Right Hand, Left Hand

Right Hand, Left Hand PDF Author: I. C. McManus
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674016132
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
McManus considers evidence from anthropology, particle physics, the history of medicine, and the notebooks of Leonardo to answer questions like: Why are most people right-handed? Why does European writing go from left to right, while Arabic and Hebrew go from right to left? And how do we know that Jack the Ripper was left-handed?

Right Hand, Left Hand

Right Hand, Left Hand PDF Author: I. C. McManus
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674016132
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
McManus considers evidence from anthropology, particle physics, the history of medicine, and the notebooks of Leonardo to answer questions like: Why are most people right-handed? Why does European writing go from left to right, while Arabic and Hebrew go from right to left? And how do we know that Jack the Ripper was left-handed?

Right Hand, Left Hand

Right Hand, Left Hand PDF Author: Chris McManus
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 1780226713
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
Winner of the Aventis Science Book Prize. 'A scientific detective story, a brilliant cross between Edgar Allan Poe and Gray's anatomy' J G Ballard, New Stateman Books of the Year 'Fascinating' New Scientist 'Wonderful' Nature - What is the connection between Paul McCartney, Leonardo Da Vinci and Babe Ruth? - Why are parrots and peacocks left-footed? - Do left-handers behave differently from right-handers? - Why are most people right-handed? - Why are all muppets left-handed? - Why is the heart on the left-hand side of the body? - Why is each side of the human brain so different? RIGHT HAND, LEFT HAND uses sources as diverse as the paintings of Rembrandt and the sculpture of Michelangelo, the behaviour of Canadian cichlid fish and the story of early cartography. Modern cognitive science, the history of the Wimbledon tennis championship and the biographies of great musicians are also used to explain the vast repertoire of 'left-right' symbolism that permeates our everyday lives.

The Puzzle of Left-handedness

The Puzzle of Left-handedness PDF Author: Rik Smits
Publisher: Reaktion Books
ISBN: 1861899742
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama have both signed bills into law with their left hands. And being left-handed certainly did not hold back the artistic achievements of Michelangelo or Raphael. And the dexterous guitar playing of Jimmi Hendrix may only have been aided by his southpaw tendencies. Left-handedness, in fact, would appear to be no big deal. Yet throughout history, it has been associated with clumsiness and generally dubious personality traits like untrustworthiness and insincerity. Even the Latin word for left, sinister, has ominous connotations. In The Puzzle of Left-handedness, Rik Smits uncovers why history has been so unkind to our lefthanded forebears. He carefully puts together the pieces of the puzzle, presenting an array of historical anecdotes, strange superstitions, and weird wives’ tales. Smits explains how left-handedness continues to be associated with maladies of all kinds, including mental retardation, alcoholism, asthma, hay fever, cancer, diabetes, insomnia, depression, and criminality. Even in the enlightened twenty-first century, left-handedness still meets with opposition—including from one prominent psychologist who equates it with infantile negativism, similar to a toddler’s refusal to eat what’s on his plate, and another who claims that left-handed people have average lifespans that are nine years shorter than those who favor the right hand. As Smits reminds us, such speculation is backed by little factual evidence, and the arguments presented by proponents of right-handedness tend to be humorously absurd. The Puzzle of Left-handedness is an enlightening, engaging, and entertaining odyssey through the puzzles and paradoxes, theories and myths, of left-handed lore. Chock full of facts and fiction, it’s a book to be read with both hands.

On the Other Hand

On the Other Hand PDF Author: Howard I. Kushner
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421423340
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Does being left-handed make a person different in any way that matters? Since the late Stone Age, approximately 10 percent of humans have been left-handed, yet for most of human history left-handedness has been stigmatized. In On the Other Hand, Howard I. Kushner traces the impact of left-handedness on human cognition, behavior, culture, and health. A left-hander himself, Kushner has long been interested in the meanings associated with left-handedness, and ultimately with whether hand preference can even be defined in a significant way. As he explores the medical and cultural history of left-handedness, Kushner describes the associated taboos, rituals, and stigma from around the globe. The words “left” and “left hand” have negative connotations in all languages, and left-handers have even historically been viewed as disabled. In this comprehensive history of left-handedness, Kushner asks why left-handedness exists. He examines the relationship—if any—between handedness, linguistics, and learning disabilities, reveals how toleration of left-handedness serves as a barometer of wider cultural toleration and permissiveness, and wonders why the reported number of left-handers is significantly lower in Asia and Africa than in the West. Written in a lively style that mixes personal biography with scholarly research, On the Other Hand tells a comprehensive story about the science, traditions, and prejudices surrounding left-handedness.

Left Hand, Right Hand

Left Hand, Right Hand PDF Author: Janet Allison Brown
Publisher: B.E.S. Publishing
ISBN: 9780764165177
Category : Board books
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Describes for young readers left and right hands and what they can do. Includes activities.

Handedness and Brain Asymmetry

Handedness and Brain Asymmetry PDF Author: Marian Annett
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1134950748
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
Brain asymmetry for speech is moderately related to handedness but what are the rules? Are symmetries for hand and brain associated with characteristics such as intelligence, motor skill, spatial reasoning or skill at sports? In this follow up to the influential Left, Right Hand and Brain (1985) Marian Annett draws on a working lifetime of research to help provide answers to crucial questions. Central to her argument is the Right Shift Theory - her original and innovative contribution to the field that seeks to explain the relationships between left-and right-handedness and left-and right-brain specialisation. The theory proposes that handedness in humans and our non-human primate relations depends on chance but that chance is weighted towards right-handedness in most people by an agent of right-hemisphere disadvantage. It argues for the existence of a single gene for right shift (RS+) that evolved in humans to aid the growth of speech in the left hemisphere of the brain. The Right Shift Theory has possible implications for a wide range of questions about human abilities and disabilities, including verbal and non verbal intelligence, educational progress and dyslexia, spatial reasoning, sporting skills and mental illness. It continues to be at the cutting edge of research, solving problems and generating new avenues of investigation - most recently the surprising idea that a mutant RS+ gene might be involved in the causes of schizophrenia and autism. Handedness and Brain Asymmetry will make fascinating reading for students and researchers in psychology and neurology, educationalists, and anyone with a keen interest in why people have different talents and weaknesses.

Loving Lefties

Loving Lefties PDF Author: Jane M. Healey
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743419065
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
For a left-handed child in a right-friendly world, tasks that should come easily can seem confusing and frustrating. Parents of the more than 400,000 lefties born annually in the United States have had no resource that deals seriously with the learning difficulties their children face -- until now. Loving Lefties is the first ever guide to address all the issues pertinent to left-handedness: the biology, the physiology, and the psychological and practical effects of being a left-handed child. An essential aid for parents, teachers, and professionals, it covers the history and mythology of the left-handed brain, and offers sound advice on: • recognizing left-handedness in a child • making your child's home and school lefty-friendly • giving your child appropriate direction and encouragement • identifying the advantages of being left-handed • helping your child learn the skills his right-handed parents, instructors, and siblings consider basic. Filled with resource lists, guidelines, quick tips, answers to frequently asked questions, case studies, and anecdotes, Loving Lefties is the essential guide for raising a happy, healthy southpaw.

The Throwing Madonna

The Throwing Madonna PDF Author: William H. Calvin
Publisher: William H. Calvin
ISBN: 0982916779
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
A group of 17 essays: The Throwing Madonna; The Lovable Cat: Mimicry Strikes Again; Woman the Toolmaker? Did Throwing Stones Lead to Bigger Brains? The Ratchets of Social Evolution; The Computer as Metaphor in Neurobiology; Last Year in Jerusalem; Computing Without Nerve Impulses; Aplysia, the Hare of the Ocean; Left Brain, Right Brain: Science or the New Phrenology? What to Do About Tic Douloureux; Linguistics and the Brain's Buffer; The Woodrow Wilson Story; Thinking Clearly About Schizophrenia; Of Cancer Pain, Magic Bullets, and Humor; Linguistics and the Brain's Buffer; Probing Language Cortex: The Second Wave; and The Creation Myth, Updated: A Scenario for Humankind.

Cerebral Lateralization and Cognition: Evolutionary and Developmental Investigations of Behavioral Biases

Cerebral Lateralization and Cognition: Evolutionary and Developmental Investigations of Behavioral Biases PDF Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128146729
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description
Cerebral Lateralization and Cognition: Evolutionary and Developmental Investigations of Motor Biases, Volume 238, the latest release in the Progress in Brain Research series, discusses interdisciplinary research on the influence of cerebral lateralization on cognition within an evolutionary framework. Chapters of note in this release include Evolutionary Perspectives: Visual/Motor Biases and Cognition, Manual laterality and cognition through evolution: An archeological perspective, Laterality in insects, Motor asymmetries in fish, amphibians and reptiles, Visual biases and social cognition in animals, Mother and offspring lateralized social interaction across animal species, Manual bias, personality and cognition in common marmosets and other primates, and more. - Presents investigations of cognitive development in an evolutionary framework - Provides a better understanding of the causal relationship between motor function and brain organization - Brings clinicians and neuroscientists together to consider the relevance of motor biases as behavioral biomarkers of cognitive disorders - Includes future possibilities for early detection and motor intervention therapies

DNA Structure and Function

DNA Structure and Function PDF Author: Richard R. Sinden
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080571735
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 423

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Book Description
DNA Structure and Function, a timely and comprehensive resource, is intended for any student or scientist interested in DNA structure and its biological implications. The book provides a simple yet comprehensive introduction to nearly all aspects of DNA structure. It also explains current ideas on the biological significance of classic and alternative DNA conformations. Suitable for graduate courses on DNA structure and nucleic acids, the text is also excellent supplemental reading for courses in general biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics. - Explains basic DNA Structure and function clearly and simply - Contains up-to-date coverage of cruciforms, Z-DNA, triplex DNA, and other DNA conformations - Discusses DNA-protein interactions, chromosomal organization, and biological implications of structure - Highlights key experiments and ideas within boxed sections - Illustrated with 150 diagrams and figures that convey structural and experimental concepts