Why are most people right-handed?

Question from Kay Taylor 

One theory is that as a result of natural selection most people have their speech and language centre in the left hemisphere of the brain, which also controls movements of the right hand. Therefore, producing written language may have become linked with the right hand over thousands of years. Alternatively, hand preference may be genetic, with the variation of the gene that results in right-hand dominance inherited from your parents more reliably than the one for left-handedness.


Answered by Katy Sheen for Brain Dump in How It Works issue 112 

To feature in our Brain Dump section, send us your questions to [email protected] or message us on Facebook or Twitter


For more science and technology articles, pick up the latest copy of How It Works from all good retailers or from our website now. If you have a tablet or smartphone, you can also download the digital version onto your iOS or Android device. To make sure you never miss an issue of How It Works magazine, subscribe today!