My biology class today turned into "we're superior because we're left-handed" discussion day. And, since I'm also left-handed, I couldn't rightly disagree.

However, I was surprised when the conversation of left or right-eyedness came up. Aparently, the eye to which you would hold a scope when firing a gun dictates your "eyedness".

Although, on the whole, I tend find these conversations a little dull, I thought this was interesting, as I'd never given it any thought. Not particularly funny, or astoundingly brilliant, but just mildly interesting. And for those of you who've been reading my posts, you know that mildly interesting is as good as it gets sometimes. I'm just going to leave this as a "something you may not have known" post, and see if it spawns any discussion whatsoever.

I know of two things you could be talking about. Or maybe you mean something else altogether that I haven't heard of...

The first is that, in binocular vision, one eye is dominant. If you hold up a finger a foot or so from your face and close each eye in turn, when you close one eye your finger will appear to move relative to the background. I've never paid enough attention to know if this is consistent throughout one's life.

The other thing is that your accuity isn't necessarily the same in both eyes. Another example of how the symmetries we assume aren't always there. In most people the difference isn't very pronounced, of course (hence a single prescription for most near-sightedness).

In 1972, when i was only two-and-a-half years old, i had a rather pioneering ophthalmological surgeon who managed to partially correct my extreme amblyopia. I've worn glasses ever since, and i alternated a patch from one eye to the other for several years to strengthen them post-surgery. All my life, i've been acutely aware of the fact that i am "left-eyed". If i take off my glasses-- or sometimes just happen to have fatigued eye muscles-- the drifting becomes obvious and double-vision ensues. (Insert your own cross-eyed queer redneck joke here.)

Anybody can quickly determine which eye is dominant in their personal habit of stereoscopic reconciliation: look at an object across the room with both eyes. Close one eye... does the object stay in its position? If yes, then the eye which remains open is the dominant eye. If not-- i.e., if the object appears to shift sideways by a few degrees -- then the eye which you have closed is the dominant one.

From the time we are born, our brain quickly works to develop many different aspects of our visual acuity, and it takes only a few months for most babies to begin to discern motion, shapes, and colors, but usually a few more months to discern distance and perspective. One of the very first things that our brain learns to do when we are infants is to choose the "favored" eye and begin getting used to the composite stereo image formed in our mind by the two separate images (one from each eyeball) which are very slightly askew.

In Response to Teledildonix (#12985):

When I undertake the 'dominance' test, it's pretty clear that I'm right-eyed (and right-handed, and right-footed, for that matter). But when I shoot, I tend to line my body and the sight up on my left hand side and use my left eye to aim. (Keeping in mind, of course, that when I say 'shoot', I mean 'play House of the Dead at the pool hall').

And I can only wink with my right eye (keeping my left eye open). It's a handicap, I tell you.

In Response to tynic (#12986):

When i'm typing online, i only seem to be able to wink with my right eye too ;-)

Gah, vision tests. I know these by heart, of course; my right eye is dominant (I'm strongly left-brained by even the loosest of standards) but my left eye is slightly less myopic. Of course, it's the difference between 20/120 and 20/130... but still.

And yes, I do aim with my right eye. Have since I first played Duck Hunt, straight through archery lessons to... well, no, I don't actually use a gun. But I could if I wanted to.

You'll also find it quite difficult to fire a right handed, scoped rifle with your left eye. Not only because it requires a finger to pull the trigger, but also because the stock will make it quite uncomfortable to do so.

I myself, am quite blind. And it is getting worst. I used to be able to see anything and read anything within hands reach. That is no longer possible. I cannot read any text that is more than one foot away from my face. And don't even get me started on recognizing people. I'm very thankful for glasses and contacts.

I actually keep both eyes open when firing my rifles, but that stems from my theory that if said target moves (or flies) out of the field of view of a 9x scope, it's much harder to find where the target has went unless the eye that is not aiming is keeping a general lookout for such things.

I was able to perfect this skill with my super-scope for the SNES.

All that put aside, however, i'm a right-eye dominated being.

Having painfully average vision and also having never fired a gun (with exception to duck hunt), I was blissfully unaware of this entire topic. And besides, when I played duck hunt, I spent most of the time trying to figure out a way to shoot the obnoxious dog. Curse that dog.

On a related note, I was also informed today that left-handed people have trouble with guns that discharge cartriges, as they are discharged on the right side (if I remember correctly). However the (geometrics/spatial relationships/what have you) work, my friend Paul has one bad experience that resulted in some severe repercussions (read: cartrige in the crook of his elbow, which I assume was either hot or not pleasant in some other regard) before he found this one out.

In Response to Teledildonix (#12985):

Queer and Redneck? That appears to be a bit of an oxy-moron to me...

In Response to unFalln (#13008):

You would expect these qualities to be self-contradictory, but actually i'm telling the truth.

Quite a few of the stereotypical redneck clichés used to apply: trailer park, semi-literate parents with dental troubles, childhood in a town with more cattle than people, et cetera. The jokes were true: most people's homes were mobile, while the cars on their front lawns were not.

Many stereotypical queer traits still do apply; some are obvious, some are subtle, all are honestly unintentional. You'll probably just have to take my word on this, but a quick perusal of the diary entries and personal stories on my webpages should eliminate any doubt.

During all my years in rural Vermont, the natives generally did not believe that i, too, was a local resident. I seemed too exotic, and apparently my elocution made me stick out, like Krusty the Klown in a room full of mormons. I felt some consolation when i once read something to the effect of "a lovely flower can grow on the biggest pile of manure."

In Response to Teledildonix (#13010):

Well I don't care what anyone else says about you, I have always and will always think of you as long-winded.

In Response to unFalln (#13011):

It's true. I'm compulsively ebullient. That's just the way i've been all my life.

Being lefthanded myself, I have found that, when firing a rifle, the height of the clocktower is far more important than which eye I use.

In Response to deerboy (#13018):

the height of the clocktower is far more important

Well, duh. I mean, that's obvious.

The higher the clocktower, the more difficult it is to shoot the bell mechanism from your bedroom window, to stop that infernal ringing when one is trying to GET SOME SLEEP!

I am an excellent shot. I am right-eye dominant. Contrary to typical initial impressions, eye dominance has no relation to whether you are right or left handed (or foot dominance either).

I am extremely right-handed. I can barely write or throw with my left hand. I can fork food into my mouth, but anything requiring more sinisterity (dexterity with the left hand?) than that is nigh impossible for me.

However, I am left-eye-dominant. Which means when I shoot (pistols, rifles, shotguns, bows) I have to hold the weapon left-handed, which tends to throw some people off when they see me.

As far as how well I shoot, I'm not all that great with a rifle. I'm usually lucky if I can hit the target at all with a bow and arrow. With pistol and shotgun, however, I'm much better. Moving targets (skeet-shooting) are really not a problem for me with a shotgun (first time I ever held one, I went 3 for 3).

In Response to Phobos (#12996):

I myself, am quite blind
...
I'm very thankful for glasses and contacts.

An area of pedantry near and dear to my heart: If your vision is corrected by glasses or contacts, you're not blind.

I'm a Lopez, but it helps in this matter that I'm also left-handed. I am however right-footed, and right-handed when using a knife and fork.

What makes the knife and fork thing a bit strange is that my sister is right-handed and she eats left-handed.

Just thought I'd share that useless bit of family trivia with you guys. I feel now that everyone one of you is just that little bit closer to me now.

Group hug!

In Response to unFalln (#13041):

Just thought I'd share that useless bit of family trivia with you guys. I feel now that everyone one of you is just that little bit closer to me now.

Group hug!

Big kiss.

My sister is left-handed, i am right-handed, and yet our penmanship looks remarkably similar, difficult to distinguish at first glance. More trivia.

Tell us more about yourself. Be long-winded, if you like :-) Fill us in on the tantalizing details ;-P Oh, and what's a "Lopez"?

In Response to Teledildonix (#13042):

Perko! Big kiss from another boy! What are you, gay or something?

Lopez, as in the late TLC member Lisa 'Left-eye' Lopez. You see, what I'm trying to say is that I am left-eyed.

As for the more about me bit, other than the fact that I'm a microsofty-type programmer who likes the grog and this comic, I'll leave that up to your imagination as there's really nothing that interesting to share.
Unless of course you're an F1 fan.

In Response to unFalln (#13046):

Celia Green [celiagreen.com] says, "It is superfluous to be humble on one's own behalf; so many people are willing to do it for one." I imagine you're more interesting than you claim :-)

What's an "F1"? My keyboard has a key with such a label; any relation?

In Response to Teledildonix (#13049):

I'm not being humble, I'm being mysterious. It's one of the perks of an online community.

F1 (or 'Formula 1') is like CART open-wheeled car racing, but not so American, and better. But that is for another discussion perhaps.

During my first weapons training, I was shown a good way to determine which eye is dominant is to hold your hands out at arms length, hold your index fingers and thumbs together forming a trianglish shape and look through the hole with both eyes open. As you stare, move your hands toward your face; whichever eye is looking through the hole when you touch your face is dominant.

So I've had the left-eye/right-handed thing going on as well. I shoot a rifle left-handed, but have always shot the 9mm right-handed. The results aren't great, but there aren't too many left-handed 9mms lying around the ship, usually. Or I could just be a poor shot.

I just keep the but of the gun on my hip and scream wildly when I shoot, laying waste to everything around. My trigger finger would be on my right hand.

How do I shoot?

Well, there's really nothing to it.

I just stand there looking cute

and when something moves, I shoot!