2
Obama Stokes Lefty Pride In More Ways Than You Think
Democrat is sixth southpaw among postwar presidents
By Drew Nelles
|
Posted Jan 22, 09 2:08 PM CST
|
Share
(Newser)
–
Barack Obama’s inauguration continues the lefty domination of the White House—after all, five other postwar presidents have been southpaws, too, MSNBC reports. Only about a tenth of the population is left-handed, but that includes a disproportionate number of politicians, athletes, and artists. “From a statistical standpoint, it looks like something’s going on, but what it is, we don’t know,” one professor says.
He theorizes that, because left-handed people have more symmetric brains, “this has given rise to a different way of thinking, a different cognitive style. Maybe this difference provides lefties with a social advantage.” And it’s not just American presidents who have a “social advantage”: Other lefty leaders include Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Gandhi.