From mythsto modern research, the label attached to being left-handed is undeniable. Left-handed people, or “lefties” as they are often called, are generally believed to be good at art –Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and Michelangelo Buonarroti were all left-handed.
从神话到现代研究，关于“左撇子”的标签一直都在。人们通常认为，惯用左手的人（他们也经常被称为“左撇子”）都很擅长艺术——达.芬奇、毕加索以及米开朗基罗全都是左撇子。
But what exactly makes someone left-handed or right-handed?
但为什么有人惯用左手，有人惯用右手呢？
Our brain is divided into two parts: the left hemisphere, and the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere, linked to logic and analysis, is responsible for the right side of the body. The right hemisphere, linked to creativity and imagination, controls the left side of the body.
我们的大脑被分为左、右两个大脑半球。左脑与逻辑分析能力有关，控制身体的右侧。而与创造力和想象力相关的右脑则控制身体的左侧。
So, people tend to believe lefties are controlled by the right side of the brain, and are more creative than right-handers. Some also think that lefties may not be as good as demonstrating mathematical and problem-solving skills as their right-handed counterparts.
所以，人们相信左撇子们受右脑的控制，比右撇子更有创造力。一些人还认为，左撇子或许在数学以及解决问题的能力上并不如右撇子出色。
However, a recent study carried out by scientists from the University of Liverpool in the UK and the University of Milan in Italy proved this theory wrong.
然而，英国利物浦大学以及意大利米兰大学的科学家们近期发布的一项研究却证实这一理论是错误的。
The study, published on academic website The Conversation, involved more than 2,300 students in Italy aged between 6 and 17 years old. They were asked to complete several mathematical tasks of different skill levels.
发布于学术网站The Conversation上的这项研究在意大利邀请了2300多名6-17岁的学生进行实验。学生们被要求完成几个不同难度的数学问题。
It turned out the left-handers outperformed the others when the tasks involved difficult problem-solving. This pattern was particularly clear in male adolescents.
结果表明，左撇子在解决难题时的表现比其他人都要出色，在男性青少年中这点尤为明显。
However, when it came to simple arithmetic, there was no difference between left- and right-handers.
然而，左撇子和右撇子在简单算术上的表现并没有多少区别。
It was also discovered that those who are “severely” right-handed performed less well in all the experiments compared to “moderate” right-handers and left-handers.
该研究还发现，“重度”右撇子在所有实验中的表现都不如“中度”右撇子以及左撇子。
“Taken together, these findings show that handedness... does influence [abilities] to some extent,” the study’s authors wrote.
“综合来看，这些发现表明惯用手在某种程度上的确影响了（人们的能力），”该研究的作者写道。
Nevertheless, “handedness is just an indirect expression of brain function,” wrote psychology professor Giovanni Sala from the University of Liverpool in the UK, lead author of the study. Sala also noted that only one third of people with a highly-developed right side of the brain are left-handed. It means that there are lots of right-handed people with a similar brain function as left-handers.
然而，“惯用手只是大脑功能的一种间接反映，”该研究的主要作者、英国利物浦大学心理学教授乔瓦尼.萨拉写道。萨拉还指出，在右脑高度发达的人中，只有三分之一是左撇子。这意味着不少右撇子的大脑功能其实和左撇子的十分相似。
Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin are some famous left-handers. And at least six former US presidents are left-handed, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. So if you’re a leftie, you might be on your way to becoming a genius, or even the president.
爱因斯坦、牛顿以及达尔文都是著名的左撇子。而包括奥巴马以及克林顿在内的至少6位美国前总统也都是左撇子。所以如果你是个左撇子，或许你将成为一名天才，甚至还能当上总统。
