball at your face, you had tonthinknaboutbwhich hand to catch it with. By having a dominant hand, reflexes can take over.
Look up the “split brain treatment” for people who suffer from seizures. There are some interesting videos on YouTube that conduct experiments on those who underwent these treatment and the doctors explain the different sides of the brain much better than some random person on reddit
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