THE FALLACY OF THE ARGUMENT FOR REDUCED LONGEVITY IN LEFT-HANDERS

The fallacy of the argument for reduced longevity in left-handers depends on the use of the writing hand in the assessment of the present generation of elderly people, when writing was not used as a criterion in the early years of the century. A 'thought' experiment demonstrates that a sample of left-handers is likely to be younger than a sample of right-handers alive in the population and this would be true also of the recently deceased.