AROUND 10% of people live with – often deal with – a condition not officially recognised as being a protected characteristic, despite bringing a fair share of discrimination in some quarters.

That condition is being left-handed. And today (August 13) is International Left-Handers Day. So, rejoice, lefties!

Yes, around one-in-10 of us prefer using our lefts, including the likes of Mozart, Marie Curie, Aristotle, Bill Gates, Lionel Messi, Barack Obama – and Justin Bieber. And me.

However, the characteristic, and the affects it can have on day-to-day living, are often overlooked (and we’re not just talking about scissors here – though that pain is real).

Now, of course, I say this with my tongue firmly in cheek. I’m not for one minute comparing being a leftie to dealing with more life-altering disabilities and conditions – it’s just for fun.

That said, there are some very real and very challenging things those of us whose brain works a bit differently than the majority of people.

For years, scientists have done a lot of work on left-handedness, which we have taken a look at to highlight some facts you might not know about being a leftie…

• Lefties were stigmatised for a LONG time

For centuries, including until relatively recently, being left-handed was seen as a bad thing. For example, left-handed people were often forced to write – and perform other tasks – with their right hand (my own grandmother included), despite this going against their natural instinct.

This also applies to eating, when left-handed people will often place their knife in their left hand – which is often seen as the ‘wrong’ way to do things – again, for absolutely no reason.

• It’s not clear why some people are left-handed

Despite years of research to determine what makes some people prefer using their left hand to their right, the reason remains a mystery.

However, studies have come up with some partial indicators, including the fact left-handed parents tend to have more left-handed children than their right-handed contemporaries. However, research cited by the Frontiers research publisher has shown hand preference is around 25% heritable – so it is not the determining factor, which leaves so much a mystery…

• Our brains are different

Yes, it’s true, left-handed people’s brains are different to right-handers’.

Researchers studied something called lateralization – looking at the two sides of the brain – to analyse the differences.

In left-handed people, when performing basic hand movements, the right side of the brain was activated, and vice versa.

However, the lefties showed less lateralization – so the brain was not so clearly ‘split’.

The same happened when looking at language. Language is mainly a function of the left side of the brain, which is true in both left- and right-handed people.

But, it is less so in left-handers, whose brains use both sides more. Lower lateralization was also shown when studying face perception – with right-handers’ brains being more obviously ‘split’.

• Lefties are probably not more creative

As a leftie, I have revelled in the myth of us being a more creative bunch – particularly as an aspiring musician in my youth and later as a writer – but there is no solid evidence for these claims. (Though Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix were both left-handed. Just saying…)

• But left-handed people might actually be better at maths…

This harks back to the less dominant lateralization of the brain in left-handers when performing tasks.

A study by IFL Science showed lefties have a larger corpus callosum (the bit that links the two sides of the brain), suggesting they were capable of “superior information processing”, making them faster at analysing information and working things out, basically.

The IFL study, of 2,300 people, showed while basic maths skills were no different between left- and right-handers, the left-handed folks outperformed the right-handers in more difficult problem-solving tasks.

• Are you actually a leftie?

The difference in brains and function of lefties compared to righties can vary depending on the nature of your left-handedness.

For example, studies showed the brains of people who may write with their left hand, but use their right for other activities (such as playing tennis or using scissors), had brains more similar to right-handed people.

Those in the extremes – left- and right-handers who use those hands for everything – showed the biggest difference in brain function, according to the IFL study.

Whatever, I don’t think us lefties should be divided by such rhetoric!