Handedness Bias

post by beriukay · 2011-03-14T14:49:11.689Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 13 comments

Contents

13 comments

I just read a blog post on NeuroLogica Blog that could have been a LW post, so I figured that I would bring it on over. It basically details how knowing about our biases can help us correct for them, a la the lens that sees its flaws, and then brings to light a new study (unfortunately behind a paywall... I wanted to see the methodology) that shows that the simple act of wearing a glove on your dominant hand can influence how you perceive the world.

When I learned that Dexter and Sinister were Latin words for Right and Left, respectively, I was told that it came from shield formations, and how the person on your left was a leech for using your shield protection, and the one on your right was your protector. Now that explanation sounds a bit hollow.

13 comments

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comment by Normal_Anomaly · 2011-03-15T00:53:37.730Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I'm left-handed, and I very explicity associated goodness with the left side as a kid. I thought I was being contrarian.

Replies from: None
comment by [deleted] · 2011-03-15T01:26:29.002Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Same.

comment by [deleted] · 2011-03-14T23:44:04.298Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Here is a PDF download of the paper. (Found on the author's website.)

Replies from: beriukay
comment by beriukay · 2011-03-15T03:31:41.365Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Thank you. I didn't think of that.

comment by lucidfox · 2011-03-14T16:03:40.459Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

As a left-handed person, I can definitely confirm I've encountered handedness bias plenty of times in my life.

Just like with other "defaults" in things like race and sexual orientation, right-handed people typically don't think of themselves as having a certain handedness until it's explicitly pointed out.

Replies from: Clippy
comment by Clippy · 2011-03-14T19:55:41.218Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Try being a paperclip collector for a day...

Replies from: Larks, MartinB
comment by Larks · 2011-03-14T22:17:52.680Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Not going to fall for that one!

comment by MartinB · 2011-03-15T16:35:43.589Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Is there handedness for paperclips?

Replies from: Clippy
comment by Clippy · 2011-03-15T22:32:58.368Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

No. A paperclip's spiral direction can be inverted by rotating it to the other side.

comment by Marius · 2011-03-15T15:47:02.425Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

I had been under the impression that the associations went the other way - that the Latin Dexter came from the Indo-European as did the Latin Sinestra. From those, we derived the association of the right hand with dexterity (so a person with 2 right hands is ambidextrous whereas a person with 2 left feet is clumsy) and the sneaky connotations of "sinister" (as you watch the person's right hand to ensure he will not attack you; a sinister person might stab with the left hand by surprise).

comment by jmmcd · 2011-03-14T16:46:14.799Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

a new study (unfortunately behind a paywall... I wanted to see the methodology)

PM me for a copy of the article.

comment by Eugine_Nier · 2011-03-14T22:18:22.067Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

When I learned that Dexter and Sinister were greek words for Right and Left, respectively,

I believe you mean Latin words.

was told that it came from shield formations, and how the person on your left was a leech for using your shield protection, and the one on your right was your protector.

I was told it had to do with the left side being considered unlucky when performing auguries.

Replies from: beriukay
comment by beriukay · 2011-03-15T04:04:43.151Z · LW(p) · GW(p)

Corrected. Thanks.