I have not written a blog post for four months. This is the longest hiatus I have taken in the seven years of blogging about left-handedness. There is a reason for this long gap in communication. In September 2023, I went on a National Geographic Expedition to the Swiss Alps and Italian Lake District. There were 27 adults in the travel group that included two tour leaders. One of the leaders is a National Geographic photographer who specializes in mountaineering photography and has climbed Mt. Everest three times. The group also included three left-handers or 11% of the tour members. The left-handers had not heard of the August 13 celebration of International Left-handers Day, nor did they assert any of the special qualities claimed to be associated with left-handedness by the popular press and social media. This attitude is typical of most left-handers I meet among the general public. There is an acceptance of their left-handedness as a part of their lives, and they pay it little attention. Facebook groups and YouTube videos devoted to left-handedness are not part of their daily lives. They were curious about the science of handedness, however, and this became a frequent topic of dinner conversation.
Unfortunately, when I returned from my trip, I found the first floor of my townhouse flooded by a leak in the ancient hot water heater. The rooms were filled with soaked carpets reeking of mold. I made a hasty move out of my residence into a hotel until I could find alternate accommodation. That process took several months, leaving me little time to reflect on my recent magnificent trip or to write blog posts. It is now mid-December, and I am finally settled enough to turn my attention to my blog again.
December 2023 marks the end of seven years of my blog, In Your Hands. I have posted over 130 articles on topics covering the full range of scientific publications about handedness and lateral (side) preferences. The research on these topics remains strong and I look forward to the scientific insights that will emerge in 2024. My blog is one of the few places in the internet universe devoted to the science rather than the mythology of handedness. I look forward to continuing this endeavor in 2024.