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Why Left-Handers Stand Out in Certain Fields

What makes lefties special in a right-handed world

George J. Ziogas
Publishous
4 min readDec 29, 2024

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Yulia / Adobe Stock

One thing Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, LeBron James, and Lady Gaga all have in common is that they are hugely successful in their respective fields.

Another common trait they all share? They are all left-handed.

Finding out how many world leaders and trendsetters are left-handed makes me wonder: Do lefties possess special characteristics and abilities that help them achieve success and fame?

How many left-handers are there?

Favoring one’s left hand for writing and other activities, also known as being left-handed, is not a common characteristic. Numbers and estimates vary, but one 2019 study suggested that 9.3% of the population is strictly left-handed, with 18.1% preferring their left hand (using, as the study stated, “the most lenient criterion of non-right-handedness”).

The study authors concluded that the “best overall estimate” of left-handed individuals in the population is 10.6%. If the global population is 8.2 billion people, it follows that more than 879 million people worldwide are considered to favor their left hand.

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George J. Ziogas
George J. Ziogas

Written by George J. Ziogas

Editor | Vocational Education Teacher | HR Consultant | Manners will take you where money won't | ziogasjgeorge@gmail.com

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