Is fighting advantage the reason left-handers have survived?
Research and impact 13th August 2019
When just one in ten people are left-handed, why has the trait not been weeded out by natural selection? A popular theory is the Fighting Hypothesis – and research from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences appears to support this.
Thomas Richardson and Dr Tucker Gilman have examined the largest sample of boxers and mixed martial arts fighters ever collated to find evidence to support the Fighting Hypothesis. The theory pertains that left-handers have the upper hand in fights so long as left hand bias remains a rarity in human nature. It is therefore passed on to the next generation.
Read about their findings over on the FSE Hub.
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