UTAH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES bY 
THE PROBLEM OF HANDEDNESS. 
BY ARTHUR L. BEELEY. 
The writer’s sole aim in the presentation of this 
paper is to analyse and clearly define a problem,—the 
problem of left-handedness. 
By way of showing that there is a problem here and 
not an imaginary one let me call your attention to the 
extremely right-handed nature of our mechanical environ- 
ment. Both the letter and the newspaper which you read 
this morning began in the upper left-hand corner and 
the written and printed symbols had meaning only as 
you read them from left to right. 
The handle to the door through which you entered 
this room turns only to the right. 
If you enjoyed the distinction of coming to this meet- 
ing in a Ford you will recall the right-handed nature of 
the “‘self-starter.”” Your dinner this evening was prepared 
in pans and kettles with spouts convenient for the right- 
handed cook. The gas jet or electric plate upon which 
the food was heated is controlled by a switch turning 
only to the right. If you dined in town you will recall 
something of the orchestra which entertained you; the 
pianist played the most difficult parts of the score with 
his right hand. The cash-girl secured your change from 
a register operated from the right hand side. And so on 
ad infinitum. In a word, our mechanical environment, 
just as our system of handwriting, has developed in rela- 
tion to the kinds of movement most easily made with the 
right hand. Imagine then, if you will, the problems of the 
four and a half million left-handed persons in our country 
alone who must adjust themselves to their right-handed 
surroundings. 
It is already known quite definitely that left-hand- 
edness exists in about four or five per cent of the normal 
population. Between one and two million of the left- 
handed Americans are at present under the tutelage of 
