Left handedness
I have been going through my old FTs recently (I have a complete run) – and find they still offer untold delights. A letter [ FT199:73, August 2005] from the late psychologist Stan Gooch (1932-2010), makes some surprising assertions about left-handedness: that it is much commoner amongst homosexuals – particularly lesbians; that Neanderthals were left-handed, totally promiscuous and ruled by women; and that left wingers are left-handed – the rate in Communist China being almost double that of Europe, and Labour Wales double that of England (and that the Welsh have the highest rate of marital infidelity in Britain). Can all (or indeed any) of this be true?
Roger J Morgan
By email
Noel Rooney replies:
Much of the late great Stan Gooch’s speculations are perhaps better thought of as things that could be true; whether they are verified by evidence (or whether they could be so verified) is another matter.
The latest evidence I can find on the prevalence of left-handedness does not support his views. China appears to have a very low incidence (the UK’s is much higher); the Netherlands tops the list.
There is some evidence for greater prevalence of left-handedness in gay people, and the correlation is greater in women, though it is not sufficient to be a predictor of sexual orientation. No one appears to have tried to correlate handedness with promiscuity thus far (an IgNobel prize awaiting?) nor with political leanings. But there is a curious piece of research that suggests handedness influences positional choice (so if you want a leftie to vote for you put your name on the left of the ballot paper).
As for red hair, there is certainly evidence that a gene for red hair was present among Neanderthal people, but there is not enough evidence to say how prevalent it was – at least not yet. And we possess genes for red hair that are not Neanderthal in origin.
None of this detracts from Gooch’s highly original and wonderfully provocative thought and writings.
https://www.statista.com/ chart/20708/rate-of-left-handedness-in-selected-countries/
http://www.therapyequality.org/ apareport/static/55efa8b5e4b0 c21dd4f4d8ee/t/57d897ef725e 25c5f1cf0ad0/1473812483706/ ContentServer%20(2).pdf
https://phys.org/news/201710-neanderthals-didnt-red-hair.html
https://www.theguardian.com/ science/shortcuts/2016/feb/16/ left-right-handed-influences-politicsstudy