Writing: Why left, right, & vertical?

Discussion in 'Science & Society' started by Dinosaur, Apr 12, 2018.

  1. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    From Rainbow Post 17
    From https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/7304/why-is-english-written-and-read-left-to-right
    The above source ignores the existence of left --->> right writing on clay by the Phoenicians for similar reasons: Avoid smudging of previous writing by a right handed person.
     
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  3. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    Mea Culpa Rainbow: Post 17 was from Iceaura, not you.

    Iceaura: Check my my Post 21, mistakenly addressed to Rainbow.
     
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  5. naturallygorg Registered Member

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    I appreciate what you've shared! I didn't know about that before. All I know is that left-handed people are smarter than the right-handed ones.
     
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  7. TheFrogger Banned Valued Senior Member

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    Because they are using the right-side of their brains.
     
  8. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    Evidence bears this out.

    Left-handers - despite being at a distinct physical disadvantage in a ubiquitously right-handed world, and thus more prone to death - are actually on the increase; demonstrating that left-handedness has an evolutionary advantage.
     
  9. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    From NaturallyGorg Post 23
    From DaveC426913 Post 25
    The above might very well be valid claims.

    However, they require more than the claims of the Posters to be accepted as true.
     
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  10. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    2 claims:
    1] Lefties are at a physical disadvantage in a predominantly right-handed world.
    2] Lefties are on the increase.

    Both are generally considered to be common knowledge.

    But here's a guy who wrote a book:

    "In his book Right-Hand, Left-Hand, Chris McManus of University College London argues that the proportion of left-handers is increasing and left-handed people as a group have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers."

    "...a significantly greater proportion of talented left-handers, even among those who played instruments that seem designed for right-handers, such as violins. Similarly, studies of adolescents who took tests to assess mathematical giftedness found many more left-handers in the population"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handedness#Intelligence
     
  11. TheFrogger Banned Valued Senior Member

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    • Please do not flame other members
    Look it up, dickhead!

    They still smudge what they've written. No-one can read what they write. I wonder what evolutionary advantages will arise with technology.
     
  12. Dinosaur Rational Skeptic Valued Senior Member

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    From Iceaura Post 16
    In spite of my Post 21, I sympathize with your above opinion: It is reasonable.

    If using something similar to a modern alphabet on a medium like clay had been the first written language, it is very likely that the first writing would have been left to right.

    I am pretty sure that something like a modern alphabet was a late development with the first written language using some form of pictographs on stone, making right to left more convenient for a right handed person.

    BTW: I think the Phoenicians might have been the first to write from left to right due to using a stylus on clay. I do not think they ever wrote from right to left.
     
  13. sideshowbob Sorry, wrong number. Valued Senior Member

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    His name is Dave, not Richard.
     
  14. DaveC426913 Valued Senior Member

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    You are a rude person.
     
  15. Michael 345 New year. PRESENT is 72 years oldl Valued Senior Member

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    Have we started to bred with Polar Bears?

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  16. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    The most persuasive guess I've seen for first incised writing (making simple symbols or alphabets important, rather than pictures) was that it was on flat sticks (split from convenient wood types) using an edge or point tool (even just charcoal). That would explain not only the predominance of left to right, but the existence of boustrophedon script carved into rocks (it's just a transcription of what you get by going left to right on one side of a stick, flipping it to go left to right on the other, and then transcribing it as if unfolding it at an end hinge).
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2018
  17. gmilam Valued Senior Member

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    Yup, all us leftys are going to die from long term ink poisoning.
     
  18. TheFrogger Banned Valued Senior Member

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    ...an evolutionary disadvantage...
     
  19. gmilam Valued Senior Member

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    Apparently it doesn't hit until we are well into our 90s - years past our reproductive age.
     
  20. TheFrogger Banned Valued Senior Member

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    Eyesight should be a technological evolutionary advantages.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2018
  21. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

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    You are one confused puppy!
     

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