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From: zwicky@pongfs.itstd.sri.com (Elizabeth Zwicky)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Left Handed programmers (was Sinister Hackers 8-))
Message-ID: <32582@sparkyfs.istc.sri.com>
Date: 20 Aug 90 20:54:38 GMT
References: <1488@chinacat.Unicom.COM> <19624@well.sf.ca.us> <12772@hydra.gatech.EDU> <1990Aug20.084113@bert.llnl.gov>
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Reply-To: zwicky@pongfs.itstd.sri.com.UUCP (Elizabeth Zwicky)
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In article <1990Aug20.084113@bert.llnl.gov> howell@bert.llnl.gov (Louis Howell) writes:
>First, the opinions:  I tend to react to all the left brain/right
>brain BS the same way I react to people who sharpen their razor
>blades with a pyramid.

You're throwing out the baby with the bath water. Handedness is a
bona-fide neurological phenomenon, which real neurologists believe in.
It comes in three flavours, not two; left-hemisphere dominant,
right-hemisphere dominant, and non-dominant. (Left-hemisphere dominant
people are right handed.) Approximately 10% of the population is
non-right-handed; of those, a much smaller percentage are actually
right-hemisphere dominant, and an even smaller percentage simply have
the two hemispheres swapped in function. Some non-dominant people (for
instance, me) appear to be right-handed for most purposes.

Obviously, the left brain/right brain stuff cannot possibly be true
for people who are left-handed because of a functional swap. For
people who are non-right handed for other reasons, there are
known effects of that, but they are mostly uninteresting to people
who are not otherwise neurologically impaired. Non-dominance is
associated with dyslexia, for instance, and is known to increase
chances of full recovery from head trauma and strokes. Some research
suggests that non-dominance may make small but theoretically
interesting changes in language processing; however, these are in no
way noticeable in day-to-day life.

Most left brain/right brain stuff is massive overgeneralization and
wild theorization, but there is a kernel of truth there; handedness
exists, and many brain functions are lateralized. High order functions
like "creativity" are not likely to be among them. Functions that are
known to be lateralized tend to be at a particular somewhat odd level
of precision; for instance, the ability to recognize tunes, the
ability to recognize faces, vocabulary, and grammar all have specific
brain sites. They also interact in ways that are not particularly well
understood.

Disclaimer: I am not a neurologist, nor do I play one on television. I
have a casual interest in non-dominance, and a few college courses in
neurology.


Elizabeth Zwicky