Why Can’t We Tell Left From Right? TikTok Sparks A Discussion

Is it weird to still struggle with a concept you learned in kindergarten? I'm asking for a friend.  A friend that's a lot like me. 

A lady on TikTok is going viral after admitting she still has trouble knowing her left from her right.

She saw a video where someone said "left and right" are just as intuitive to them as "up and down." But she has to think about it first, and she thought EVERYONE did. So, is this a common issue for adults? (Here's the video.)

@pubity #Pubity ♬ original sound - Pubity

A few people in the comments made fun of her, or thought she was joking. One person said they "genuinely don't understand how grown adults get confused by left and right."

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But plenty of people said they have to think about it too, and it's NOT something that's automatic. One person said they still have to do the trick where you put your thumbs and pointer fingers out. The one that looks like an "L" is your left hand.

Here's the thing, you guys. I am SO that person.  When I was learning the piano in high school, my teacher would correct my mistakes by saying "left hand" or "right hand".  And I would hesitate.  So she eventually just started tapping the hand that was wrong with a pencil.

Another time, I was tasked with marking my nephew's shoes with "right and left" so he could start learning.

Yep.

I think you know what happened.

via GIPHY

Yes, I labeled them incorrectly.

But...WHY.  Why? According to Philly Mag,

Left-right confusion is also a symptom of a rare disease known as Gerstmann syndrome that’s marked by it and three other distinct neurological impairments: difficulty performing simple arithmetic calculations; difficulty distinguishing among one’s own fingers; and difficulty writing by hand. It’s caused by lesions in the parietal lobe of the dominant brain hemisphere. The role of that lobe is to integrate spatial sense and navigation — what neuroscientists refer to as proprioception, or our consciousness of our own location in time and space. It’s what lets us steady ourselves as we cross a creek on stepping-stones — and what cops look for in field sobriety tests when they order you to touch your nose while your eyes are closed. 

Now, I have to say... I do have a hard time with simple arithmetic sometimes, and it is very very hard for me to write things by hand legibly.  I don't' have trouble with my fingers, but... I do have MS.  So I COULD have lesions on my brain in that spot.  I have other lesions all over my brain and spinal cord.

via GIPHY

Now don't get it twisted, I'm not self diagnosing.  But... it does help explain WHY I might have this problem. Well, other than the standard "You're an Idiot" diagnosis.

Do you have trouble distinguishing between left and right?  What do you do to keep it straight?

Leftily yours,
Behka