A case of height and handedness

I’ve always been awed by the phenomenal success achieved by one of the most prolific film personalities (and a living legend) in India – Amitabh Bachchan (AB). Like many of my compatriots of my age, while growing up, I used to emulate his voice, behavior, and what not! Later I tried finding out, whether it is the stars or hard work or lineage, which helped him to be a celebrity – not once but twice!!

While it could be a mix of one or all of these factors, a recent post from Stephen J. Dubner indicated that 2 other factors must have been crucial:
– his height (AB’s has above-average height than most of his compatriots / competitors)
– his left handedness (even though he is ambidextrous)

Height
In a recent paper, Anne Case and Christina Paxson say that taller adults generally seemed to hold higher-status jobs, and on average earn more than others. They “earn more because they are smarter... As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns”.

Left-handedness
Scores of research have substantiated that left-handed people are better at everything than right-handed people. Here’s the latest, from economists Christopher S. Ruebeck, Joseph E. Harrington and Robert Moffitt. They argue that “left-handed college-educated people earn 15% more than right-handed college educated people” - especially among males. In his book Right-Hand, Left-Hand, Chris McManus of University College London argues that left-handed people have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. He says that left-handers' brains are differently structured, to widen their range of abilities; the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language-centers of the brain.

A quick check of a list of famous tall men and famous left-handed people in Wikipedia was a sort of revelations for me.

I can now understand why:

1) My parents and relatives used to often hand me on air, just by holding my head at right and left – To make me taller!
2) A few of my bosses always stressed up while listening to me – I had to look down on them!
3) Many countries have left-hand-drive system – Train to produce high achievers vis-à-vis other countries!
4) Some parents encourage their children to draw/ paint by their left hand – Da Vinci was left handed!
5) It is rarer to find a left-handed person in tailoring / apparel designing – Hard to find a pair of scissors for them

Do have some more to add?

Image source : www.vedamsbooks.com

Filed under:Bachchan, Dubner, Research, Psychology, Left-handedness, Human Height