I was trying to find this fascinating book I remember reading in a graduate seminar years ago. It's called
Death and the Right Hand and was written by Robert Hertz who was a pupil of Durkheim. The book is about a hundred years old now and I was hoping maybe it would be in the public domain and available online. No dice. But in the course of looking for it I did stumble upon some interesting little tidbits about being left-handed, which being left-handed myself, I found rather interesting. This is from Robert Pirsig's website (Pirsig is the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance):
"The neurologist's explanation also explains the finding that left- handed people, in whom the value side of the brain dominates the rational side, are more commonly found in the arts than are the general population and have a higher rate of insanity."
Let's see...artsy...insane...check. As for the neurologist's explanation, well you can go read the
whole thing yourself if you care to. Here's the comment that got me the google hit:
"I once read a book called "Death and the Right Hand" which showed that one of the few anthropological constants found in cultures throughout the world has been fear and hatred of left-handedness."
I knew you people were out to get me. Lots of interesting stuff piling up lately, which shall be forthcoming.
