Daf Ditty Shabbes 103 Rt/Lt Writing

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 f. (‫ )ָכַּתב‬1) writing. Sabb. 104ᵇ ‫כ׳ היא אלא וכ׳‬it is a writing, and what is
‫ְכִּתיָבה‬

needed to make it one word is bringing the two ends of the papers close
together. Men. 34ᵃ ‫כ׳ הנוהגת לדורות‬a mode of writing used at all times (not
stone inscriptions). Sabb. 103ᵃ ‫אין דרך כ׳ בכך‬this (using the left hand) is
not the way of writing. Ib.ᵇ (ref. to ‫ם‬V‫ת‬V‫ב‬V‫ת‬V‫כ‬V‫ו‬, Deut. VI, 9) ‫מה‬V‫ת‬V ‫בה‬V‫תי‬V‫כ‬V ‫שתהא‬
that the writing must be perfect. Ib. 105ᵃ (expl. ‫י‬V ‫כ‬V‫נ‬V ‫א‬V, Ex. XX, 2, v. ‫)ָא ֹנִכי‬
‫יהיבה‬V '‫כ‬V ‫נעימה‬V ‫אמירה‬Va sweet proclamation, a writing, a gift; Yalk. Gen. 81.
Gitt. 17ᵇ ‫משעת כ׳ ועד וכ׳‬from the time the letter of divorce was written to
the time of its delivery. Ib. 45ᵇ (ref. to Deut. VI, 8—9) ‫כל שישנו בקשירה‬
‫ישנו בכ׳‬only he who is under the obligation of binding (the T’fillin on his
arm), is fit for writing (the scrolls of the Law &c.). Keth. 102ᵇ ‫וקרי ליה‬
‫לאמירה כ׳‬and is ‘saying’ (verbal declaration) called ‘writing’
(consignment)?; a. fr. —2) the word ‫כתב‬in Biblical texts. Ber. 16ᵃ ‫בין כ׳‬
‫לכ׳ וכ׳‬if a person in reading the Sh’ma is in doubt as to whether he is at
‫(וכתבתם‬of Deut. VI, 9) or at ‫(וכתבתם‬of ib. XI, 20), he must go back to the
first ‫ ;וכתבתם‬Y. ib. II, 5ᵃ ‫( כתיבת‬corr. acc.).
Jastrow

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GEMARA: The Gemara questions the beginning of the mishna: Granted, for writing with
the right hand let one be liable, as that is the typical manner of writing. However, for writing
with the left hand, why is one liable? That is not the typical manner of writing. Rabbi Yirmeya
said: When the mishna taught that one who writes with his left hand is liable, they taught it with
regard to one who is left-handed. The Gemara asks: And if so, let his left hand have the same
legal status as everyone’s right hand; for writing with his left hand, let him be liable, for writing
with his right hand, let him not be liable. Rather, Abaye said: This mishna refers to an
ambidextrous person, who is liable for writing with either hand.

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Abaye explains: The Mishnah which holds a person liable for writing with either
hand refers to an ambidextrous person. R’ Yaakov the son of the daughter of Yaakov
explains:

The Mishnah reflects the opinion of R’ Yosi who maintains that liability for writing
is because it makes a mark, which the left hand can do the same as the right.

The implication of R’ Yehudah’s view in the Mishnah concerning writing a short

name that is part of a long name is inconsistent with his opinion quoted in a Baraisa.
The Gemara answers:

The Mishnah reflects R’ Yehudah’s opinion whereas the Baraisa is the opinion of
his Rebbi, R’ Gamliel.

RAMBAM
‫ ְוִאם ָכַּתב‬.‫ ִאֵטּר ֶשָׁכַּתב ִבּיִמינוֹ ֶשִׁהיא לוֹ ִכְּשׂמ ֹאל ָכּל ָאָדם ָפּטוּר‬.‫ַהכּוֵֹתב ִבְּשׂמ ֹאלוֹ אוֹ ְלַאַחר ָידוֹ ְבַּרְגלוֹ ְבִּפיו וְּבַמ ְרֵפּקוֹ ָפּטוּר‬
‫ ָקָטן אוֵֹחז ְבֻּקְלמוֹס ְוָגדוֹל אוֵֹחז ְבָּידוֹ ְוכוֵֹתב‬.‫ ְוַהשּׁוֵֹלט ִבְּשֵׁתּי ָיָדיו ְבָּשֶׁוה ְוָכַתב ֵבּין ִבּיִמינוֹ ֵבּין ִבְּשׂמ ֹאלוֹ ַחָיּב‬.‫ִבְּשׂמ ֹאלוֹ ַחָיּב‬
‫ ָגּדוֹל אוֵֹחז ְבֻּקְלמוֹס ְוָקָטן אוֵֹחז ְבָּידוֹ ְוכוֵֹתב ָפּטוּר‬.‫ַחָיּב‬:

One who writes with his left [hand], with the back of his hand, with his foot or with his elbow is
exempt. A left-hander who write with his right is exempt – for it is like the left of [most people].
But if he wrote with his left, he is liable. However one who is fully ambidextrous and wrote –
whether with his right or with his left – is liable. [If] a child holds a quill and an adult holds his
hand and he writes, [the adult] is liable. [If] an adult holds a quill and a child holds his hand and
he writes, [the adult] is exempt.
Sefer Zemanim, Hilkhot Shabbat 11:9–10

In the Gemara a baraita is quoted that continues presenting Rabbi Yose’s position, explaining that:
Therefore, one who made a single scratch on two boards, or two scratches on a single board, is
liable.

In the Jerusalem Talmud there is an extended discussion of this topic where it is explained that
these marks were made to indicate the designated place of each beam in the Tabernacle. Even
though all the beams were of equal size, it was not appropriate to align them randomly. It is also
explained there that according to Rabbi Yose they would draw diagonal lines on the two beams,
which were aligned when the beams were placed together.

According to the Rambam, the halakhic difference between writing and marking is a technical
one – Rabbi Yose enumerates marking as an independent primary category of labor, and says that
one who makes two marks is liable for violating a primary category of labor.

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Others explain that if the prohibition itself is marking, then one would be liable even when no
actual letters are written (Me’iri).

As far as halakha is concerned, basing himself on the Mishna the Rambam rules that one who
writes two letters on Shabbat is liable whether they are two different letters, or the same letter
written twice intentionally, or two letters written in any language or script, or written in two
different types of ink or paint (Sefer Zemanim, Hilkhot Shabbat 11:9–10).

One who creates two marks, shapes or signs on Shabbat is liable for writing even if the characters
are not letters (Hilkhot Shabbat 11:17).1

In our Mishnah, the act of writing is defined.

First, since there are no Hebrew words of a single letter, writing is restricted to the production of
at least two characters.

Next the Mishnah states that writing is defined as such whether it is produced with the right or the
left hand. Here the Talmud objects: If a right-handed person writes with his left hand, this is not
the conventional manner of writing!

Rabbi Yermiah resolves the problem by reading the Mishnah closely: one has performed the
prohibited act of writing whether writing (in an ongoing way) with the left or right hand.

A left-handed person, though a minority, still remains a full member of human and Jewish society,
so that person's act of writing is still conventionally held to be an act of writing. Though they
behave differently when they pick up the pen, they are expected to grasp the Torah just as tightly
as those who hold it in their right hands.2

WRITING TWO MEANINGFUL LETTERS ON SHABBOS3

‫ ְדַּתָנּא ַקָמּא ָסַבר ָאֶל״ף ָאֶל״ף‬,‫״ ִאיָכּא ֵבּיַנ ְייהוּ‬h‫ַרִבּי ִשְׁמעוֹן ַה ְיינוּ ַתָּנּא ַקָמּא? ְוִכי ֵתּיָמא ָאֶל״ף ָאֶל״ף ַדּ״ֲאַאֶזּ ְר‬
‫ ְלֵמיְמ ָרא ְדּ ַרִבּי ִשְׁמעוֹן ְלחוְּמ ָרא‬,‫ ְו ַרִבּי ִשְׁמעוֹן ָסַבר ֵכּיָון ְדִּאיֵתיהּ ִבְּגָלטוֹ ֵרי ְבָּﬠְלָמא — ַחָיּיב‬,‫״ ָלא ִמיַחַיּיב‬h‫?ַדּ״ֲאַאֶזּ ְר‬

The Gemara asks: The opinion of Rabbi Shimon in the baraita is identical to the opinion of the
first tanna. And if you say that there is a practical difference between their opinions in the case of
the letters alef alef in a word such as

‫ זוָּלִתי ֵאין‬,‫ה ֲא ִני ְיהָוה ְוֵאין עוֹד‬ 5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, beside Me there is no
.‫ ְול ֹא ְיַדְﬠָתּ ִני‬,Ž‫ֱא‹ִהים; ֲאַאֶזּ ְר‬ God; I h have girded thee, though thou hast not known Me;

1
https://www.steinsaltz-center.org/home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68446
2
Marcus Schwartz http://www.jtsa.edu/babylonian-talmud-shabbat-103a
3
Rabbi Kornfeld, daf Yomi Advancement

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a’azerkha (Isaiah 45:5), in that the first tanna holds that if one wrote the letters alef alef of the
word a’azerkha he is not liable because the two letters do not spell a complete word, and Rabbi
Shimon holds that since that combination of letters appears in standard amulets [gelatorei] he is
liable because this writing is considered to be enduring; is that to say that the opinion of Rabbi
Shimon tends to stringency in this matter?

Gemara seems to conclude that in order to be Chayav for writing two letters on Shabbos, one must
write two letters that spell out a word.

If a person writes only two Alefs (from the word "A'azarcha"), he is not Chayav, because two Alefs
do not comprise a word.

When the Mishnah earlier (103a) states that one who writes two letters is Chayav, Rashi explains,
"For example, two Alefs." Why does Rashi explain that the Mishnah there refers to two letters
that do not comprise a word? Rashi should explain that it refers to two letters like "Gimel Gimel"
that make a word ("Gag," roof)!

TOSFOS REBBI AKIVA EIGER (on the Mishnayos)

The RASHASH explains that one Amora in the Gemara maintains that when the Mishnah says
that one is Chayav for writing with either his right hand or his left hand, the Mishnah follows
the opinion of Rebbi Yosi, who says that any two recognizable marks constitute "writing" (even if
the marks are not letters, and certainly even if they do not spell out a word). Rashi explains the
Mishnah earlier based on this interpretation of the Mishnah, and that is why he says that one would
be Chayav for writing two Alefs.

REBBI AKIVA EIGER answers that perhaps Rashi infers that when the Mishnah says that one
is Chayav for writing "two letters," it implies any two letters, and they do not need to spell out a
word. Rashi understands that the Mishnah teaches a new opinion, unparalleled in the Beraisa which
the Gemara later cites.

RASHASH and the BI'UR HALACHAH (OC 340) suggest another answer. Although the
Tana'im maintain that one must write an actual word in order to be Chayav, their opinion applies
only when one initially intended to write a complete word and ended up writing only two letters.
Since there must be some similarity between what one intended to do and what he actually did
(and he initially intended to write a complete word), the two letters that he writes must also be a
complete word. However, when one's initial intention was to write only two letters, he is Chayav
even though they do not spell out any word.

The biblical citation from Isa 45 as an example of 2 alephs is used by the Zoahr to elucidate the
right vs left in cosmic mythological terms:4

4
We find in several places in the Torah that the right hand (as well as the right side in general) is considered the more prestigious
one. For example, at the end of the book of Genesis,1 we find that Jacob insisted on placing his right hand on the head
of Ephraim while blessing him because of his tribe's future greatness. In fact, we are instructed to use our right hand (or right side)
for many religious rituals.

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Left Vs. Right , a deeper look
In current political jargon, “left” and “right” are common concepts. Most of us would think that
these terms were initiated at the time of the French Revolution. But, right and left are fundamental
concepts in Kabbalistic wisdom. Scientifically, left and right are irreversible. In general, just as
the human body is divided between left and right, the entire system of the sefirot is based on the
left-right axis.
The Zohar teaches us that Moses belongs to the right. Korach was a leftist.

The highest right-left pair of sefirot are chochmah (the sefirah of wisdom) on the right
and binah (the sefirah of understanding), its counterpart on the left. In the human body, they
correspond to the right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Chochmah receives the initial flash of insight in the mind. It deals with abstract ideas and
principles that are difficult to grasp in reality.

In contrast, binah (the sefirah of understanding) develops ideas into detailed descriptions that can
be envisioned in the mind’s eye and eventually put into practice. Whereas the right is concerned
with lofty principles, the left deals more with activation from below.

Zohar 2:158a:5
‫ ְוָדא ִאיהוּ ָרָזא‬, (‫ה׳‬:‫ יוֹ''ד ֵה''י )ישעיהו מ״ה‬,‫ֲא ִני ִראשׁוֹן ַוֲא ִני ַאֲחרוֹן וִּמַבְּלָﬠַדי ֵאין ֱא‹ִהים ְדִּאְת ְרִמיז ְבַּהאי ְשָׁמא‬
‫ ָבַּתר‬,‫ ְוַאף ַﬠל ַגּב ְדִּמְסְט ָרא ְדָּאת י' ִאיִהי ְבּ ִריָשׁא‬.‫ ִמִסְּט ָרא ִדְּשָׂמאָלא‬,‫שִׁלּיט ה' ַﬠל י' נוְּקָבּא ִאיהוּ‬
ַ ‫שׁם ְדּ‬ֵ ‫ָוי''ו ֵה''י ְוָכל‬
‫ ְתּחוֹת‬,‫ ֶאָלּא י' ַﬠל ה' )נ''א ו'( ָתָּגא‬.‫ ְונוְּקָבּא ִאיִהי‬,‫ ִאְתָּדּן ְלרוֹב‬,‫ ְכַּג ְווָנא ָדּא ֵה''י ֵה''י‬,‫ְדִּבְת ֵרין ֵהִהי''ן ִאיִהי ְבּסוָֹפא‬
‫'ה‬,

In the geometrical metaphor frequently utilized by the Kabbalists, Binah is symbolized as a "circle"
which represents the beginning of substantial existence.

In contrast to Chochmah, which the Kabbalists symbolized with the non-dimensional point of the
Hebrew letter yud, Binah is symbolized by the letter "heh," which has dimensions of length and
width and which, according to the Kabbalists represent the "dimensions" of explanation,
understanding, and manifestation.

According to the Zohar it is in Binah that existence is first separated and differentiated. It is in
Binah that the sketches and engravings of Chochmah first take on a permanent, subsistent reality.5

5
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24460919.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A6eba4554554e7f100d8882f7003a5580

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However the sefira of Bina and nukba represent the left side and, depending upon the permutation
of the Tetragrammaton as it influences the lower sefirot the right vs left gets aroused. This then
causes either din or rachamim to be manifest in the world.

In Kabbalah, in addition to the right and the left, there is a middle axis. This axis is the most
significant of all. One of the most important qualities of the central axis is peace. Peace balances
the tendencies towards right and left in a harmonious blend. “Peace” (‫ )ָשׁלוֹם‬means “wholeness”
(‫)ָשֵׁלם‬. 6

The Right (and Left) Way

We are instructed to use our right hand (or right side) for many religious rituals

We find in several places in the Torah that the right hand (as well as the right side in general) is
considered the more prestigious one. For example, at the end of the book of Genesis,1 we find
that Jacob insisted on placing his right hand on the head of Ephraim while blessing him because

6
https://www.inner.org/parshah/numbers-bamidbar/korach/left-right-left

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of his tribe's future greatness. In fact, we are instructed to use our right hand (or right side) for
many religious rituals. Several examples:

1. When purifying the metzora (a person with a skin ailment described in Leviticus),
the kohen puts a mixture of oil and sacrificial blood on his right thumb and big toe.
2. The mezuzah is affixed on the right side of the doorway.
3. A scribe must write Torah Scrolls and other holy writings with his right hand.
4. We cover our eyes with our right hand when saying the Shema (in order to enhance
concentration).
5. When washing hands upon arising or before eating bread, we start with the right hand.
6. We hold the kiddush cup in the right hand.
7. When blowing the shofar, we hold the horn to the right side of the mouth.
8. Some have a custom to clasp their hands while praying the Amidah (as a sign of
supplication)—the right hand over the left.
9. When holding a Torah Scroll, we hold it on our right side (over the right shoulder).
10. When the chazzan (prayer leader) goes from the front area of the synagogue to
the bimah (reading table), or vice versa, he takes the path to his right.
11. While saying a blessing on a food or mitzvah, we hold the item in the right hand.
12. During the chalitzah ceremony, the shoe is removed from the right foot of the brother of
the deceased husband,13 with the widow using her right hand to do so.
13. When the priests turn towards the community to issue the Priestly Blessing, and then
when they turn back to face the Ark after the blessing, they turn towards their right.
14. When serving in the Holy Temple, a kohen uses his right hand while performing any
service.7

The Me'iri 8explains that the right side represents the side of good, and by giving it precedence
we remind ourselves to follow the right path.

Kabbalistically, the right side represents the side of chesed (kindness), which is supposed to
prevail over the left side, which represents gevurah (discipline).

Exceptions

There are various exceptions to this rule. Some of them:

1. We put tefillin on our left arm. (See below for more information regarding this.)
2. Since in regards to tying the tefillin, the Torah gives importance to the left side, our sages
said that when tying our shoes (or any other set of garments that need to be tied), we tie
the left first.
3. When cutting the nails, we start with the left hand.
4. Men hold their tzitzit in their left hands when reciting the Shema in the morning, in order
that the fringes should be against the heart.

7
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1097194/jewish/The-Right-and-Left-Way.htm
8
Shabbat 61a

9
 5. When taking three steps back after completing the Amidah, we begin with the left foot (to
indicate that it is difficult for us to depart from the presence of G-d).27 Then, after taking
the steps back, we first bow to the left (the right side of the Divine Presence whom we are
facing), and then to the right.
6. When putting down one's head for tachanun (the supplicatory prayers after the Amidah)
of the afternoon service, we rest our head on the left arm. This in order to honor the
Divine Presence which is on our right side. In the morning, when praying with tefillin, we
rest our head on the arm that is not garbed with tefillin.
7. We lean to the left at the Seder table, in order to free the right hand with which we eat. In
addition it is considered dangerous (for health reasons) to lean to the right side.
8. When kindling the Chanukah menorah we begin with the left-most candle and procede to
the right.

Tefillin

We use the right hand to tie the tefillin on the left arm.

We don tefillin on the left arm because of the extra letter "hei" at the end of the word "yadchah"
("your arm") in Exodus,32 when discussing the mitzvah of tying tefillin on the arm.

‫ יז( רבי יוסי החורם אומר מצינו ימין שנקרא יד שנאמר‬,‫וירא יוסף כי ישית אביו יד ימינו ואידך )בראשית מח‬
‫יד ימינו איקרי יד סתמא לא איקרי‬

Rabbi Yosei HaḤorem says: This is no proof, as we have found that the right hand is also called
yad, as it is stated: “And when Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand [yad yemino]”
(Genesis 48:17). The Gemara asks: And the other tanna, who maintains that the right hand is not
called yad, how does he respond to this proof? He maintains that the right hand is called “his right
hand [yad yemino],” but it is not called a yad without further specification.

‫ ח( ר' נתן אומר אינו צריך הרי הוא אומר‬,‫וקשרתם וכתבתם מה כתיבה בימין אף קשירה בימין וכיון )דברים ו‬
‫דקשירה בימין הנחה בשמאל היא ור' יוסי החורם הנחה דבשמאל מנא ליה נפקא ליה מהיכא דנפקא ליה לר' נתן‬

Rabbi Natan says: This proof is not necessary, as it says: “And you shall bind them for a sign upon
your arm” (Deuteronomy 6:8), and then it states: “And you shall write them upon the doorposts of
your house” (Deuteronomy 6:9). This teaches that just as writing is with the right hand, as most
people write with their right hands, so too, the binding of phylacteries must be performed with the
right hand. And since binding is with the right hand, this means that donning is on the left arm, as
one cannot bind the phylacteries with the same hand upon which he is donning them. The Gemara
asks: And from where does Rabbi Yosei HaḤorem, who holds that the right hand is also called
yad in the Torah, derive that donning phylacteries is on the left arm? The Gemara answers: He
derives it from where Rabbi Natan derives it.

The Talmud therefore reads this word as "yad keiheh"—"the weaker arm."

10
Other opinions in the Talmud learn this law from the juxtaposition of the command to write
the mezuzah near the mitzvah of tefillin, teaching us that the hand used for writing is the hand
that should be used to tie the tefillin. This means that we use the right hand to tie the tefillin on
the left.

Several reasons are suggested as to why the left arm is chosen for tefillin:
1. Because the right arm is generally used for mundane tasks, the left arm is chosen for this
mitzvah.
2. The right (more dexterous) arm is suitable to bind the tefillin on the left arm.
3. One of the reasons for tefillin is to recall the Exodus,37 and we bind the tefillin on the arm
to recall "G-d's strong arm" that He used to punish the Egyptians. The "strong (punishing)
arm" is G-d's left one.
4. The tefillin help us subjugate our hearts (and minds) to G-d. As such, it's appropriate that
they be placed on the left side—opposite the heart.
5. The right side represents physical strength. The left side represents intellectual
achievement (as signified by the fact that the heart is on the left side). We place
the tefillin on the left side to indicate that we are trying to overcome our physical desires
through our intellectual understanding (of G-d).
6. We put the tefillin on the weaker side to teach us that we have no power to accomplish
anything on our own; whatever we achieve is only with the strength given to us by G-d.

Tefillin for a Left-Handed or Ambidextrous Person

The Talmud says that a left-handed person puts the tefillin on his weaker arm, i.e., his right arm.

An ambidextrous person puts tefillin on his left arm. If he uses his right arm for writing and he
does everything else with his left arm, or vice versa, there's disagreement between various
halachic authorities regarding the correct arm for putting on tefillin.

In practice, in the first case one wears the tefillin on the left arm; whereas in the second case, one
puts them on the right arm.

11
The Neurology of Lefties

Until the second half of the 20th century, it wasn’t uncommon to hear about parents and teachers
coaxing lefties into using their right hand for daily tasks including writing, eating, and teeth-
brushing. In most parts of the world, that’s no longer a standard practice—but certain myths about
left-handedness persist. The truth is that left-handedness is much more than a trivial paw
preference: It may be a useful lens through which to examine brain development.
About One in Ten.

Patricia Cowell, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Sheffield in the United
Kingdom, stresses that though left-handedness is referred to as “atypical” from time to time,
there’s no need for concern.

“It’s lower prevalence. It’s not an anomaly; it’s not anything negative as such. It’s just different
from the majority,” Cowell said. “I think the thing that’s really important is that it is a very
constant biological variation within normal development.”

Cowell studies handedness and brain lateralization: how different abilities like language or visual
processing are organized within the brain. “If someone is left-handed, their brain organization is
going to be different than someone [who] is right-handed,” Cowell said.

Before the era of the laptop-filled lecture hall, Cowell would sit at the front of the room and count
the number of lefties in her classes while students completed five-minute thought experiments.
Although the small sample size caused some variation from class to class, around 1 in 10 students
were left-handed. This distribution is present in the general population as well—it is thought that
around 10% of people around the world are left-handed.
“It’s pretty stable,” Cowell said. “You need a fairly big group of people to get a consistent number,
but I think that you can always find a few in a big group.”

And there’s some evidence that the distribution of handedness has lasted for thousands of years,
with right-handers in the strong majority and left-handers comprising a mere fraction. To study
examples of handedness in history, French researchers examined Western European cave artwork

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dating back 10,000 to 30,000 years. Ancient artists would hold their non-dominant hands against
a rock wall and use their dominant hand to blow colored dust onto it using a blowing tube, creating
a negative image of their hand on the rock. The distributions of handedness found in cave art is
consistent with what we see today.

Other species have demonstrated handedness, as well. Roel Willems is a senior researcher at the
Centre for Language Studies and the Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour in
Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

“Other animals also tend to have a handedness preference,” Willems said. “[But] there is no other
species [other than humans] that seems at the population level to be so strongly biased.”
So far, research hasn’t revealed why the distribution of handedness has stood the test of time. It’s
all “one big mystery,” according to Willems.

But that could change. Scientists like Willems and Cowell are working to understand lefties’
unique brain structure—and what that could potentially tell us about brain organization and our
evolution as a species.

All in the Head

Handedness is sometimes obvious, and it’s closely tied to our ability to perform complex tasks
every day. But to truly study handedness, researchers have to look to the brain.

For example, development across the brain’s motor cortex—the part of the brain responsible for
voluntary movement—varies in relation to handedness. To study the motor cortex, researchers
often look at how much oxygen is being consumed in parts of the brain during tasks via fMRI, or
through a different technique that assesses connections within the nervous system called
transcranial magnetic simulation (TMS). Using these techniques, researchers have identified
connections between cortex development and handedness.

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“The left part of the motor cortex is more developed in right-handers than the right part of their
motor cortex,” Willems said. “This imbalance we also find in left-handers. So, in left-handers, the
right part of the motor cortex is better developed. But, the imbalance is much less strong.”

If motor cortex development differs based on handedness, then what would happen if a person
suddenly lost the ability to use his or her dominant hand? In that case, it turns out lefties might
have an advantage.

“A typical phenomenon that you see with left-handers is that they are much more capable of doing
stuff with their non-preferred hands,” William said. “When you break [the dominant] arm, you
have to brush your teeth with your non-preferred hand. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried it, but
that’s painful. Left handers have the advantage—if they break their left arm, it’s less painful if they
have to [brush] with their right arm than for right-handers [brushing with their left arm].”

Beyond movement, other brain functions like the ability to recognize faces are also tied to
handedness and brain organization. While it was thought that face recognition was strongly right-
lateralized, Willems said, his research has shown that it’s also less strongly lateralized in lefties.
And some abilities, like language, might have lateralization that can’t always be predicted using
handedness. For serious surgeries like tumor removal, “a neurosurgeon will always test the
language lateralization before he starts to operate because you cannot simply assume that that
lateralization is left or right,” Willems said. But in emergency situations where cortical mapping
and fMRI aren’t available, “handedness might clue [surgeons] into a patient’s brain hemisphere
dominance,” Abdul-Kareem Ahmed, a neurosurgery resident at the University of Maryland, said.

No Longer Left Out.

Historically, some researchers avoided left-handed subjects in neuroscience and psychology

studies because the lefties could complicate the results. They’d prefer to have a homogeneous set
of right-handers instead. (“It’s almost a mundane reason, but that is why,” Willems said.) One
study on left-handers from 1988 contributed to the myth that left-handers have a lower life
expectancy than right-handers.

“That is probably not true,” Willems says. “The good news is that this has gotten a lot of attention,
and in the end, it was very likely that it was based on a statistical error.”

More reputable research began in the late 20th century, and continues today. In addition to
examining the connections in the brain to handedness, researchers are now turning to genetics to
demystify the origins of handedness in the first place.

“Some people seem to be born left-handed, so there is a genetic component,” Willems said.
However, he notes that the research on how exactly that works is in progress.

Cowell describes the development of handedness as a sort of positive feedback loop: “Presumably,
there is going to be some environmental influence early on. It could be prenatal, it could be early
postnatal, but once the person is in a position where they’re developing along a trajectory where

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they have the capacity to become a left-hander, then by virtue of being left-handed, that is in itself
an influence on the brain.”

Further, if someone is naturally left-handed but forced to use their right hand, then their brain
might reflect experience-dependent changes. Although it differs enormously by geographic region,
there have been studies in which left-handed subjects were forced to use their right hands. Their
resulting brain scans showed something striking. “In terms of lateralization of the motor functions,
they are sort of half in between the right and left halves,” Willems said. In other words, their motor
cortex development imbalances were in between those of left and right-handers.

With the advent of rapid and affordable genome sequencing, researchers may get closer to
understanding the genetics and origins of handedness and craft a better understanding of
lateralization—all with the help of lefties. By including left-handers in studies with right-handers,
genetic differences between the two could be more apparent. “Otherwise, you’re looking at a
system which has very minute variations, and it’s hard to find genes that correlate with those
variations because they are simply too small,” Willems said.

Now, lefty brains are changing the ways scientists think about brain organization. Previous
understandings of brain organization based on right-handers only may have set up the illusion
that evolution led to a one-size-fits approach to wire the brain.

“However, if by-and-large 10% of people do it slightly differently, that tells you that the brain is
perhaps more plastic in how it can be wired,” Willems said.9

9
FATIMA HUSAINFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 NOVA NEXT at https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/inside-the-mind-
of-a-left-hander/

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