Light switches wired wrongly

[Harry Bloomfield]

I looked that up.

Me too!

 

[JohnW2]

Yes I can see that one making sense. ... Fear of the uncommon has led to many great wrongs.

Quite so. If one thinks about it, I suspect that many/most of the most commonly-seen forms of prejudice and discrimination probably originate from suspicions/fears about "the uncommon" (within the community is question) - whether it be an 'uncommon' skin colour, and 'uncommon' religion or ethnic background, an 'uncommon' sexuality or gender preference etc. etc.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

A variation of that is some people are right handed for some things and left handed for others.

That may well be true, and presumably relates to 'how they have come to do' some things.

Personally, I am very strongly right-handed, and find it pretty difficult to do most things with my left hand. Even 'simple' things, like stirring something in a saucepan are far from easy with my left hand.

 

[JohnW2]

It just seems an odd way to use a knife and fork to me, They use both the knife and fork combined, to cut the food, put the knife down, transfer the fork over to the right, to move food to mouth, then reverse the process, to cut more food.

As I implied, I actually find it pretty logical and efficient. To cut up food with a knife and fork, it is moist natural to have the fork in one's non-dominant hand (so the knife doing the cutting is in one's dominant hand), but to lift food into one's mouth it's more natural to have the work in one's dominant hand - so I think the American system is almost 'the best of both worlds'

 

[JohnW2]

Hmm. When I try that, if I focus on the distant object I see two fingers, and if I focus on the finger I see two distant objects.

That's odd. I certainly can't reproduce that.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Personally, I am very strongly right-handed, and find it pretty difficult to do most things with my left hand. Even 'simple' things, like stirring something in a saucepan are far from easy with my left hand.

To cut up food with a knife and fork, it is moist natural to have the fork in one's non-dominant hand (so the knife doing the cutting is in one's dominant hand), but to lift food into one's mouth it's more natural to have the work in one's dominant hand - so I think the American system is almost 'the best of both worlds'

Maybe a result of your first sentence, which I quoted above?

As I indicated, I find being ambidextrous extremely useful generally, with the exception that it does always seem to cause me a weird form of confusion, as to just which choice of hand to use, when beginning a task, plus confusion over which is right and which left. One ambidextrous lad I taught to drive, I ended up writing L and R on the backs of his hands, as a workaround.

 

[JohnW2]

Maybe a result of your first sentence, which I quoted above?

Possibly, but I still suspect for anyone who is largely 'one-handed' it is 'more natural' to use a knife in their dominant hand *hence fork in non-dominant one) when cutting things up, but fork in dominant hand is 'more natural' when 'lifting food into one's mouth'.

As I indicated, I find being ambidextrous extremely useful generally ...

I can certainly understand that (so I'ma little 'envious') - but, as I've said, as far as I am concerned I am the antithesis of ambidextrous.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Possibly, but I still suspect for anyone who is largely 'one-handed' it is 'more natural' to use a knife in their dominant hand *hence fork in non-dominant one) when cutting things up, but fork in dominant hand is 'more natural' when 'lifting food into one's mouth'.

That was what I was trying to agree with..

 

[JohnW2]

That was what I was trying to agree with..

Fair enough, but I was merely adding that I think it applies to most people who are 'significantly on-handed' (i.e. most people), and not just to people, who like myself, are very strongly one-handed.

 

[pete01]

Possibly, but I still suspect for anyone who is largely 'one-handed' it is 'more natural' to use a knife in their dominant hand *hence fork in non-dominant one) when cutting things up, but fork in dominant hand is 'more natural' when 'lifting food into one's mouth'.

I can certainly understand that (so I'ma little 'envious') - but, as I've said, as far as I am concerned I am the antithesis of ambidextrous.

I'm right handed and I use my fork with my right hand, doesn't everyone?

 

[SUNRAY]

I'm right handed and I use my fork with my right hand, doesn't everyone?

Errr.... no.

 

[securespark]

I have CP which in me caused a right sided weakness. I am left handed and had deafness in the right ear from birth. I think both of these are due to my CP.

I only ever use a fork (or spoon if it is cereal, soup or pud) (in my left hand) and use it to cut everything up too. I never use cutlery in my right hand. If I cut anything with a knife, it will be with my left.

I don't trust my right hand to anything dextrous.

My M-i-L sometimes tells me to use a knife when eating (I think she thinks it's rude not to) but I explain my right hand and arm are not very useful in that respect. F-i-L has a quiet word with her every now and then to explain why I don't. I've only been married to their daughter since 1998!

My arm sometimes twitches and that's not good either. And I drop stuff too. So carrying breakable stuff in my right hand is a bit of a gamble...

We tend to buy the plain white glass plates and bowls from IKEA because a, they are dirt cheap and b, they often survive a drop without breaking.

 

[JohnW2]

I'm right handed and I use my fork with my right hand, doesn't everyone?

If they are only using a fork, then yes, that's what nearly all right-handed people would do.

However, when using knife and fork (e.g. to cut up food), nearly all right-handed people would use the fork in the left hand (and knife in their right hand). That makes sense, since one is then using one's dominant (right) hand to do most of the 'activity' (lifting food to mouth with fork or cutting it with knife).

Most right-handed Americans do both of the above. First they cut up the food, with fork in left hand and knife in right hand. They then 'discard' the knife and eat the food (lift it into their mouth) using a fork in their right hand.

 

[JohnW2]

I have CP which in me caused a right sided weakness. I am left handed and had deafness in the right ear from birth. I think both of these are due to my CP.

I'm sorry to hear that but, yes, I imagine that your 'left-handedness' is a consequence of the CP. I put 'left-handedness' in quotes, because it's a little different from the normal 'one-sidedness', in that the weaker one side of the body becomes, the more one is obliged to do most/all things with the other side. By contrast, nearly all left-handed people have a perfectly 'strong' right side but their left side has, for some reason, become the 'dominant' one.

It is, of course, possible that you were always destined to be left-handed. However, it's far more likely that you would otherwise have been right-handed, but that when your brain discovered that (presumably) one side of you brain had been damaged by trauma at/around the time of birth (resulting in your CP), it compensated/adapted by making the other side of your brain 'dominant'. As I explained before, everything 'crosses over', so it will be the left side of your brain that was damaged, and I imagine that part of the 'adaptation' will have involved moving your speech centre (normally on the left side of brain) to the undamaged side.

I only ever use a fork (or spoon if it is cereal, soup or pud) (in my left hand) and use it to cut everything up too. I never use cutlery in my right hand. If I cut anything with a knife, it will be with my left. .... I don't trust my right hand to anything dextrous.

If it's difficult or impossible to to use cutlery (or anything else) in your right hand, you obviously have little/no choice but to use just the left for most things - but, again, that's not necessarily 'left-handedness' in the normal sense. I've seen a good few right-handed people who have lost their right hand/arm due to trauma, but it would be a little silly to say that they had become 'left-handed' as a result!

My M-i-L sometimes tells me to use a knife when eating (I think she thinks it's rude not to) but I explain my right hand and arm are not very useful in that respect. F-i-L has a quiet word with her every now and then to explain why I don't. I've only been married to their daughter since 1998!

Some people find it hard to 'understand'. Your M-i-L sounds like my late F-i-L in that respect. He was so rigidly obsessed with the fact that it was 'very rude' not use cutlery 'improperly' that he probably would have moaned about someone with only one hand 'not using 'a knife and fork'

My arm sometimes twitches and that's not good either. And I drop stuff too. So carrying breakable stuff in my right hand is a bit of a gamble... We tend to buy the plain white glass plates and bowls from IKEA because a, they are dirt cheap and b, they often survive a drop without breaking.

That's a pain, but you nevertheless seem to have managed o do a lot of 'normal' things with your life, which is great, and a tribute to you.

If I may ask, how bad is your right-sided weakness? Does it affect your legs as well as arms and, if so, can you walk reasonably well? ... and have you had any speech problems?

Kind Regards, John

 

[pete01]

If they are only using a fork, then yes, that's what nearly all right-handed people would do.

Well I use a fork in my right and knife in my left because I'm normal