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Why are most humans right-handed? The answer may lie in how we learned to walk

This Oxford University piece tackles the age-old question of human handedness, suggesting our bipedal evolution and expanding brains might hold the key. However, Hacker News commenters quickly point out the article's failure to definitively answer the 'why,' leading to a search for the original research paper. The discussion highlights common frustrations with popular science reporting that teases a big answer but delivers vague speculation.

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Score
9
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#11
Highest Rank
10h
on Front Page
First Seen
May 19, 4:00 PM
Last Seen
May 20, 3:00 AM
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The Lowdown

The article from Oxford University, titled 'Why are most humans right-handed? The answer may lie in how we learned to walk,' explores a new hypothesis for the prevalence of right-handedness in humans. While the full content of the original article was behind a security verification page, the discussion suggests it links the development of bipedalism and increasing brain size to the emergence of a dominant hand.

  • The central premise posits that freeing the hands through bipedalism, combined with the cognitive demands of a larger brain, played a significant role in solidifying handedness.
  • It suggests that once early hominids began walking upright, the hands became available for more complex tasks, driving the specialization that led to a dominant side.
  • The actual scientific paper (linked by a commenter) might offer a more nuanced explanation, potentially using Bayesian models to re-evaluate human handedness within a broader evolutionary context.
  • However, many readers felt the popular science article did not provide a concrete 'why,' leaving the core question largely unanswered.

In essence, the article attempts to connect fundamental evolutionary shifts with a widespread human trait, but its summary on the Oxford site seemed to leave readers wanting more precise details regarding the mechanism of this connection.

The Gossip

Why, Oh Why, Didn't It Explain Why?

Many commenters expressed significant disappointment that the article's bold title promised an explanation for right-handedness but delivered vague assertions or failed to truly answer the 'why.' They felt the piece lacked specific details on the selective pressures or neurological mechanisms linking bipedalism and brain size to dominant hand preference. The general consensus was that the article missed its own point.

Grammar Griefs: Everyone Are Not Amused

A brief but spirited side discussion erupted over the grammatical correctness of the phrase 'Why are almost everyone right-handed?' in the article's headline. Commenters debated whether 'everyone' takes a singular or plural verb, with the consensus quickly forming that 'everyone is' is the correct form, not 'everyone are,' and that this is not a regional linguistic difference.