I'm not stupid, I just don't know my left from my right.
Thursday, July 3, 2008My wife, Kristine, and I have a running in-joke. Frequently, when driving, Kris will be giving me directions like "At the next lights, turn right". At which point I will move to the left hand lane and proceed to turn "right".
Kris will then say "No, I mean't universal right."
To which I reply "Oh, universal right. Sorry, I thought you meant my right."
I have the same problem with "its" and "it's". I know the difference between them; "its" is the possessive form and "it's" is a contraction of "it is". But, like left and right, unless I stop and think about it, I get them mixed up-I can't use them automatically like most literate adults.
In a final, 3rd-year essay (an otherwise acceptable argumentative essay), in a subject I was doing as part of my BA in English Studies, I consistently used "it's" instead of "its". When I went to pick up my mark my lecturer just shook his head at me.
It's one of the many symptoms of ADD. In your childhood you miss basic developmental concepts. They just don't sink in. The end result is that, as an adult, you can be a competent technical editor for a technical book publisher but still mix up "its" and "it's". Not becuase you haven't learnt the difference but because there's no automatic signal from your brain to inform you that you're doing it wrong. Left feels like right, right feels like left. It's frustrating as hell.
34 Comments
I don't neither.
and I'm still alive :D
Y.
I've never been diagnosed ADD, but, as with a lot of your posts, I start to wonder.. I have BOTH of these problems constantly and IT'S most annoying. My main problem with driving, though, is "auto pilot". I tend to drive to the same few basic destinations, so that if I need to go somewhere new I have to continually remind myself that I'm not going to one of my normally prescribed destinations. Otherwise, a trip to a new shop I've never been to becomes a trip to my wife's work, etc. Truly, most annoying.
It's real simple: Your left hand is the hand where your thumb is on the right.
With that in mind, you'll never forget left&right!
My wife says "no, your OTHER right!" LOL!
I have a brother with ADHD. It has been hard for him, and hard for his family to watch his struggle. There are not enough people in the world that understand and accept the disorder.
i can't do left and right but am really good with grammer, it just works for me, so i don't think the "its/it's" thing is universal.
I have been told 'The other right' all my life and somehow I have managed to make it this long too. ;)
and you mispelt 'becuase' :D
same here, I missed one of my 7-th grade physics lesson on 'frames of reference' and after many attempts to self-study I still need to look at the definition every time I encounter them.
The first time I read about ADD was in one of the early issues of Wired magazine, and as I read the list of symptoms, I mentally ticked off the items as "got it" or "need it". The list of "got it" items was the longer list.
I am an excellent speller, and have been since I was wee, but I have a mental block when it comes to the word "weird". I always want to spell it "wierd". Even as I right this, and even with Firefox's little red underline below the misspelled word, it's still the one that looks right to me.
For years and years, I used a work-around, and simply spelled the word "weird" as "strange".
Then one day, I decided that enough was enough, and I wasn't going to "cope" with my problem any more. I decided to face it head-on. I started writing the word "weird" whenever I felt like it. Eventually, with practice, I was able to consistently spell it correctly.
To anyone reading this, I say, "Don't cope with your problems. Fix them."
Maybe you just need some practice with "left" and "right"?
HEY MIKE- YOU SPELLED "WRITE" AS RIGHT.. THATS PRETTY BAD
I don't know my left from right + slight dyslexia makes that "L" shape tip useless (which way does the L go again?)
When we drive anywhere the directions are "turn my way" or "turn your way"
I drove with an accountant once who told me to turn "debits" or "credits" It seemed to work, but only because I'm familiar with accounting.
Great, I have finally found my people!! I've competed at a National Level in 3 different sports and I don't know my left from my right. I spent the better part of 10 years from age 7 to 17, marching around kicking and punching to an instructors commands of "left, right, left, right" and every time I had to picture which wrist I wore my watch on. I have also, on better than 50% on the time, heard "not that right, the other right" Only last night at the age of 39 in a Yoga class did I finally come to the conclusion that it was weird for an adult to not instinctively know left from right. I heard the instructor say right leg back but when I looked up everybody but me was standing in Warrior with their actually right leg back. What am I to do as practice has not improved how quickly I can discern left side from right side? I also can't do anything while looking in the mirror, I mean it would be unlikely that while looking in a mirror I could put my index finger into my nose on first try, close my eyes no problem!!
I have R/L problems and have just learned to drive at the age of 57. I failed one test because I could not quickly respond to the instructors orders to turn one way or the other. I live in Spain most of the time and have no problem with R/L because I have learned 'derecha' and 'izquierda' which do not relate to the words that were used to describe R/L when I was in my formative years. I also have problems with weird/wierd and am an excellent speller normally (that sounds like a line from "Rainman"! My mother has a mirror on her bathroom door so that she can see the back of her head when combing her hair - when I use it it's hilarious - I have the brush about 4 inches away from my head in either direction. Perhaps we people are from another reflected dimension.
Anyway, it's great to know that there are liek mindid peeple out ther!
This is nothing...
Go into a large pharmacy (Boots as an example possibly) and try and find a packet of individual tissues.
Then turn and look at the whole shop and the daunting task appears as over 1000 products loom before your eyes.
Forget left and right, try needle in a hay stack.
I DO NOT KNOW MY LEFT FROM MY RIGHT.. I'M SO GLAD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE..
I also have some similar grammatical issues as well.
I have to really think about the words "know" and "now"
I can't just write them.. without really thinking on how to spell them. weird
I was looking for the book, i'm not stupid, I'm Right Brain, when I happened upon your blog.
I had to comment.
I don't know if people realize that there is no scientific evidence for ADD. They pass out labels that make us feel like something is wrong with our mind.
Right-brain dominant people confuse the left and right. Since the Broca and the Wereckie (language area) is on the left side of the brain,right-brain people struggle in those areas...which is why grammar is difficult.
We are left-brain blinded. We can learn grammar rules, yet still make stupid grammar mistakes.
After much research, and being a art instructor, I wrote the book, i'm not stupid, I'm Right Brain.
It is about time someone who is right-brain, who understands how we think, told the world what is really going on inside our heads.
With that said, the right-brain person is genius.
We aren't stupid! Our thinking styles is different. We learn intuitively...and if we aren't emotionally charged, or inspired, we don't get it.
If you want to know more, type in
rightbrainintelligence.com
Evie
Just googled 'don't know left from right' and it came up with this post. Wow - I really recognise this problem. Like you I have good English skills (MA in English,ex-journalist) but I don't automatically know my left from my right and often muddle up it's/its your/you're and all the baddies even though I know the difference. With the left/right thing, I often think it's like having a short circuit in my brain which means I can't work it out fast enough. I am also terrible at reading aloud which I feel is a similar problem. My brain can't process the information quickly enough. I see you mention ADD. I haven't read the rest of your blog but will do with interest!
Grammar, math, linear thinking, and perfectionism are left-brain traits.
Creativity/arts, creative problem solving, intuitive, emotionally driven, motivational, and visionaries are right brained.
Right-brain people want the job done, where the left brained want it done right.
Right-brain people have busy minds which might make them seem ADD. The left-brainer are meticulous, and usually focus on one thing at a time.
Because the right-brainer has a busy creative mind, they over look details, and easily confuse the left/right.
I'm Not Stupid, I'm Right Brained
I'm almost ready to accept the fact I will go through life never knowing my left from right. I drive my partner crazy when I give directions in the car, because I look at the map, see left, think left, point left and say "turn right"
And as he starts to turn right I shout " no no no the other way!" and in that moment I cant even bring the word "left" into my mind. It's (nearly slipped up there, lucky I proof read!)
Its a relief to see I'm not alone in this struggle!
i cannot belielive it I AM NOT ALONE!!! im twenty years old and i still gotta have my boyfriend tellin me ''ur ryt pupi my left!'' i also have difficulty with taps open and close?? also with keys locked and unlocked which way do you turn them?? ay im concernerd about the ADD thing i mean wat if i am and hw late am i and where did it come from?cheers to everyone from my own right to ur own left lmao;-)
Hi coco lala,
Some people don't get diagnosed until they're 50s! But not knowing your left from right, alone, is not a symptom. You need to have a variety of symptoms and they need to have been consistent throughout your life.
It's best to seek a proper diagnosis from a medical professional, but for your own information there are questionnaires you can fill out online. For example:
http://www.gosforthclinic.com.au/adult_add_questionnaire.html
hi yes im not alone either is it ADD? cuz if it wasnt for the "your left hand is the one that makes an L shape" i would've been a goner, seriousy now that i have a psp and it has L and R button on top i cant seem to remember it at all im glad im not the only one. i don't know maybe ur born with it ever since gr.7 i never knew my right from my left my teacher and kids would laugh at me, i would say this no that ur other left which one is ur right and i would just stare at my hands, i dont know left from right ive never been taught that but i think this is ur born with just like, colour blind people, so don't worry u'll all be alright :)
so ya i hope i don't fail my driver's test....:E lol
Do what i done to get yourself though your driving test and mark the back of your left hand with a marker and just remember i marked my left hand so when he says turn next left think mark and look at your hands :)
Just remember your not stupid your right brained, just like Albert Einstein :)
My name is also Heather Van Riesen, and I dont know my left from my right either. Perhaps it is the name....eeekkk!!!
I'm a left brainer. No, wait, I mean I'm a right brainer but I can also identify with the person who posted the fact about missing key frames of reference at some time or another. Not only can I not tell my left from right without squeezing my hands, I have major spelling and grammar issues AND I don't have my times tables memorized.
My daughter and I have the same left/right problem. When she took her driving test she wrote an L on her left thumb and an R on her right thumb. Holding the steering wheel in the 10 and 2 positon your thumbs are in complete view. So when the instructor told her to turn she looked at her thumbs and she turned the correct direction. We are not stupid and she was very smart to overcome her problem. The best thing is to realize you have a problem and find the solution.
At the age of 5 I scarred my right wrist. Every time I would just look for my scar and that's how I knew my right. Now at 38 the scar has faded and I get confused.
Did they teach you left and right in 1st grade ? I hear they did and I must have been sick during those classes.
I am an accomplished engineer with a few publications and US patents. Excellent with numbers, but writing and grammar takes effort. Interesting thread, this is a funny quirk as a kid but embarrasing as an adult.
I am also ADHD and actually know left and right much more easily when my stimulant is working. However, I've always instinctively known cardinal directions; that is north, south, east, and west. Wondering if others might be the same.
And for all of those who offer ways to remember left and right; those don't work. And, yes we were all taught left and right in school. We simply do not have it in our instinct to know the difference.
I started by remembering which hand I used to pledge to the flag. I would make a tight fist with my right hand when I knew we were about to start so I'd know which one to put there. To this day, if someone tells me to go right or left, my right hand has a little twitch that it does.
I am also an abuse survivor, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it.
If you're on Facebook, I just created a group for us. It's called I Don't Know My Left From My Right. I think there needs to be a campaign to make others aware that we are out there and we can't help it.
I am 35 and everybody is in disbelief when they find out that I don't know the difference between left and right. I always tell them that it is a sign of high intelligence. :) They tell me the left hand makes a L - well they both do but one is backwards so that is not a good solution. I am excellent with numbers but my written and oral communcation is not the greatest. I absolutely do not have ADD but am an awesome multi-tasker. Any helpful ideas??
WOW finally I meet my people LOL I didn't even realize I has a problem. While taking my driving test the instructor said to take the next left. I was thinking why is he saying that now. We were not even close to the next left. (I thought) When he said now that you missed that left take the nest left. Then I realized I was thinking the wrong side. I thought I automatically failed but didn't lol When my cousin gave me directions to her place and I wrote them down, I still got lost. Had to call her and followed her directions. My best friend told me one day that she thought I had a form of dyslexia. She said that even Oprah and others had that problem. I have no problem with the letters or numbers transposing so I didn't believe her. I finally solved the right and left problem while driving by asking my riders to state either drivers or passenger side to turn. NOW no more problems. GOOD LUCK The ones that don't have this problem can't understand how frustrating it is for us to hear them say just think right handed or make the L or wear a watch. IT IS FRUSTRATING SO STOP DOING THAT TO US.
I have a similar issue as well. My brain somehow can't process "left/right" & "before/after" fast enough. i have to stop and think about it for a minute and then proceed. Until this day i have not been able to fix that and it gets a little frustrating at times.
I am 21 years old and I get very confused with right and left, I have to stare at my hands and picture myself writing, I am right-handed. I also don't know the difference between east and west when driving in a city. If I look at a map, I know the west coast is where California is because I hear it in songs all the time. Another thing I have trouble with is knowing which way the sun rises :S .
Not knowing the difference between them makes me feel so dumb :( it brings down my intellectuality and people laugh at me, my boyfriend even called me ignorant. I was a disaster when I was taking an aerobics class!
However, I am very good at spelling, math, and all my other classes. I've always had straight A's. I speak two languages. I have no problems with anything else. I even exceeded my AIMS test, I don't know if you guys are familiar with that.
I wish I could fix that, but I don't think I will. I am glad I am not the only one. People that don't have this problem will never understand, so just tell them that we are too close to being perfect and needed a silly "disorder" to make us unperfect ;).