MYTHS 3
27/06/2018
MYTHS 3
Origin of the Myth
There are three main causes (or origins) that made the myth of the life expectancy of the lefties totally subservient:
-1.During the Middle Ages especially, although also in other cultures and times, left-handers were persecuted. In the Inquisition the fact of using the left hand means being burned. Being left-handed was seen as something diabolical. And it is true that at that time their life expectancy was much lower. (Subliminal Advertising: The third part of "Being Left-handed" will deal with the history of left-handers, superstition and their persecution). Not many years ago left-handers were forced to write with the right (left-handers). That situation does not exist at present, but in some way it has been the origin of the myth. To be more exact, the triggering factor. Later on, when I explain why the myth is false, I will mention in what way it is related to this first cause.
-2. It is quite logical to think that if left-handers are in a world designed for right-handers, we have more accidents to use a less skilled hand and therefore our life expectancy decreases. It is logical, but a fact that is never mentioned has been overlooked and this is practically never fulfilled. Again I will explain it when arriving at the demonstration of its falsehood.
-3. But the fact that it ended up fully establishing the well-known phrase "The right-handers live 9 years more than the left-handers" was a scientific investigation in 1991 made by the psychologists Halpern and Cohen. Indeed, it was obtained as a result that the lefties lived 9 years less than the right-handers. But this study was a clear example of what should never be done in an investigation and is related to cause 1. The results, as I will comment later, were totally discredited over time.
