Re: Mutiny on the Bowan .. of Mice and Micemen
Posted by Amaranth Rose on Dec 29, 2001 at 11:22
dialup-177.sentco.net (65.172.150.177)Re: Mutiny on the Bowan .. of Mice and Micemen (Andy™)
Even though I am aware of some of the disadvantages of ambidextrity and the cortical disorganization that seems to accompany it, I must admit it has its advantages. I recall once being in a hurry, as a young Teaching Assistant, and rushing to put notes on the blackboard before lab. I resorted to standing in one place in front of the blackboard and writing as fast and furiously as I could, shifting the chalk from hand to hand. The room became deathly quiet, and I got worried that someone was pulling something behind my back. I looked around to find everyone staring fixedly at me. For a second I thought they were going to burn me at the stake. It was a spooky feeling.
I've also read that ambidextrids have a statistically higher incidence of autoimmune diseases than the general population. I've wondered for some time, does the ambidextry cause the autoimmune problems, or vice versa, or are they both due to something else entirely? It would be interesting to find some natural poulation of animals that has a high percentage of ambidextry, or, alternatively, selectively breed some laboratory creature for the trait and see if their little brains show definitive changes. I've alwayst thought that might be worth a thesis, maybe a dissertation even. That'd be a lot of paraffin sectioning, though. :-)