Today we finally get to know if left-handed people are more intelligent than others.
– There are a lot of myths about this, says Niklas Schiöler, writer and poetry researcher.
Today, August 13, an estimated 1-1.5 million Swedes celebrate a little more than others. Namely, it is Left-Handed Day and 10-15 percent of the population is believed to be left-handed.
It is also the day that we will crush or confirm the notion that left-handed people are more intelligent than right-handed people.
– There are a lot of myths about this. If you go to left-handed sites, a lot of myth is made about who is left-handed. If Picasso sits with a cigarette in his left hand, well, then he is left-handed. But it’s about fine motor skills. You have to see them write or play an instrument. Paul McCartney is definitely left-handed. With others it is doubtful, says Niklas Schiöler.
Here is the answer
Niklas Schiöler himself is left-handed, and when asked if left-handedness is linked to intelligence, he gives a brutally straight answer:
– No.
There is thus no evidence that left-handed people are more intelligent than right-handed people. On the other hand, the author gives a lot of examples of how left-handedness has been the subject of strong myth-making throughout history.
– The big myth that has been around for thousands of years is that left-handedness is something sinister. In the Bible there are two left-handed people by name. Both are murderers. This also applies to Egyptian mythology. And Buddhism. And think about the language. Left comes from Celtic and means weak and broken down. In Swedish, the infidel wrestles with left-handedness and sometimes you perform such simple jobs that you can almost do it with your left hand, says Niklas Schiöler.
Seen as foreign
And Niklas Schiöler considers the explanation for the historical slander to be man’s fear of the unknown.
– It is therefore a minority and thus a deviation from the norm and foreign and ultimately seen as a threat, he says.
Stream Nyhetsmorgen on TV4 Play
News is interspersed with in-depth discussions, coverage of the latest trends, personal interviews, culture and sports.