Life as a Lefty: An Impromptu Interview with Jon Hagee
Jon Hagee, many years ago a friend of Rich Mullins and me, played drums for the In Worship of the Coming King concert. He has permitted me to post his informal remarks about left-handedness and Richard Mullins from this conversation we had on Facebook:
Link: Between the Lines and Beyond the Footlights
Jon: "Thank you Pam. Some observations from a fellow lefty. I noticed this in print, I likewise printed from early on, and may be able to offer some reasons for that.
Writing is difficult for me, if not painful, after a short time. Cursive is harder still. I suspect this is due to lefties having to push the pencil or pen rather than drag it behind. For instance, try it yourself, and pull & push the pencil or pen, see if you feel more resistance. Try pushing and pulling a straight line. See which is easier.
Not to mention, lefties were taught they had to awkwardly twist their hand to avoid smearing their hand across what they had just written. That makes it hard to write in cursive, let alone to allow it to be neat. Fortunately, today's pens use fast drying ink. A big advancement for the twisted, backwards-printing lefty."
Pam: "Thanks, Jon! Good points about lefty writing. Debbie Blackwell Buckley's a lefty, too. This sample written in pen is unusual. He ordinarily wrote in pencil to accommodate the ink-drying problem. I admit the challenges of lefty writing--and perhaps you have seen Richard write! He practically stood on his head! As I recall, he turned the page ninety degrees and wrote from top to bottom of the turned page, toward himself. Nevertheless, not all lefty writing is identical. Richard's writing still shows distinct features I'm certain wouldn't be found in your handwriting, or Debbie's, or Leonardo Da Vinci's. We all solve the problems of handwriting differently."
Jon: "Yes, likewise. To this day, I prefer pencils. . . I believe being left-handed may have had more effect than people realize on Rich; for instance, we know lefties think differently. The left side of the brain--which controls the right hand--is in charge of speech, language, writing, logic, math and science. The right side--which controls the left hand--is responsible for music, art, perception and emotion. The right side handles abstract, big picture ideas; the left side thinks in straight lines.
Right-handers' brain organization is usually quite rigid. The right side only handles language and logic; the left side only handles emotion and perception.
Meanwhile, left-hander's brains tend to be more flexible--understanding of music could be on the left side or math could be on the right. As a result, the corpus callosum, the part of the brain that allows the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other, can be 11 per cent larger in left-handed brains than in right-handed ones."
Link: Six Tips for Raising a Left-Handed Child
Pam: "So, Jon, which do you think came first, the creative brain or the left-handedness?"
Jon: "Good question. Obviously both lefty and righty can be creative. There may be factors giving one the statistical advantage. I'd say there are several factors involved in this question. Some genetic, some environmental. Still thinking it over though."
Jon: "This same article says, 'Babies usually start showing a hand preference at about 7 to 9 months old, but they may not make
a final distinction until they start school.'”
Pam: "Yeah, I think I remember being forced to use my right hand. It would explain my mixed dominance! But it's been a long time
. . . who knows?”
Jon: "It also says: 'Parents can monitor their child's handedness by keeping tabs on which hand reaches for the toys and food or by noting which direction a child stirs with a spoon.' Righties tend to stir clockwise, while lefties stir counterclockwise.' My question is, with which hand? I stir counter-clockwise with the left, clockwise with the right! LOL"
Pam: “LOL! I think I may be approaching my mystery limit for the day! So much ambivalence!”
Jon: “This could also explain Richard's heavy, moving bass hand on the piano. And also awkwardness with sports & some farm chores.”
Jon: “Yeah. Back to research mode.”
Mirror Writing
Pam: “Yeah, I know his heavy-handed bass, and perhaps some of his facility in playing difficult passages came more naturally as a left-dominant. Remember when he used to hit the bass keys with his fist? Quite dramatic.”
Pam: “Yep! Richard wrote me a letter in mirror-writing once. I held it up to the mirror to read it! LOL”
Jon: “Yes, you and I discussed the phenomenon of writing backwards (Da Vinci was famous for that). I have discovered that when I write with my right hand, it comes out backwards. I would propose that Richard and even Da Vinci may have done it the same way.”
Pam: "Good point! I'll be sure to ask Richard how he did it when I see him next. . ."
Jon: "Yes! Note in examples of Da Vinci's handwriting, the backwards is straight up, the signature is slanted.
Link
Pam: "What do you think that signifies, Jon?"
Jon: "Just pointing that out. And speculating this might indicate a different method of writing. More than just forming letters backwards. Possibly even using the opposite hand or even using a whole 'nother thought process. Or might be a difference between the print & cursive. I'd have to dig deeper to come to any conclusions."
Pam: "LOL. You and your creativity. You may be closer to discovering a few things about handwriting analysis than you think! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jon!"
Link: Between the Lines and Beyond the Footlights
Jon: "Thank you Pam. Some observations from a fellow lefty. I noticed this in print, I likewise printed from early on, and may be able to offer some reasons for that.
Writing is difficult for me, if not painful, after a short time. Cursive is harder still. I suspect this is due to lefties having to push the pencil or pen rather than drag it behind. For instance, try it yourself, and pull & push the pencil or pen, see if you feel more resistance. Try pushing and pulling a straight line. See which is easier.
Not to mention, lefties were taught they had to awkwardly twist their hand to avoid smearing their hand across what they had just written. That makes it hard to write in cursive, let alone to allow it to be neat. Fortunately, today's pens use fast drying ink. A big advancement for the twisted, backwards-printing lefty."
Pam: "Thanks, Jon! Good points about lefty writing. Debbie Blackwell Buckley's a lefty, too. This sample written in pen is unusual. He ordinarily wrote in pencil to accommodate the ink-drying problem. I admit the challenges of lefty writing--and perhaps you have seen Richard write! He practically stood on his head! As I recall, he turned the page ninety degrees and wrote from top to bottom of the turned page, toward himself. Nevertheless, not all lefty writing is identical. Richard's writing still shows distinct features I'm certain wouldn't be found in your handwriting, or Debbie's, or Leonardo Da Vinci's. We all solve the problems of handwriting differently."
Jon: "Yes, likewise. To this day, I prefer pencils. . . I believe being left-handed may have had more effect than people realize on Rich; for instance, we know lefties think differently. The left side of the brain--which controls the right hand--is in charge of speech, language, writing, logic, math and science. The right side--which controls the left hand--is responsible for music, art, perception and emotion. The right side handles abstract, big picture ideas; the left side thinks in straight lines.
Right-handers' brain organization is usually quite rigid. The right side only handles language and logic; the left side only handles emotion and perception.
Meanwhile, left-hander's brains tend to be more flexible--understanding of music could be on the left side or math could be on the right. As a result, the corpus callosum, the part of the brain that allows the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other, can be 11 per cent larger in left-handed brains than in right-handed ones."
Link: Six Tips for Raising a Left-Handed Child
Pam: "So, Jon, which do you think came first, the creative brain or the left-handedness?"
Jon: "Good question. Obviously both lefty and righty can be creative. There may be factors giving one the statistical advantage. I'd say there are several factors involved in this question. Some genetic, some environmental. Still thinking it over though."
Jon: "This same article says, 'Babies usually start showing a hand preference at about 7 to 9 months old, but they may not make
a final distinction until they start school.'”
Pam: "Yeah, I think I remember being forced to use my right hand. It would explain my mixed dominance! But it's been a long time
. . . who knows?”
Jon: "It also says: 'Parents can monitor their child's handedness by keeping tabs on which hand reaches for the toys and food or by noting which direction a child stirs with a spoon.' Righties tend to stir clockwise, while lefties stir counterclockwise.' My question is, with which hand? I stir counter-clockwise with the left, clockwise with the right! LOL"
Pam: “LOL! I think I may be approaching my mystery limit for the day! So much ambivalence!”
Jon: “This could also explain Richard's heavy, moving bass hand on the piano. And also awkwardness with sports & some farm chores.”
Jon: “Yeah. Back to research mode.”
Mirror Writing
Pam: “Yeah, I know his heavy-handed bass, and perhaps some of his facility in playing difficult passages came more naturally as a left-dominant. Remember when he used to hit the bass keys with his fist? Quite dramatic.”
Pam: “Yep! Richard wrote me a letter in mirror-writing once. I held it up to the mirror to read it! LOL”
Jon: “Yes, you and I discussed the phenomenon of writing backwards (Da Vinci was famous for that). I have discovered that when I write with my right hand, it comes out backwards. I would propose that Richard and even Da Vinci may have done it the same way.”
Pam: "Good point! I'll be sure to ask Richard how he did it when I see him next. . ."
Jon: "Yes! Note in examples of Da Vinci's handwriting, the backwards is straight up, the signature is slanted.
Link
Pam: "What do you think that signifies, Jon?"
Jon: "Just pointing that out. And speculating this might indicate a different method of writing. More than just forming letters backwards. Possibly even using the opposite hand or even using a whole 'nother thought process. Or might be a difference between the print & cursive. I'd have to dig deeper to come to any conclusions."
Pam: "LOL. You and your creativity. You may be closer to discovering a few things about handwriting analysis than you think! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jon!"