Lefthanded people better players than righthanded?

[snookaman]

How many players on the Main Tour are lefthanded? Going by the general British male population about 11 % are which means 8-9 of the pros (+ 2 for margin)

The reason I'm asking is that I've heard rumours say that lefthanded people in general are more gifted than righthanded? Anyone heard about this?

I think I can answer your question.

All players at intermediate/advanced level will put their domainant eye on top of the cue. Most people (above average) are left eye dominant, some are right eye, and a minority of people can use both eyes equally well. If you are right handed and right eye dominant, you have an advantage simply placing your right eye on top of the cue and don't have to lean over. Similarly, a left hander with left eye dominant have the same advantage. The best players should be those with both eyes dominant (assuming skill levels are the same). As most people are left eye dominant, there is a better chance for the left handed player to play better with equal level of skill. This is only true statistically, of course.

You place your dominant eye on top of the cue so as to eliminate the "parallax" effect of sighting. You can only aim correctly when you can see correctly. If you do not aim correctly, you will produce unintentional spin. You won't be too good in snooker!

To check for your dominant eye: you straighten your arms and form a triangle with your thumbs and index fingers. Looking through the triangle, find an object at distance. Keep still, close one eye at a time. Your dominant eye will see the object, while the other eye will miss the object completely.

Deflection test: hit the cue ball on brown spot toward the black ball placed on black spot and produce a double kiss. Do this on a 12' tournament table. (This is the true test. You may do the same on a pool table with a pool stick and heavier pool balls, but, I think, the Bob Meucci test is just a gimmick!). The normal cue test - hitting the cue ball on brown spot sending it to the top cushson and run back to the brown spot - is not accurate because the nap of the table can counter your unintentional spin to produce a straight run back!

***Important assumption: you have your bridge, head, arm, and elbow all in a straight line, plus a straight forward follow-through. Use moderate strength at first. Increase your strength when your cueing action is confirmed.

Ref: pp20, SNOOKER - Know the Game, by Ken Williams, A&C Black London, 2nd ed, 2000.

[Sidd]

Well I am absolutely left-handed but I have to disagree with the fact that left-handed are better than right handed players. Its almost the same thing. gifted and blessed are those who can use both hands/arms I guess. I used to play cricket and used ot recieve such comments taht left handed are better batsmen and left-armed better bowlers. But really to me its all aobut devotion and hard work. I would simply say its a myth and nothing more. Nevertheless, I do admit there are a few exceptions maybe like in cricket if you are left arm bowler and bowl around the stumps like the legendary Wasim Akram of Paksitan did, you get an advantage that if you are attempting an out-swing all you need ot do is come wider to the wicket and keep your bowling wrist towards the second slip and what you get is a natural out swing. But then again it would be the same for right-handed bowlers coming over the stumps and attempting in swing However in snooker I cant really see an edge for being left-handed player.

Now for the scientific facts, which will confirm my point
As we know that we have two parts of the brain the left-side or hemsphere and the right one. What most people do not know is this that, quite amazingly, the left-side controls the right-side body and the right-side of the brain controls the left body side its the reverse. Secondly another fact is that playing or working with left hand does not neccessarily mean that you are left brained as well. Its an entirely different scenerio all together.

Left-side of the brain does logical, analytical and thought processing. those who are left-sided would be rather intellectuals or shall otherwise have something intellectual about them. Whereas those having the right brain side dominant shall be rather artistic, creative and fun loving. Those who are really good at sports are those who have a right brain side as their dominant one. I know this because I once did a test to know where do I fall and the results revealed that i use 60% left side and 40% right side so the conclusion is that my left side is dominant. But in the end it has got nothing to do with me being left-handed CHEERS!

[Monique]

"Les secrets de l’intelligence : Votre cerveau va vous surprendre" by Emile Servan-Schreiber and 10 other high profile scientists is a very good CD-Rom about the neuroscience and the way our brain functions. It's in French unfortunately and I don't know if it has been translated. It dates from 1996 but ... is still ... amazing.

[Rane]

I´m lefthanded as well. I don´t think there is any difference. But righthanded people are not used to play against lefthanded people, while I as lefthanded play righthanded all the time. For me the right side of the table (seen from top of the table) gives the most natural stance and less need for using the rest, while it´s different for the right sided (cant quite remember maybe opposite). I know that right handed people have tried to place me in akward positions thinking I couldn´t get a good stance for the shot, just to see me placed natural for it.

I´ve also noticed that some of the pros (John Higgins one of them I think) often seems to keep the white ball on the same half side if possible when on a break (seen from the black ball right hand side), where I would prefer to be on the other side.

[snookaman]

Thank you guys and gals, I may not have explained my point clearly. I'm refering to snooker only. In terms of other sports, I don't know. It is out of the scope.

My conclusion is: It is only statistically true that a left handed snooker player with left eye dominant should plays better, assuming skill level is the same. If a left handed player with right eye dominant, he loses the advantage. He will be just an average player same as those right handed players with left eye dominant.

I have updated my previous reply.

Thank you.

[Peer]

The reason I'm asking is that I've heard rumours say that lefthanded people in general are more gifted than righthanded? Anyone heard about this?

I dont know if theres been any scientific studies done on this - could be a good one for a students disertation.

Over the years there have been several studies and numerous research on left-handed vs right-handed people. Actually, as a kid I was a guinea pig for one of such study (after both teachers and parents were puzzled by my so-called irrational and often preposterous decisions — "Hey mommy, look, no hands!") Apparently I'm not just a left-hander, but I also sprouted a very lopsided right brain, which is supposedly a bad combination.

Although there are clearly differences between left and right handed people, nothing shows "lefties being smarter." Below is a link to some funny research that points to the existence of a so-called adventurous gene, and why they think left-handed "right-brainers" judge things differently in that regard:

http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~peer/humanResearch.html

-- peer

[poolqjunkie]

I think may be left haded people are more imaginative and creative in general? Is that right? Or is it just a myth?

Are all left handed people right brain dominant? I think most people would assume so but I am not sure if that is true.

Being a good player takes a lot of disclipline, dedication, committment, besides talent. A player could have the most talent the world has ever seen but without any committment, he will not go far.

It would be interesting to see if a player who is right brain dominant would be more or less inclined to work hard on his game, or is this attribute independent of the dominant brain?

I have noticed that most good snooker player I have spoken to are very analytical. They are good at figuring thing out by themselves, they pay attention to details and are very observant. Are these attributes of a person who is right brain dominant? I would be very interested to find out. I actaully think this is more about the logical ad rational aspect of the brain, which is controlled by the left brain.

Lastly, I think dominant eyes has nothing to do with this question. A player sch as Joe Davis could be left eye dominant and right handed and plays great; therefore, I dont see how a left hander with a domianat right eye cannot do the same. Besides, it is inconclusive whether a player needs to put his dominanat eye right on top of the cue in order to sight right. Even if he did need to, he can easily adjust his stance to accommodate for that, just as Joe Davis, Cliff Thorburn...and loads of other great players had.

[Peer]

I think may be left haded people are more imaginative and creative in general? Is that right? Or is it just a myth?

Well, here's a quote from the last paragraph of my piece:

Throughout history there have been in proportion more scientists, artists and musicians, who were left-handed. However, it should be mentioned that there have also been proportionally more "eccentric" left-handed leaders than right-handed ones — Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Fidel Castro, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Mahatma Gandhi, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John McCain, Barack Obama, George Bush (41), Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, Norman Schwarzkopf, George Patton, Jack the Ripper... to name a few. (Well, Jack the Ripper wasn't really a leader.)

-- peer

[LWB]

Thought a few of you guys might be interested in this link. I read the article a few months ago and it's quite relevant. The site itself is also brilliant for those with a bit of spare time who just love knowing stuff, enjoy.

http://people.howstuffworks.com/left-handed.htm

[ADR147]

just a thought - i remember reading somewhere once right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people? that could well be balls but i thinkit was in the times............

[Peer]

just a thought - i remember reading somewhere once right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people? that could well be balls but i thinkit was in the times............

Well, again I'll quote from my article:
Other differences between the left and right-handed include: In the future world of the 20th century, left-handers will be much more subject to serious accidents throughout their lives than right-handers. This may help bring about the fact that only around one percent of surviving 80 year olds will be left-handed — lefties hold their own mortality-wise with righties until around age 33, after which the tide turns decidedly against them. Left-handers will also seem more prone to immune system and neurological problems, as well as smoking, alcoholism, and certain types of cancer, thus lowering their overall life expectancy compared to right-handers.

-- peer

[ADR147]

umm - i would like to see some evidence of it though.

[LWB]

Here's a paragraph on the subject from Wikipedia.

A study[30] published in 1991 claimed that these statistics indicate that left-handed people's lifespans are shorter than those of their right-handed counterparts by as much as 9 years. The authors suggested that this may be the result of left-handed people being more likely to die in accidents as a result of their "affliction", which renders them clumsier and ill-equipped to survive in a right-handed world. Many subsequent studies have shown no evidence that left-handed people have reduced longevity compared to right-handed people[31][32][33][34][35

Here's a link for the whole thing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_ha...ss_in_language

[Peer]

umm - i would like to see some evidence of it though.

If you read my article, you'll see that it's comprised of published research with its sources disclosed -- hence, it shouldn't be too hard to find & check out those studies: http://ccrma.stanford.edu/~peer/humanResearch.html

-- peer

[ADR147]

i did read it. you can find studies for all sorts of conclusions. i would require data on age of deaths for left handers to believe it.

oh and i don't think margret thatcher is left handed?